On February 7, the European Commission officially announced the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) to implement the European Union's "Local Digital Twins & CitiVERSE" initiative and to connect the local digital twins created in member cities. The Decision on setting up the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC was published in the Official Journal of the European Union at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202400459.

An EDIC is a new instrument that will develop large-scale multi-country projects in the frame of the Digital Decade Programme. Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain are the founding members of this EDIC. More member states can join on an ongoing basis. Cities and regions from all EU Member States will be able to join the EDIC once it is established as a legal entity and the Assembly is set up. This is expected before the end of 2024.

The LDT CitiVERSE EDIC is particularly relevant for local and regional authorities because it will use digital infrastructure regardless of where in the EU it has been developed. This approach will foster data and services technical inoperability and the development of common standards, thus fighting EU digital fragmentation. In other words, it will be possible to buy and use a local digital twin component developed in one member state across the single market. This is open opportunities for digital SMEs and businesses beyond national borders, and cities and regions will be able to choose from the best value for money. Members will co-develop joint initiatives and tenders for economies of scale and aggregating EU technology at world level. The EDIC will identify and aggregate common assets from members creating bigger value by joint delivery and service.

Living-in.EU signatories Valencia, Barcelona, Riga and other have been actively involved in shaping this new instrument.

Valencia has been chosen as a seat for the EDIC, while Riga has been appointed as national coordinator for Latvia. Each participating member state will have to appoint their national coordinator. According to Ernesto Faubel, Head of the Smart City Office of the City of Valencia and chair of the LDT Citiverse EDIC working group, this is a great opportunity for the city to position itself as a reference city in the field of smart cities and knowledge in innovation. In addition to hosting the EDIC head quarters in Valencia, the City Council, through its Smart City Office, will preside over the EDIC assembly, the highest governing and decision-making body of the consortium.

In Barcelona, deputy-chair of the EDIC, a recently launched Super Computing Centre will provide high-performing capabilities to develop and run powerful city digital twins’ components. Jordi Ortuño from the Barcelona City Council has been a driving force for this new instrument. He also chairs the monitoring and measuring working group of the Living-in.EU community and is an active contributor to the spread of the LORDIMAS tool. He firmly believes that working together and pulling resources will enable communities and local SMEs to develop and implement technological solutions faster and more effectively in line with European and global standards.

In September 2023, Living-in.EU organised an info session on the EDICs, and we are planning more on this in the next months.