Antonio Tejeda Encinas, Lawyer. President of the Euro-American Committee of Digital Law - CEA Digital Law; CEO, Meta Channel Corp
Introduction: the relevance of these reports to digital transformation
In recent years, governments and international institutions have published a number of key reports to guide technological, economic and social development. Documents such as España 2050 (May 2021), España Digital 2025 (July 2020), the 2030 Agenda (September 2015), the Letta Report (2023) and the Draghi Report (2024) seek to offer a roadmap for transforming Spain and the European Union in the face of future challenges. Although these reports set ambitious goals, they share a significant shortcoming: they do not spell out how, in practical terms, to adopt the emerging technologies that are essential to the change they propose. While the objectives are clearer in areas such as sustainability or education, there is a worrying lack of specificity when it comes to digitalisation and the deployment of technology.
The 2030 Agenda: a global commitment with technological gaps
The 2030 Agenda, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, has served as a framework for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in many countries, including Spain. The plan singles out digitalisation as a key tool for making progress in areas such as education, employment and sustainability. However, like the other reports, the 2030 Agenda lacks a clear strategy on how to adopt emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain or quantum computing in key sectors. Although it recognises the need to close the digital divide, it offers no specific roadmap to guide implementation in practice.
España 2050: an ambitious plan, but with limitations
The España 2050 report, presented by Sánchez in May 2021, was conceived as a long-term roadmap for transforming the Spanish economy and society. Although it addresses relevant issues such as digitalisation, its broad, long-term focus has blunted its impact on public debate. Like its predecessor, España Digital 2025, the report mentions emerging technologies but does not go into how they should be effectively adopted. This lack of detail limits its relevance at a time when the pace of technological change demands more immediate responses.
The Letta Report: success on market cohesion, but technological shortcomings
The Letta Report (2023) focused on the cohesion of the European single market and the removal of internal regulatory barriers. While it has been successful from a technical and regulatory standpoint, it has been criticised for its lack of vision on technology adoption. Although it identifies digitalisation as a key component, it deals only superficially with technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and advanced automation, and offers no clear guidance for their large-scale adoption in Europe.
The Draghi Report: the right diagnosis, but no action plan
The Draghi Report (2024), commissioned by the European Commission, set out to tackle challenges such as Europe’s competitiveness vis-à-vis the United States and China. Despite pointing to the need to invest in advanced technologies such as 5G and 6G networks and artificial intelligence, the report has been criticised for its lack of detail on how those technologies are to be deployed. Although €800 billion a year is earmarked for the package of proposals as a whole, there is no clear breakdown of how those funds will be distributed, particularly among specific sectors or technologies. The absence of a concrete action plan has weakened the report, which ends up diagnosing the problems without offering clear solutions.
Reflection: the omission of disruptive technologies
A recurring criticism of these reports is that, although they acknowledge the importance of digital transformation, they do not address in sufficient depth the integration of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing or 5G and 6G networks. These technologies are driving innovation in key sectors such as health, education and finance, and the reports’ vagueness about them makes them aspirational documents rather than genuine action plans, with no concrete proposals for adopting technology.
For these reports to be truly useful, they need to include detailed action plans on how to integrate emerging technologies into strategic sectors. Only with precise planning and proper implementation can Europe and Spain be sure of remaining competitive in the digital age.
النشرة
فعاليات وأخبار وتحليلات في القانون الرقمي تصلك على بريدك، ولا نراسلك إلا حين يكون لدينا جديد.
