site.btaEuropean Commissioner Gabriel Stresses Need for Citizens to Acquire Digital Knowledge and Skills

Sofia, December 11 (BTA) - The European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, said in Sofia on Monday that the digital skills and the digital knowledge of EU citizens are a priority for her, because if the people are well-trained in this field, they will be able to protect their personal information, maintain cyber hygiene and be more discerning when choosing their sources of information. It is important to pool the efforts of the EU, its member states, regions and communities to provide relevant digital education to the citizens, Gabriel said during a lecture at the University of Telecommunications and Posts.

She explained: "It is not that everyone should become an IT expert, but together we can promote initiatives to ensure that the maximum possible number of people acquire basic digital skills." Gabriel noted that 80 million Europeans have never used the Internet, and only 37 per cent of Europe's workforce has basic digital skills. By 2020, about 90 per cent of jobs will require such skills and knowledge, she predicted.

The European Commissioner recalled that the Digital Opportunities Initiative which was launched as a pilot project a week ago provides for cross-border internships of four to five months. Gabriel hopes that the initiative will become a longstanding effort of all EU countries.

The best instrument to use for the purpose is the European Social Fund (ESF). The inclusion of digital skills and knowledge into the ESF portfolio will ensure long-term investments, Gabriel noted. A new EU action plan for digital technology education will be presented in January. The upcoming Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council will be the first to host a European summit on education, Gabriel said.

She also discussed cyber attacks. She recalled that in September her team proposed the creation of a European coordination mechanism against possible large-scale cyber attacks and a network of expert centres in the EU member states.

Fake news is nothing new, but nowadays it gets spread very quickly on an unprecedentedly large scale, Gabriel remarked. She recalled that on November 13 she launched public consultations on the problem of fake news and announced the establishment of a high-level expert group which will hold its first meeting in January. The group will have two months to present a report offering a definition of the term "fake news," identifying relevant practices in the member states and proposing a common approach to deal with the challenge.