Digital Transformation, AI & Digital Sovereignty

Lead: Zašto Ne (BiH) Co-Lead: CDT (Montenegro)

Digital transformation is one of the defining tests of the WB6's EU integration, bringing both opportunities and obligations for accession countries. This group's starting point is deliberately against the grain: for small candidate states, digital sovereignty is not national control over infrastructure, data, and technology, but the capacity to align with European frameworks while becoming an active participant in EU digital governance and the Digital Single Market. Its central concern is the gap between alignment on paper and readiness in practice. The group focuses on AI governance, democratic resilience, and the case for getting the region inside EU mechanisms like the European Democracy Shield and EDMO before accession, as well as a regional coordination framework for digital and AI governance. It also covers digital public services, cross-border data governance, and the role of civil society and independent tech expertise in shaping digital policy.