Digital Rights Progress in EU
Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Portuguese Council Presidency is the new presidency and second of the Presidency Trio including Germany and Slovenia that will run from 1 January to 30 June 2021.
The priorities of Portugal's presidency were made clear by its motto: "Time to deliver: a fair, green and digital recovery". More specifically, the Portuguese Presidency will focus on five areas, which are in line with the goals of the EU’s strategic agenda:
- strengthen Europe’s resilience
- promote confidence in the European social model
- promote a sustainable recovery
- speed up a fair and inclusive digital transition
- reaffirm the EU’s role in the world, ensuring that this is based on openness and multilateralism
In a broader context, the Portuguese presidency will try to promote a more innovative vision of the EU based on common values of solidarity, convergence, and cohesion. To achieve this, Portugal is committed to act positively, foster cooperation, achieve tangible results in economic recovery, and lead the European Union out of the pandemic crisis.
You can learn more on the official website of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union https://www.2021portugal.eu/en/
Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-based Digital Government
The Berlin Declaration has been signed on 8 December by the responsible ministers of all EU Member States after the success of the Tallinn Declaration on eGovernment. The Berlin Declaration tries to foster the important role of public administrations in driving a value-based digital transformation of European societies. To enable this digital transformation, the countries that signed the declaration have agreed to carry out concrete measures by 2024 concerning the digital sovereignty of their administrations, the promotion of civil society participation, digital inclusion, and self-determination.
The main principles of the Declaration can be summarized as:
- Fundamental rights and democratic values in the digital sphere
- Social participation and digital inclusion
- Digital literacy
- Trust and security
- Digital sovereignty and interoperability
- Human-centred AI systems for the public sector
- Resilience and sustainability.
