The Netherlands ranks eighth among all EU Member States in the eGovernment Benchmark 2026, making it the highest-performing country with a population of more than 15 million. Digital sovereignty and cross-border public services remain its biggest challenges.
These are the findings of the latest edition of the EU Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), in which the European Commission assesses each Member State’s progress on digitalisation every year. The Netherlands performs particularly well in digital public services, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and the uptake of digital technologies by citizens and businesses.
Strong foundations, yet gaps remain in digital innovation
The Netherlands’ strong performance in digital public services is not new. Previous assessments have already shown that it consistently outperforms the EU average. However, the public sector continues to lag in digital innovation and the adoption of artificial intelligence. The country’s technological foundations are strong, with cybersecurity particularly notable. Some 79% of Dutch government websites comply with recognised security standards, compared with an EU average of 47%. This is largely due to active monitoring and regular security testing of public websites. In many other Member States, cybersecurity remains a significant weakness.
Digital sovereignty increasingly challenging
The benchmark identifies digital sovereignty as one of the most pressing issues. More than half (56%) of Dutch government websites rely on infrastructure from non-European suppliers. Although the data centres may be physically located in Europe, the underlying technology is often developed and controlled outside the continent.
Across the EU, more than a third of government websites ultimately run on server infrastructure managed outside the European Union. These findings reflect a broader European effort to reduce dependence on US and Chinese technology providers.
Cross-border public services require improvement
The second major challenge concerns cross-border public services. Services that work well for domestic users need to be made more accessible to people and businesses in other Member States. Achieving this will require interoperable solutions for digital identities (eIDs), digital wallets, and the secure exchange of diplomas and personal documents.
Quality increasingly important
Alongside the EU’s objective of making all 96 measured public services available online by 2030, the focus is increasingly shifting towards quality. The Netherlands is a leader in web accessibility. Artificial intelligence and chatbots could significantly enhance digital accessibility, but many of these technologies are still in the early stages of development. According to the report, the real challenge is not deploying more technology, but delivering public services that are clear, accessible and genuinely useful for users.
