The EU's e-government policy is "very fragmented" and poorly organised according to a critical report to be published by an officially backed European e-government association later in September 2003. The details of the report, written by Antonio Alabao, the Jean Monnet professor of telecommunications and information society policy at the Polytechnic University of Valencia will be presented at a summit organised by e-Forum in Valencia on 15 and 16 September 2003.
Alabao's study compared EU e-government policy with that of other international organisations, such as the UN and the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).
The study finds that European e-government activities lack focus as they covered too wide a range of programmes and initiatives. In particular it criticises the way the European Commission organises its e-government efforts.
"Activities of the European Union on e-government are very fragmented," says the report. "This situation is a consequence of the way that the commission has distributed e-government activities to at least four different units."
Furthermore, there appeared to be some confusion over the exact extent of EU powers in the field of e-government, with the report citing an "absence of leadership".
Quelle: Kablenet
