IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Today's package of measures will make it easier for people and companies to manage their paperwork online in their home country or when working, living or doing business in another EU country and it will help ensure that commonly agreed EU rules are respected.

Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: "EU rules protect and empower 500 million people in the Single Market. They can live, work and do business in any EU country. All of this is only possible when the rules are respected. Today's proposals will help develop a culture of compliance. They will also help people and companies to have full access to online information and procedures both in their home country and abroad."

The Council already agreed to the new rules at the Telecoms Council last week. The agreement on the new text has been reached in only 16 months, showing how all EU institutions are committed to unlock the full potential of the open data goldmine.

European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes said: "Today we can celebrate our efforts to bring government data closer to citizens and businesses in Europe. We are finally getting the much needed legal framework to boost the economy and create new jobs.

According to a study recently published by the European Commission, completing the internal market for electronic communications, could make the EU gross domestic product (GDP) grow by up to €110 billion a year, or more than 0.8% of GDP. The study, that was carried out by an international team of experts and academics, suggests three main types of policy measures to tackle obstacles which consists of reducing regulatory fragmentation (e.g. common rules on contract duration and transparency of bills); more European standardisation (to allow pan-European services of assured quality to emerge in areas such as e-Health, e-Energy, e-Mobility); and the need for more coordination of the activities of national telecoms regulators at EU level. In May 2011, new EU telecoms rules to ensure a more competitive telecoms sector entered into force.

Iseauto is part of the EU-funded Fabulos project to see how cities can use passenger AVs

An Estonian consortium whose members include Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) has trialled an autonomous bus which has been declared as “street legal” in Greece.

A statement issued by TalTech says Auve Tech's autonomous bus carried nearly 400 people across 1,930km of streets over two months in the municipality of Lamia.

The EU General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 13/12/2004 adopted a regulation mandating the inclusion of both facial image and fingerprints in future passports and travel documents issued by EU Member States.

The change in EU legislation creates an eHealth Network, as described in the Cross-border Healthcare Directive adopted in March. That directive was formulated after the European Court of Justice said citizens had the right to access safe and high-quality healthcare in another member state and to be reimbursed by their own national healthcare system, but were lacking a proper legal framework for this to happen.

The tech ecosystem in Europe is flourishing making it a role model for the rest of the world. European cities have better public transit, a stronger focus on low CO2 emissions and sustainability, a larger population interested in walking and cycling, and much more that lead to both smarter and sustainable cities.

For the uninitiated, a smart city uses more efficient networks and services with the deployment of telecommunication and digital technologies. It benefits both the residents and businesses equally. Moving beyond the use of information and communication technologies for less emissions and improved use of resources, a smart city involves other aspects such as upgraded water supply, smarter urban transport networks, more efficient ways to heat and light buildings, etc. Basically, it means a more responsive and more interactive city administration and a more convenient and safer place of living.

The report on the state of play of the implementation of the Cross-border Healthcare (CBHC) Directive of the European Union (EU) shows significant legislative advances at EU-level, coupled with genuine efforts by some member states to enable patients to benefit from this legislation.

According to the report, published nearly two years after the Directive was due to be transposed into national law, this Directive has contributed to shaping healthcare reform in many EU countries, said a press release of the European Commission on Friday.

The European Union (EU) and the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana (OHCH) are promoting a project to implement a smart city model in the Cuban capital, said Nelys García, director of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana.

Invited to participate in the civil society forum "EU-Latin America and the Caribbean, partners for change", which will end this Friday, the director of International Cooperation of the Office commented that the event represents a space to address bi-regional collaboration initiatives.

In Barcelonas "Baja Beach Club" können die Gäste ihre Zeche schon länger bargeld- und kreditkartenlos bezahlen, indem sie sich einen RFID-Chip [Radio Frequency Identification] unter die Haut pflanzen lassen.

A lot has changed in the world of information management since the yet-to-be-deployed EU data rules were initially announced

In 2012, new EU rules were announced designed to make businesses more responsible for the management of an individual’s personal data, with stricter requirements for protection and penalties around data breaches, thereby offering individuals greater control. The rules were also designed to commit EU member states to a set of consistent, legally-enforced regulations and rigid definitions, which companies outside the EU would also have to abide by.

There’s more digital things than we dreamt of

The European Commission has published its league table of digital countries and the Best of Europe’s tech world is, you guessed it, Denmark!

Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland make up the remaining top four, proving that Scandis really do do IT better. But in a not-too-shabby performance, the UK is jostling for attention at number six, right behind plucky Belgium.

An ICT in schools survey by the European Commission also reveals that the skill levels of teachers when it comes to ICT are still lacking.

The survey found that only one in four nine-year-olds studies at a 'highly digitally-equipped school' – with recent equipment, fast broadband (10Mbps plus) and high 'connectivity' (website, email for students and teachers, local area network, virtual learning environment).

As part of the Digital Agenda for Europe, the European Union aims for one out of two citizens and four out of five businesses to be using eGovernment services by 2015. For that purpose, the 9th e-Government Benchmark Report's findings give useful feedback on the objectives of the eGovernment Action Plan launched by the Commission in December 2010 to work with Member States' public authorities to expand and improve the services which they offer via the Internet.