EU and Korea commitment to cooperate on digital transformation

The EU and the Republic of Korea have held the second Digital partnership Council in Brussels¹, during which Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, and Korean Minister for Science and Information and Communication Technology, Dr. Lee Jong-Ho, reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate in key digital technologies for the benefit of citizens and economies.

The EU and Korea have decided to collaborate on research and innovation initiatives in the field of semiconductors, 5G and beyond, quantum technology, platforms, artificial intelligence (AI), as well as cybersecurity, and network connectivity. To facilitate the implementation of joint projects in these areas, the Commission and the Republic of Korea have concluded the negotiations for associating the country to Horizon Europe funding programme.

In the area of 5G and 6G, the EU and the Republic of Korea have launched a call for proposals on research topics in the fields of Radio Access Networks (RAN) and 6G technology. The projects are expected to start at the end of 2024. Both sides have also taken steps to share information on cybersecurity trends, best practices on SMEs digitalisation and to cooperate on ICT standardisation in international fora to promote their common vision.

Next Steps

Both sides will continue exchanging information, in view of the AI Safety Summit planned for May 2024 and the AI Global Forum hosted by the Republic of Korea. The next Digital partnership Council is planned for the first half of 2025 in Seoul.

Source: The original article was published here

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_¹ The EU-Korea partnership is part of the EU strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific that aims to strengthen the EU’s partnerships in Asia. In May 2022, the first digital partnership was concluded with Japan during the 28th EU-Japan Summit. The EU-Singapore Digital Partnership was signed on 1 February 2023.