Digital standardization, social vulnerability and open government: The case of XBRL in Europe

Abstract

In 2022, two crises are overlapping: the expected end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of a war in Europe with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The different 'waves' of the coronavirus have led to a sharp decline in economic activity, with falls in production in Spain and the rest of the European Union that have only partially recovered in 2021. Almost without interruption, the new war scenario in Europe means, according to all estimates, in addition to an immeasurable human drama, more economic stress, supply problems and a general increase in the cost of raw materials and energy. In this context of uncertainty, the role of social and investment policies in the EU, access to public aid and European funds that guarantee income support, as well as adequate public scrutiny of how these measures are carried out, are essential. The particularities of the pandemic have promoted and consolidated the use of digital environments for these purposes, but at the same time they have revealed various weaknesses. The evident digital divide, administrative collapses in digitized files, cybersecurity threats and the need to facilitate access to data and administrative procedures relaunch interest in Europe in open digital standards such as XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language). Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an updated review of the most recent advances of this standard in Europe.