Nine million Poles offline

A single digital market in the EU will not materialise without competent users, said Krzysztof Głomb, the head of the “Cities on the Internet” Association (COI).

“The creation of an appropriate regulatory environment and development of appropriate infrastructure is of course necessary for the development of the single digital market. But the ultimate success depends on consumers. Without them, the market will not function,” Głomb said.

The expert spoke about e-retailers, and online education, which cannot expand unless more people go online.

In Poland, there are approximately nine million adults who do not have contact with the digital world,” Głomb explained in a statement, saying that a similar proportion is found in countries such as Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania.

"The European Commission estimates that the creation of a digital single market in Europe can contribute to the development of EUR 415 billion per year in the economy and create hundreds of thousands of jobs,” the COI statement read.

The EC strategy of the Digital Single Market which was announced on 6 May will help in removing barriers to the development of this market, Głomb wrote.

Currently, only 15 percent of Europeans tend to purchase products online from another country, compared with a mere 7 percent of SMEs which sell their products online cross-border. (rg)

Source: ISBnews