New EC portal encourages worker mobility: The European Commission recently launched its "European Job Mobility Portal," an on-line resource for jobseekers and employers across the European Union. The portal, known as EURES, links up the public employment services of the countries of the European Economic Area and Switzerland, as well as regional and national bodies involved with employment issues, such as trade unions and employers' organisations. The site contains a facility to search for employment vacancies across Europe, along with an area where jobseekers can post their CVs on-line. The site also provides information on living and working conditions in various countries, along with details of labour market conditions. Another section of the site provides a guide to education and training opportunities throughout Europe. "The European Job Mobility Portal...will enable people to make choices based on full information on the opportunities available to them," said Anna Diamantopoulou, EU Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner. "It is an invaluable addition to our range of tools to encourage greater job mobility within the EU."
UK's agricultural ministry brings forms on-line: The UK's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that it has chosen an e-government solution from Adobe to enable the electronic delivery of some of its services. Defra is planning to bring a number of its forms on-line in order to accelerate processes for clients as well as for Defra employees. The implementation of Adobe's Document Server for Reader Extensions, an application specifically designed for forms-based processes, will allow Defra clients to securely download and electronically submit application forms for a number of services, such as government grants and export certificates. As well as saving time for applicants, the new technology is expected to improve efficiency for Defra staff, reducing their need to re-key information and streamlining application processes. "The thousands of forms we create, sometimes up to 20 pages long, need to be carefully managed. Defra has therefore been actively investigating ways to simplify the application processes for a number of years," said Defra's IT Programme Manager, John Kennedy.
Malta enables on-line vehicle licence renewal: The government of Malta is set to roll out a transactional on-line service for the renewal of motor vehicle licences. The service, which Malta's Ministry for IT and Investments claims is the first of its kind in Europe, will enable vehicle owners to renew their licences over the Internet or through their insurance company or broker. The current system that is in place requires vehicle owners to visit the Licensing and Testing Department in person, after they have renewed their insurance policy. The new MTL250,000 (EUR542,000) on-line system was designed for ease of use: citizens using the system only need to input their vehicle registration number, insurance policy number and ID card number, before paying by debit or credit card. Moreover, all insurance companies will have access to the on-line system, and it is expected that the service will generally be offered as an add-on for customers who are renewing their insurance policies. Insurance firms will have to pay a MTL1 (EUR2.16) fee for each on-line licence renewal.
Fairfax residents help catch tax cheats: Officials in Fairfax County in Virginia, USA, have introduced an on-line facility aimed at catching tax evaders who fail to pay their vehicle registration fees. Under county law, new residents in the area and purchasers of new vehicles have 60 days to file a registration form, pay a tax and purchase a decal (a special sticker) for their vehicle. Program Target, the new on-line system developed by IT solutions provider McDonald Bradley, links the state's motor vehicle department database with the various county tax databases and provides a Web site where people can report suspected tax cheats. Fairfax residents who notice vehicles without decals on display can input details of the vehicle on the Web site. The system will then try to match up the information provided against database records. Users of the site can also check up on the status of previously reported tips. According to McDonald Bradley, the site received several thousand visits in its first few days of operation.
Bulgaria unveils first e-government services: The Bulgarian government has announced the launch of the first of its e-government services. Unveiling the services, State Administration Minister Dimitar Kalchev said that from now on, citizens would be able to use the Internet to register a change of address, obtain information about their social security contributions, and view certain details about companies. There are also plans to implement a number of on-line tax filing services by the end of this year or early next year. Kalchev said the government intends to roll out at least 20 on-line services for citizens and businesses by 2005, including vehicle registration, company registration and customs declarations. Users of the e-services, which require digital signature certificates, will be issued with special smart cards for on-line identification. Separately, the government launched a Web portal to provide updates on the progress of Bulgaria's accession to the European Union.
Quelle: Electric News
