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Europe vows to speed up rollout of eGovernment

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Published 10 July 2003 - Updated 29 January 2010
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e-government
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The Commission welcomed on 9 July the pledge by 30 European ministers to accelerate the rollout of eGovernment; proposed new programme on cross-border interoperability.

The eEurope action plan aims to stimulate services, applications and content, covering both online public services and e-business. Simultaneously, it also addresses the underlying broadband infrastructure and security matters. Owing to its dual goals, the latest developments associated with the eEurope programme have commercial as well as policy implications.

Echoing the call by the 30 ministers from the EU, EFTA and accession countries participating in the eGovernment Conference for the Commission and the Member States to agree on a list of eGovernment-related services for which transnational interoperability should be developed, the Commission on 9 July proposed a new programme on pan-European eGovernment services for administrations, businesses and citizens. Known by the acronym IDABC (Interoperable Delivery of pan-European eGovernment Services to Public Administrations, Businesses and Citizens), the programme aims to promote cross-border interoperability of online public services. IDABC is a follow-on to the IDA (Interchange of Data Between Administrations) programme.

 

Positions: 
TheICT industryconsiders the public sector as the next booming technology sales market throughout Europe. Under the eEurope 2005 Action Plan, the Commission wants the Member States to put their public services online by 2010. According to the research firm IDC, Europe's public sector spending will reach 53 billion US dollars by 2005, and the bulk of this purse will likely be spent on ICT-related developments. The industry welcomed the Como conference's conclusion which urged more public-private partnerships and encouraged the Member States to clarify the areas in which they aim to invest.

 

Next steps: 
  • The Commission's IDABC programme will be launched on 1 January 2005, subject to its formal approval by the European Parliament and the Council,
  • The participants in the Como conference asked the Italian Presidency to present the Declaration to the next meeting of the EU Telecommunications Council.

 

Background: 
In May 2002, the Commission adopted the eEurope 2005 Action Plan as a follow-up to eEurope 2002, running from 2003 to 2005. eEurope is part of the Lisbon strategy to make the EU the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy with improved employment and social cohesion by 2010.

 

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