European Commission, DG INFSO eGovernment A European priority Frans de Bruïne European Commission, DG INFSO Presented in Hong Kong Feb 98. 1

Agenda Why eEurope? Where do we stand now? eGovernment Agenda Why eEurope? Where do we stand now? Draft eGovernment Action Plan 3

Europe’s potential Why eEurope? Mobile telephony Digital Television GSM, the leading world standard Number of subscribers 50% higher than US Digital Television rapid expansion in several EU-countries European standards prevail Rich content base Public sector information Cultural heritage Building on Europe’s strengths

Mobile phone penetration: The impact of liberalisation Why eEurope? Mobile phone penetration: The impact of liberalisation Million subscribers EU EU mobile liberalisation USA Source FT Mobile Communications USA: Cellular Telecoms Industry Association

Internet penetration vs. Access Cost Why eEurope? Internet penetration vs. Access Cost Source: Booz Allen & Hamilton

Europe lags in several areas Why eEurope? Europe lags in several areas Internet penetration low access costs remain high American sites dominate the Web 94 of 100 most visited web sites in US Few European start-ups limited access to capital eGovernment access to information Serious competitive disadvantage for European firms electronic transactions Action is needed NOW

The political initiatives Where do we stand now? The political initiatives eEurope initiative (December ‘99) Helsinki summit 10-11 December eEurope progress report Lisbon special summit 23-24 March Ministerial Conference Lisbon 10-11 April eEurope action plan Feira summit 19-20 June Setting ambitious targets

The eEurope initiative Where do we stand now? The eEurope initiative Main message: Europe must fully benefit from the Information Society Main goals: every citizen online a digitally literate Europe a socially inclusive process 10 priority areas

The eEurope initiative, 10 priority areas Where do we stand now? The eEurope initiative, 10 priority areas European youth into the digital age Cheaper Internet access Accelerating e-commerce: Fast Internet for researchers and students Smart cards for electronic access Risk capital for high-tech SMEs "eParticipation" for the disabled Healthcare online Intelligent transport Government online

Lisbon special summit 23-24 March 2000 Where do we stand now? Lisbon special summit 23-24 March 2000 New strategic goal: To become the most competitive and dynamic economy in the world Quickly exploit the opportunities of the new economy and in particular the Internet A new and open method of co-ordination The dot.com summit

Preparing the knowledge based economy Where do we stand now? Lisbon 23-24 March 2000: Preparing the knowledge based economy Access for all in the e-economy All schools connected A clear framework for e-commerce An innovative and entrepreneurial Europe eGovernment: generalised electronic access to main basic public services Landmark commitments

The draft eEurope action plan Where do we stand now? The draft eEurope action plan A cheaper, faster and secure Internet Investing in people and skills Stimulate the use of the Internet ……. Government online: electronic access to public services Digital Content for Global Networks A basis for discussion and action

A necessity, not a matter of choice ! eGovernment A necessity, not a matter of choice !

eGovernment, what is at stake We cannot afford not to act: Democracy Enhancing citizen’s participation Bringing Governments closer to the citizen Competitiveness Creating room for entrepreneurship Reducing the administrative burden The US is moving ahead

E-Government: a key-issue for the US What happens in the US? E-Government: a key-issue for the US December 1999: Electronic Government directive: by December 2000, forms for top 500 Government services online by October 2003, transactions with the Federal Government all available online for online processing Electronic Freedom of Information Act (1996) Grants access and enhances dissemination Facilitates commercial exploitation Are we ambitious enough?

What happens in the Member States? Where do we stand? Internet penetration varies largely within EU Action on eGovernment in all Member States Modernising Government (front office + back office) Targets for electronic public services (improving access, portals, one stop shopping) Rethinking rules for access and exploitation … but progress is uneven Turning ambitions into reality

Catalysing the potential What is the EU doing? Policy actions Creating the framework conditions Telecommunication costs: by 2001 review of telecoms regulatory framework adopted Follow-up to Green Paper on Public Sector Information - Commission Communication (June 2000) Reforming the Commission: eCommission Catalysing developments IST Programme, example: Eurovet (surveillance of livestock) IDA, example: EURES (EU jobs database) European content for global networks Catalysing the potential

Towards an eCommission What is the EU doing? Towards an eCommission Dialogue on Europe http://europa.eu.int/igc2000/ Online register of President Prodi’s external mail http://europa.eu.int/comm/commissioners/prodi/mail_en.htm Unique portal to European Governments http://europa.eu.int/abc/governments/index_en.html Online transactions (subsidies, procurement etc.) Increasing transparency of the Institutions

IST for administrations What is the EU doing? IST for administrations On line support for the democratic process Improved access to informations and services (one-stop service access and transactions handling) Multilingual personalised services and intelligent multifunctional systems (interaction) Statistical systems and tools Support to effectiveness and internal efficiency Programme Period No. EU funding ENS 1991-94 13 47.2 TAP-AD 1994-98 22 50.0 IST KA1-AD 1998-02 14+ 53.3

European content for global networks What is the EU doing? European content for global networks Proposed budget 150 MEUR Exploitation of public sector information (75 MEUR) Linguistic and cultural customisation (60 MEUR) Market enablers (10 MEUR) Promote Internet start-ups Multimedia rights trading Support Actions (5 MEUR) More European Content on the Net

Draft eGovernment Action Plan Key characteristics Inclusive Making information easily accessible for all Special attention for disabled people Public access points Interactive Online interaction between citizens and Government Multilingual Cross-border use of the information Entrepreneurial Facilitating transactions for business Electronic public procurement

Draft eGovernment Action Plan Draft action plan, targets for eGovernment: Essential public data online (2002) Simplified online administrative procedures for business (2002) Develop a co-ordinated approach for public sector information (2000) Pan-European portals of interactive public services (mid 2001) Promote use of open source software in public sector (2001) All basic transactions with the European Commission online (2001) Adopted by the Commission 24-5

Draft eGovernment Action Plan How to move forward: eGovernment Action Plan Transparent co-ordination through benchmarking Build on national initiatives and ideas Best practices lead the way To be adopted by the Feira Council