All important economies in the world are investing heavily in digitisation. While Europe as a whole lags its key competitors, several Member States are world-leading. Completion of the Digital Single Market will put Europe in a better position to succeed.

Although from a global perspective competition is tough, Europe has all the necessary assets to succeed in this challenge. As explained in the EU report on Advancing Europe's digital future, the region has a whole can count on a world-class science base and well-educated population; strong entrepreneurial spirit and creativity; high-quality public services in areas such as healthcare; a predictable regulatory environment that provides the basis for sustainable growth and investment; and of course a Digital Single Market a er 2018, if the European Parliament and the Council adopt all proposals by the end of 2017.

According to EU experts, to make make the Digital Single Market a reality as of 2018, single countries need to take all the necessary measures to support EU effort in promoting digitalization. These efforts include investing in world-class data economy infrastructure; investing in very high-capacity connectivity; stepping up the digitisation of industry; supporting startups to scale up; implementing education reform and reskilling to enable people to adapt to change; ensuring high levels of data protection and cybersecurity to promote trust among citizens and protect our assets; and launching common European digital projects which cannot be implemented by individual countries on their own.

As far as Italy is concerned, a lot needs to be done. The country ranks 25th in the Digital Economy and Society Index for 2017. The use of digital technologies by enterprises and the delivery of online public services is close to average. Compared to last year, Italy made progress on Connectivity, in particular through improvements in NGA access. However, its low performance in digital skills risks acting as a brake on the further development of its digital economy and society.

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