IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

"We want to work together to strengthen our citizens and create a more open public administration. We will make it easier for European citizens and businesses to move across borders. It shall be easy to study in Stockholm, work in London, retire in Italy and make use of all the opportunities offered by the internal market. At the same time, we will create a simpler and greener administration”, says Minister for Local Government and Financial Markets Mats Odell, who chaired the meeting.

Pushing standardised e-government services across member states, along with the ICT system interoperability to support those services, has been a big focus for the EU for some time. It wants 50 per cent of individuals and 80 per cent of businesses to use e-government tools by the end of 2015, for example.

Having the clout to deliver that transformation is a different matter: it is the responsibility of member states themselves to implement and co-ordinate e-government services. All the EU can do is set targets, promote discussion, and do its best to foster a favourable regulatory environment while introducing interoperability into its own IT infrastructure.

"The long-term economic success of our region depends on linking our countries," Ansip said at the Baltic Sea States Development Forum in Copenhagen, as reported by the government's press service. He pointed out the Rail Baltica project that would expand markets for entrepreneurs, would create jobs and contribute to the economic growth of the region.

Ambassador of Estonia to the European Union Matti Maasikas, who represented Estonia at the meeting, said that the main topics of discussion at this week’s European Council meeting is the digital economy, innovation, and services. Ambassador Matti Maasikas maintains that the Council will evaluate the current state of the digital development action plan and provide specific guidelines to achieve the digital single market by 2015.

Capgemini Australia public sector head Shelley Oldham says Australia could benefit from applying a "service cluster lens" to its analysis of e-government services.

The EC uses a ranking system to identify which member countries have implemented the most mature e-government services for citizens and business.

The federal government is aiming to provide a greater level of inclusion and accessibility for staff and citizens, adopting an internationally aligned standard for IT services.

The Australian government has announced it will be adopting an internationally aligned standard for IT accessibility in government, requiring vendors at procurement stage to offer accessible website, software, and digital device services.

By supporting Azerbaijan in these areas, the EU aims to enhance economic resilience and transparency, contributing to the stability and progress of the wider region.

The European Investment Bank’s global arm, EIB Global, has granted a €43 million loan to Azerbaijan’s state-owned enterprise, AzInTelecom LLC, to develop a digital infrastructure for public administration. The funding will be used to construct two new state-of-the-art data centres offering cloud services and using green technologies.

Azerbaijan and the European Union have reached an agreement on the joint implementation of digital transformation and human capital development projects in Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan.

According to the information, the agreement was reached at a meeting of Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev with representatives of the Directorate-General for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations during their visit to Baku.

Die Europäische Kommission hat grünes Licht für eine B2Europe getaufte Inititaive gegeben, mit der die Ressourcen und Marktkenntnisse der wichtigsten europäischen Netzwerke zur Wirtschaftsförderung gebündelt werden sollen. Ab Ende 2003 sollen ein gemeinsames Internet-Portal und ein "Multiple Entry Point"-System europäische Unternehmen unmittelbar auf unternehmensspezifische Dienstleistungen zugreifen lassen.

Sechs EU-Beitrittsländer schließen sich offiziell dem europaweiten Datenaustausch-Programm zwischen den staatlichen Verwaltungen an. Slowenien, Polen, die Tschechische Republik, Malta, Estland und Zypern haben dazu entsprechende Vereinbarungen mit der EU-Kommission geschlossen. Damit können diese Staaten die gesamteuropäische Infrastruktur nutzen, über die Daten zum Gemeinschaftsrecht oder E-Government ausgetauscht werden.

Die Europäische Union will bis spätestens Ende 2005 alle Pässe mit biometrischen Merkmalen wie Digitalbilder und Fingerabdrücken ausstatten.