The team that curates news, announcements, stories and other publications about EU4Digital and Eastern Partnership digital activities invites you to take stock of the growing number of ways you can access this content – in particular, a brand-new Twitter account : come and join the conversation!

EU4Digital Facility has published an updated report on the EU baseline for eCommerce in the Eastern Partnership (EaP). The report provides an overview of cross-border eCommerce in the European Union and EU best practices and norms as a benchmark for assessing the Eastern partner countries’ cross-border eCommerce. The report analyses three key areas - legal framework, standards and the eCommerce ecosystem.

Want to find out more about digital developments, future priorities and the policy agenda for Eastern partner countries? The EU4Digital Initiative is organising two events dedicated to the topic of digital transformation in the Eastern Partnership. On 14 November 2023, the Digital Conference for the Eastern Partnership will provide a space for wider discussion and anyone who is interested in participating will be welcome. On 15 November 2023, invited members of the EU4Digital Phase II Steering Committee will meet to discuss the flagship regional EU4Digital Initiative and projects.

The EU4Digital Facility is excited to announce the official kick-off of its national pavilion account pilot activity. This eTrade initiative aims to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from participating countries with an opportunity to test their products in the EU market, increase cross-border sales, and potentially create a base for further project development in their respective countries.

To boost the performance and growth of the innovation and start-up incubation ecosystem in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region, EU4Digital Facility identified key priorities and shared them in two events. These online awareness sessions concluded intense study of Eastern partner start-up ecosystems’ performance, gaps and needs, which are detailed along with recommendations in a new report. Participants in the two events heard from regional ecosystem actors and learned the key findings of the study: Eastern partner countries should prioritise the empowerment of ecosystem builders and capacity building of incubators.

Startups from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine met with representatives of the innovation ecosystem in France and the Eastern Partnership (EaP) at the event ‘Startup Bridge: East meets West’. EU4Digital Facility organised the ICT Innovation networking event in partnership with Expertise France. Held in Paris on 16 June 2023, the event was hosted by Wilco—an innovation accelerator dedicated to creating value for both startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Registration is open for two online events addressing the need to advance the performance of innovation incubators in the Eastern Partnership (EaP). The aim is to increase the success rate of converting ideas into sustainable companies. EU4Digital Facility is organising the events to raise awareness about funding and promoting the activities of innovation ecosystem builders to empower incubation. Held on 18 July and 9 August 2023, the complementary sessions will highlight the role of innovation ecosystem actors and their partnerships in delivering high-performing incubation services to startups. All interested parties are welcome to participate.

Looking for news, resources and other information about digital transformation in the Eastern Partnership (EaP)? EU4Digital invites you to explore its newly relaunched website: https://eufordigital.eu/! With the relaunch, the EU4Digital Facility offers its large digital community updated content and an improved user experience.

EU4Digital Facility launched its Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) acceleration activities at the end of May 2023. The DESI Accelerator one-day kick-off event raised awareness about the activity, its benefits, and plans for DESI implementation in the Eastern Partnership (EaP).

Telecoms operators from the European Union and the Republic of Moldova have signed a joint declaration, to lower roaming charges for businesses and citizens travelling between the two areas. The European Commission and Moldovan authorities facilitated the voluntary declaration, published on 31 May 2023, reflecting the shared goal to ensure a long-term roaming arrangement and bring Moldova closer to the EU Single Market. The EU supports this process and Moldova’s integration into the EU roaming regime through the EU4Digital Initiative.

The EU4Digital Telecom Rules stream participated in the 14th meeting of the Eastern Partnership Regulators for Electronic Communications (EaPeReg) Independence of Regulators and Broadband Expert Working Group (IRB EWG). Held on 10-11 March 2023, the event explored broadband network development and the model for independent national regulatory authorities (NRAs) in the EaP region.

The EU4Digital Facility has selected Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan as the Eastern partner countries that will receive tailored roadmaps for deploying electronic freight transport information (eFTI) exchange. The roadmaps will be created in line with the European Union's eFTI Regulation, set to come into effect in December 2025, which will simplify and digitise information exchange between shippers, carriers, authorities and other stakeholders involved in the transportation of goods. Implementing an eFTI-like approach in Eastern partner countries will aid their integration into the EU eFTI ecosystem and benefit their authorities and business operators.