Digital Agenda, New Technologies and Education for the Integration of Europe: an Economic Study

Abstract

New technologies are a key factor for integration in Europe by enabling citizens to solve their daily problems and interact with people everywhere. The European Commission established the Digital Agenda for Europe with the aim of improving the speed of navigation, establishing a single market for telecommunications and achieving a digital single market. We highlight the importance of applying new technologies in the field of education, since teaching and learning through these means will contribute to increasing creativity and reasoning capacity, allowing for more interactive and participative learning. The Horizon Report and the new emerging technologies proposed by that report are analysed, and are aimed not only at facilitating learning, but also at enabling a more integrated Europe. It also presents some technological ideas to be developed in the educational field that will enhance the development and integration of the EU Member States. Furthermore, in order to analyse the influence of the use of the Internet and new technologies on other socio-economic variables, a regression analysis has been carried out. The objective is to study whether in any way the fact that citizens use the Internet affects variables such as Gross Domestic Product, unemployment or Human Development Index which may affect the integration of Europe.