Digitisation and sustainable development of the European Union Member States. Actions supporting "sustainable digitisation"

Abstract

Digital technologies redefine the shape of the modern economy and social relations, bring many benefits, but also challenges in the social, economic, environmental and climate context. The aim of the article in theoretical aspect is to broaden the knowledge about the dimensions of digitisation of economies, which must correspond to the goals of sustainable development. In empirical aspect, the aim of the presented research is to identify the level of digitisation of EU Member States’ economies and changes in the digital gap. The research methods include: institutional and legal analysis, descriptive and comparative methods. The main part of the article contains the review of the available studies, in which the authors analysed the relationships between digitisation and sustainable development, looking for the answer to the question of how digital transformation can contribute to economic, social and environmental sustainability. In the final part of the article, EU activities supporting "sustainable digitisation" will be analysed, which would facilitate and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The study made it possible to draw conclusions about the most important aspects of the EU development strategy in the context of "sustainable digitisation" and to understand the importance of digitisation for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Member States. The results of the conducted research indicate the growing importance of the digitisation of EU countries in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the face of contemporary crisis situations.