eGovernment Conference "Borderless eGovernment Services for Europeans"

17.11.2011, Poznan, Poland

Dear Commissioner, good colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour to be here today and to discuss with you the challenges eGovernment is currently facing in Europe.

Let me start with a historical perspective. Ten years ago ministers gathered in Brussels to hold the first European eGovernment conference. The ministers then agreed on many things that are relevant also today. The ministers said that when developing online services, citizens and businesses must be at the centre of attention. They also agreed to develop a common understanding about eGovernment services that are needed most on the European level. They even mentioned that policy coherence in areas like electronic identification and authentication at the EU level is needed.

In terms of eGovernment, ten years is a very long time. It is difficult to compare now and then. Ten years ago the internet was used by a minority in Europe and eGovernment was often regarded as a fancy additional way for governments to interact with their citizens. By now, the internet has become the primary channel of communication for the government. Citizens and businesses in all member states enjoy internet-based public services they could not dream of a decade ago.

In this context allow me to say a few words about my own country – Estonia. Ten years ago we introduced electronic ID-cards for all citizens, giving them, thus, a tool for electronic identification and digital signing. There was a lot of scepticism then. Many questions were raised, such as, for example: “Will there be enough services for the use of eID?” and “Will the project pay back?” Today these questions are not asked anymore. The internet and electronic identity are used for a variety of services in all imaginable areas. People use the internet to declare taxes, apply for social benefits, establish a company, communicate with schools, and get medical services. In Estonia, the internet and electronic identity are used even in elections : during the last parliamentary elections one fourth of voters cast their vote over the internet.

Huge progress in eGovernment services has been made in all member states. It is natural – governments do what they are supposed to do – they offer services to their citizens. We have problem even with measurement and indicators – basic eGovernment services exist everywhere and to differentiate countries has become more and more complicated.

Now, let’s think about pan-European eGovernment services. For ten years, we have heard political statements; lots of studies have been conducted, several pilot-projects have been carried out, and many technical issues have been solved. However, the practical impact has so far remained limited.

Why do we need pan-European eGovernment services? We need those services to support the basic ideas the EU was created for: free movement of people, goods, services, capital and knowledge. We have to ensure that sophisticated eGovernment solutions in individual member states will not become obstacles for our common single market.

Despite general statements Europe lacks concrete commitment needed for cross-border eGovernment solutions. One big catalyst for cross-border online public services has been the Services Directive. Especially brave is paragraph eight of the directive, which states that for businesses online bureaucracy must work also between member states. After this commitment was made, real progress was made in terms of interoperability between member states. I think that it is important to take the positive momentum achieved within the Services Directive also to other areas, areas outside the scope of the Services Directive.

The potential of eGovernment for the European Single Market still needs to be unleashed. Lots of discussions, work, and, most importantly – decisions – are needed in the near future.

I would like to talk to you about some of the ideas on borderless eGovernment services in Europe that I find important:

-          Firstly. We need to ask ourselves: what kind of eGovernment do we want? eGovernment can offer many complicated bureaucratic e-services copied from the paper world. On the other hand, eGovernment can be simple, almost invisible, but productive. IT can be used to amplify bureaucracy or to reduce it. I think the best goal is to do with fewer and smarter services more and better.

-          Secondly. Electronic identity is one of the most important building blocks for eGovernment. When communicating over the internet we have to know whom we are dealing with and sometimes we want to be very sure about that. Different member states have different understanding and practice with electronic identity. A common framework in this field is a necessary precondition for many cross-border services.

-          Thirdly. When talking about eGovernment, we often hear the word “integration”. I have mixed feelings about integration. In authoritarian countries integration can be a success factor for eGovernment. But I think that for the eGovernment in Europe, the magic word is “interoperability”. European countries are different with different languages, government structures, legal systems and traditions. Work must be done to achieve better technical, legal and procedural interoperability between member states. European diversity can be regarded as a nuisance by eGovernment developers, but at the same time, this diversity is also one of the strengths of Europe.

I hope that the today’s conference and the ministerial meeting will bring Europe a step closer to the realization of cross-border eGovernment services in practice. Many important decisions that support this do not depend on ministers responsible for eGovernment. Ministers and EU structures responsible for concrete business processes in various areas have to say their word. eGovernment building blocks are almost ready for that. Let’s do it together!