IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

Broadband access is essential for every European citizen to participate fully as consumers in the digital economy, act as economic actors in their role as online businesses and as citizens in a digital democracy. Indeed, connectivity is critical to eGovernment, which can help facilitate citizens as economic actors, whether operating in small business or larger enterprise. Broadband access provides a bridge that can help exploit the full benefits and efficiencies of online business partnerships and is a gateway to accessing global markets.

Under its Digital Agenda for Europe strategy, which has also recently been relaunched with new targets, the Commission’s objective is for Europeans to have access to fast broadband by 2013 while ensuring that at least 50% of households are able to subscribe to internet access above 100 megabits per second (Mbps) by 2020. This was to be achieved through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for cross-border infrastructure projects under the EU’s 2014-2020 budget, involving a multi-billion Euro investment including €9.2 billion for expanding broadband and digital networks.

Broadband access is essential for every European citizen to participate fully as consumers in the digital economy, act as economic actors in their role as online businesses and as citizens in a digital democracy. Indeed, connectivity is critical to eGovernment, which can help facilitate citizens as economic actors, whether operating in small business or larger enterprise. Broadband access provides a bridge that can help exploit the full benefits and efficiencies of online business partnerships and is a gateway to accessing global markets.

The EU has launched its main e-government portal offering online services to citizens and businesses across Europe, it announced on 7 March 2005.

For this reason, during a EUROCHAMBRES/ChamberSign conference on e-Government in Brussels today, they asked Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Administrative affairs, to introduce the use of electronic applications, such as the e-Signature, in the European Commission’s administrative procedures, especially to enable e-Procurement.

All new cars in Europe are to be equipped with automatic emergency call (eCall) technology as soon as 2009, under an action plan agreed by the Commission and industry in February this year.

Now, however, Telefonica Digital, a division of Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, is hoping to kick-start the e-health revolution. The company has acquired a stake in Saluspot, a health community which aims to connect doctors and patients via a question and answer service.

According to an article on the EU Observer website, policymakers have now decided to pursue a "cloud active" strategy for countries in the region, with potential benefits in the field of ehealth coming about as a result.

"A cloud could be used to store all the health data of an individual, including recent prescriptions, ailments, treatments, operations, allergies and blood type," it explained.

According to EU Observer, the concept of 'e-health' could vastly benefit from the flexibility and scalability of cloud solutions.

For example, it suggests that cloud hosted services could be used to store patient data, allowing medical professionals to quickly and easily access vital information.

COCIR is pleased to note that the four pillars of the eHealth Action Plan:

• Achieve wider interoperability in eHealth services
• Support research and innovation and competitiveness in eHealth
• Facilitate deployment and adoption of eHealth and
• Promote international cooperation on eHealth at global level - are fully aligned with COCIR’s own vision and efforts developed to accelerate the deployment of eHealth.

Today, the Commission is issuing a call to action to companies, governments, educators, social partners, employment service providers and civil society to join us in a massive effort to "turn the tide". Young Europeans should have the tools to enter digital careers or to create jobs as entrepreneurs.

The European eGovernment Action Plan aims to support the transition to a new generation of open, flexible and seamless eGovernment services at local, regional, national and EU levels. More specifically, the Plan aims to make services work as well in other EU Member States as they do at home and to open the way to allowing users actively to shape the online public services which suit their needs best.

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.