Actual problems of innovative economy and law

Journal "Actual problems of innovative economy and law" is included in category B for specialties: in the field of knowledge "Management and administration": 073, 076 (order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 23.08.2023 No. 1035) and 071, 072, 075 (order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 12.20.2023 No. 1543); in the field of knowledge "Social and behavioral sciences" 051 (order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated August 23, 2023 No. 1035); in the field of knowledge "Law" - 081 and "Public management and administration" - 281 (order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 12.20.2023 No. 1543).
Registration of an entity in print media: Decision of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting No. 1390 dated 11/16/2023. Media identifier: R30-02018
The journal is indexed in the International Scientific Center of Index Copernicus International

Increasing the level of digital skills of the EU population to promote the development of the digital economy

# 16 68-73 Download/view the full text of the article

УДК: 334:339.92

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36887/2524-0455-2025-6-16

Ivantsov Serhii,
Candidate of Technical Sciences, Doctoral Student at the Department of International Economic Relations,
University of Customs and Finance,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8715-0778

Published: 27.11.25

It has been determined that the development of the digital economy (DE) is a strategic task for EU policy. One of the defining prerequisites for ensuring digital transformations is an adequate level of digital skills (DS) among the population, including ICT specialists. Raising the level of DS in the EU population as a socio-economic task can be considered an international policy of particular importance for Ukraine. Various aspects of the significance of the population’s DS as a factor in the development of the DE have been substantiated. The main measures implemented by the EU, including the European Commission, to raise the level of DS have been identified, covering horizontal and sectoral strategies. The connection with the EU’s Green Deal, social, and regional policies has been noted. The mechanisms for financing measures in the field of DS have been determined. An assessment of DS indicators in the EU has been carried out in the following directions: parameters reflecting the level of DS of the population as a whole; parameters reflecting the DS of employed persons; digital education indicators. Statistical evidence confirms the overall increase in the level of DS of the population and ICT specialists across the EU. EU initiatives to improve the DS of the working population have been summarized. Differences between “old” and “new” EU member states in the field of DS have been analyzed separately using the Gini index. This showed that the most significant indicators for differentiating “old” and “new” member states are “ICT specialists” and “ICT graduates.” The importance of ICT education concerning ICT specialists and the improvement of the population’s DS has been substantiated. EU measures to develop ICT education have been summarized. The demand for ICT education and a steady positive trend in the number of employed persons with ICT education have been confirmed. Several provisions regarding the features of DE development in the EU, including international cooperation and structures, supranational policy, and integration, have been formulated.

Keywords: digital economy, European Union, Digital Decade policy, digital skills of the population, digital skills of employed persons, indicators, digital education.

References.

  1. Haraguchi, N., Jacob, A., & Kamiya, M. (2023). Policy Brief: Digital Economic Transformation. United Nations Economist Network. Available at: https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/digital_economy_14_march.pdf.
  2. Kiseľáková, D., Šofranková, B., Širá, E., & Fedorčíková, R. (2022). Assessment of the Digital Economy’s Level Among the EU Countries – An Empirical Study. Polish Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1, Pp. 107–124. Available at: https://doi.org/10.17512/pjms.2022.26.1.07.
  3. Revenko, D., Romanenkov, Y., Polozova, T., Lebedchenko, V., & Molchanova, K. (2024). The impact of digitalization on the economic growth of the European Union: an empirical study. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, Vol. 3, No. 13 (129), Pp. 46–56. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2024.304256.
  4. Dubyna, M., Zhavoronok, A., Krylov, D., Kholiavko, N., Safonov, Y., & Tochylina, Y. (2022). The ICT Sector in Economic Development of the Countries of Eastern Europe: a Comparative Analysis. WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, Vol. 19, Pp. 169–185. Available at: https://doi.org/10.37394/23207.2022.19.18.
  5. Roszko-Wójtowicz, E., Pleśniarska, A., & Grzelak, M. (2024). Determinants of Digital Economy Development in the EU Member States: The Role of Technological Infrastructure, Human Capital, and Innovation (2017–2022). Ekonomia i Prawo. Economics and Law, Vol. 23, No. 4, Pp. 611–635. Available at: https://doi.org/10.12775/EiP.2024.31.
  6. Kovács, T., Bittner, B., Nagy, A., & Nabradi, A. (2022). Digital transformation of human capital in the EU according to the DESI index. Issues in Information Systems, Vol. 23, No. 4, Pp. 293–311. Available at: https://doi.org/10.48009/4_iis_2022_125.
  7. Grigorescu, A., Pelinescu, E., Ion, A. E., & Dutcas, M. F. (2021). Human Capital in Digital Economy: An Empirical Analysis of Central and Eastern European Countries from the European Union. Sustainability, Vol. 13, No. 4, 2020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042020.
  8. Iordan, M., Pelinescu, E., & Chilian, M. N. (2022). Human capital in the digital society. Some empirical evidence for the EU countries. Holistica Journal of Business and Public Administration, Vol. 13, No. 2, Pp. 25–40. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2478/hjbpa-2022-0013.
  9. Caravella, S., Cirillo, V., Crespi, F., Guarascio, D., & Menghini, M. (2023). The diffusion of digital skills across EU regions: structural drivers and polarisation dynamics. Regional Studies, Regional Science, Vol. 10, No. 1, Pp. 820–844. Available at: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/265371/1/GLO-DP-1188.pdf.
  10. Szanter, R., & Matuska, E. (2024). Development and Certification of Digital Competences in European Union Countries in Project-Based Learning Initiatives. Journal of Modern Science, Vol. 2, No. 56, Pp. 371–396. Available at: https://doi.org/10.13166/jms/177634.
  11. Carlisle, S., Ivanov, S., & Dijkmans, C. (2023). The digital skills divide: evidence from the European tourism industry. Journal of Tourism Futures, Vol. 9, No. 2, Pp. 240–266. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-07-2020-0114.
  12. Țarcă, V., Luca, F.-A., & Țarcă, E. (2024). The Digital Edge: Skills That Matter in the European Labour Market after COVID-19. Economies, Vol. 12, No. 10, Article 273. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12100273.
  13. Shaping Europe’s digital future. (2025). European Commission. Available at: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en.
  14. Statistics Explained. (2025). Eurostat. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat.
  15. Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. (2025). European Commission. Available at: https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/index_en.
  16. DESI indicators. (2025). European Commission. Available at: https://digital-decade-desi.digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu.
  17. Suryakanthi, T. (2020). Evaluating the Impact of GINI Index and Information Gain on Classification using Decision Tree Classifier Algorithm. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, Vol. 11, No. 2. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2020.0110277.

Quote article, APA style

Ivantsov S. Increasing the level of digital skills of the EU population to promote the development of the digital economy. Actual problems of innovative economy and law. 2025. №6. 68-73 pp. https://doi.org/10.36887/2524-0455-2025-6-16

Quote article, MLA style

Ivantsov S. Increasing the level of digital skills of the EU population to promote the development of the digital economy. Actual problems of innovative economy and law. https://doi.org/10.36887/2524-0455-2025-6-16