Does the New Industrial Strategy for Europe Follow the Path of the Concept of Industry 4.0?

Abstract

The concept of Industry 4.0 turns 10 years old in 2021. This milestone calls for renewed inquiries to review the current efforts of the European Union (EU) and its Member States towards the modernisation of European industry. In 2018, the European Commission published the Digital Transformation Scoreboard 2018: EU businesses go digital: Opportunities, outcomes and uptake, which reports on the readiness for the digital revolution focused on building an economy in line with the concept of Industry 4.0 at three levels: European, national, and business. This study shows how much still remains to be done. At the same time, it identifies some of the key elements contributing to the success in this area, i.e., the digitisation of machines, Big Data, robotics and artifi cial intelligence, which represent the very essence of the idea of revolution 4.0. The aim of the paper is to determine the extent to which the new strategy for industry proposed by the European Commission in 2020 follows the concept of Industry 4.0. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. Statistical analysis was used to demonstrate the importance of industry in the economy of the European Union between 1998 and 2019 in terms of the share in the added value created and the signifi cance for the labour market. The descriptive methods used include a review of the literature and research on the concept of Industry 4.0 and an analysis of the latest strategic documents of the European Commission (EC) in relation to industrial policy.