At the beginning of 2026, EU competitiveness has moved decisively to the centre of political and economic debate. Digital capacity, AI deployment, secure infrastructure and advanced skills are no longer framed as innovation objectives alone — they are presented as structural drivers of Europe’s economic resilience.
Within this context, the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) is increasingly positioned as a core implementation instrument of the EU’s competitiveness strategy. As the European Commission explains, DIGITAL focuses on building strategic digital capacities in areas such as high-performance computing, AI, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, semiconductors and the broad deployment of digital technologies across the economy and public administrations.
From political priority to operational funding
This policy shift is visible in the Digital Europe Programme’s 2025–2027 Work Programme, which operationalises priorities into concrete investment actions and call topics across AI, data, cybersecurity, skills, and deployment mechanisms.
Latest programme-wide results (published 18 December 2025) shaping early 2026
The most recent programme-wide results and impact snapshot were published on 18 December 2025 via the Commission’s press release accompanying the interim evaluation. The report highlights concrete achievements across DIGITAL’s strategic areas — including funding for JUPITER, Europe’s first exascale supercomputer ranking fourth in the TOP500; the deployment of four large-scale sectorial AI Testing and Experimentation Facilities; and the rollout of over 150 European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) across 90% of European regions, delivering more than 29,000 services to over 54,600 companies.
Additional quantified outcomes include over 20,700 people trained in highly specialised digital fields, the procurement of 26 CyberHubs and the establishment of 27 National Coordination Centres in cybersecurity, as well as significant investments in semiconductor pilot lines and competence centres.
From Interim Evaluation to 2026 Action
For stakeholders looking at end January–early February 2026 developments, one of the most actionable programme signals is the set of DIGITAL calls that remained open into 2026 (including EDIH-related calls running from 4 November 2025 to 3 March 2026, as shown on the Commission’s DEP funding pages).
A representative example is the call fiche for EDIH expansion/completion (DIGITAL-2026-EDIH-AC-09), which illustrates the programme’s reinforced focus on AI adoption and the consolidation of deployment support structures for SMEs and public administrations.
Conclusion
Taken together, these publications and open-call signals show how DIGITAL is being used to translate Europe’s competitiveness agenda into operational, measurable deployment — from AI and data spaces to cybersecurity, skills, and SME/public-sector uptake via EDIHs.
