Digital infrastructure

As international development financing increasingly supports digital infrastructure — often in collaboration with private sector partnerships — the EU's investments bear the responsibility to implement robust safeguards that protect human rights, ensure transparency, and promote accountability.

EU financing instruments should:

Investments in digital infrastructure as part of financing for development should be transparent and based on comprehensive human rights impact assessments and risk evaluations

Invest in resilient, secure, affordable, inclusive, and interoperable digital financial infrastructure, prioritising the public good.

Support shared infrastructure investments — such as secure cloud services, cybersecurity, and audience analytics tools — that reduce operating costs and limit dependency on dominant commercial platforms, particularly for SMEs and smaller outlets.