Digital Europe

Call 4 of the Connecting Europe Facility is now open for submissions.

The call aims to fund projects that contribute to strengthening Europe’s digital transformation and covers the following topics:

• European Quantum Communication Infrastructure - The EuroQCI initiative - Works
• Backbone connectivity for Digital Global Gateways - Work
• Backbone connectivity for Digital Global Gateways - Studies
• 5G large scale pilots – 5G coverage along Transport Corridors/5G and Edge for Smart Communities – Works

Potential Proposals

CEF Digital calls are mainly open to entities, including joint ventures, established in Member States and overseas countries or territories.

Please note that if you are considering submitting a proposal, you may require a letter of support. Please submit your proposal to the contact points Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications by 5.30pm on Monday, 13 January 2025 to allow time for review.

The final deadline for proposals to the EU is 4pm on Thursday, 13 February 2025.

Contact Points

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

The European Commission’s Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) will provide strategic funding to support projects in five key capacity areas:

• Supercomputing
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Cybersecurity
• Advanced digital skills
• Digital Innovation Hubs

The Programme has a planned overall budgetary allocation of €7.5 billion and aims to shape the digital transformation of Europe’s society and economy, bringing benefits to everyone, but in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The vision for the EU Digital Single Market is to establish a single market for digital services in the Union, while ensuring fair competition, a high level of consumer protection and personal data protection for European citizens and business.

Since 2015, 28 out of 30 EU Digital Single Market legislative initiatives have been adopted under three pillars:

• Access to online products and services for consumers and businesses
• Shaping the environment for digital networks and services to grow and thrive
• Maximising the growth potential of the European digital economy

The European Commission considers that the DSM can create opportunities for new startups and existing companies in a market of over 500 million people, potentially contributing €415 billion per year to Europe's economy, creating jobs and transforming our public services.

Enhanced use of digital technologies can improve citizens' access to information and culture, improve their job opportunities and promote modern open government.

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has been responsible for negotiations on a number of legislative initiatives under the EU Digital Single Market, including:

• EU Roam Like at Home
• WiFi4EU
• European Electronic Communications Code
• Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications
• ePrivacy Regulation
• Free Flow of Data Regulation

DECC feeds into a whole of government perspective on the DSM via the Interdepartmental Committee on the EU Digital Single Market led by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

The European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) represents a revision of the entire EU regulatory framework for the telecommunications sector. It will repeal and replace the Framework Directive, the Authorisation Directive, the Access Directive and the Universal Services Directive.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the formulation of a set of principles to promote and uphold EU values in the digital space. The consultation, open until 2 September, seeks to open a wide societal debate and gather views from citizens, non-governmental and civil society organisations, businesses, administrations and all interested parties. These principles will guide the EU and Member States in designing digital rules and regulations that deliver the benefits of digitalisation for all citizens.

The contributions to the public consultation will feed into a proposal from the Commission for a joint inter-institutional declaration on Digital Principles of the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission. This proposal is expected by the end of 2021.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the Data Act and amended rules on the legal protection of databases, which is open until 3 September 2021.

The initiative aims to facilitate access to and use of data, and to review the rules on the legal protection of databases. It seeks to strike the right balance between rights to access data and incentives to invest in data, without changing the current data protection rules.

The consultation will collect information on the following aspects:

• Business-to-government data sharing for the public interest
• Business-to-business data sharing
• Tools for data sharing: Smart Contracts
• Clarifying rights on non-personal Internet of Things data stemming from professional use
• Improving portability for business users of cloud services
• Complementing the portability right under Article 20 GDPR
• Intellectual Property Rights – Protection of Databases
• Safeguards for non-personal data in international context

Ireland has signed the EuroQCI Declaration, joining all 27 EU Member States in committing to working together, along with the European Commission and the European Space Agency, to build the EuroQCI – a secure quantum communication infrastructure that will span the whole EU. Such high-performing, secure communications networks will be essential to meeting Europe’s cybersecurity needs in the years to come.

The EuroQCI will be part of a wider Commission plan to launch a satellite-based secure connectivity system that will make high-speed broadband available everywhere in Europe. This plan will provide reliable, cost-effective connectivity services with enhanced digital security. As such, the EuroQCI will complement existing communication infrastructures with an additional layer of security based on the principles of quantum mechanics – for example, by providing services based on quantum key distribution, a highly secure form of encryption.