EU ministers agree to lower digital barriers

IT ministers from all European Union member states signed a declaration in Sweden last week that commits them to pushing e-government issues both nationally and internationally.

One of the declaration’s aims is to show how e-government ­ – which allows citizens to interact with the state online ­ – can be used as a high-tech “bridge” between countries in Europe.

Swedish minister Mats Odell, who chaired discussions, said, “The declaration should make it easier for European citizens and businesses to move across borders.”

The ministers hope to achieve this by removing red tape and replacing it with simple automated online transactions between the state and businesses or citizens.

Member states will conduct studies to identify and evaluate legal, organisational, semantic, and technical obstacles that hinder the development of cross-border e-government services. A steering group will be set up to oversee progress.

However, states will not be starting from scratch: efforts to develop cross-border e-government services are already under way.

For example, the €164m (£146m) programme for Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations was launched by the European Commission (EC) last year to improve electronic communication between member states. It ensures that e-government initiatives undertaken by member states use common frameworks.

The EC is also setting up the Internal Market Information System, an electronic tool that provides a system for the exchange of administrative information between member states.

The Cabinet Office helped negotiate the declaration and UK minister for e-government and IT Angela Smith told the conference that Britain was leading the way in the development of services.

“We’re using technology to make public services smarter, cheaper and greener, allowing us to do more with less and design services around the user, not the government,” she said.

Smith cited statistics saying more than 75 per cent of British driving licence applications are now made online, £140bn of benefits payments are delivered electronically each year, while 20 million people renew their car tax online each year.