EU action plan to drive take up of online public services

The European Commission unveiled an ambitious agenda to bring public services online across Europe so that it could “serve an economy which relies on the networks of the future.”

By 2015, the Commission wants to have 50% of European Citizens using online public services and 80% of businesses. It also wants flexible and collaborative key public services are available online to facilitate the mobility of EU citizens within the internal market in business, work or study irrespective of their original location.

Interestingly, one of the key measures is user empowerment, defined as:
– services designed around users’ needs
– collaborative production of services e.g. using Web 2.0 technologies
– re-use of public sector information (including reviewing the public sector information Directive – see IP/10/1103)
– improvement of transparency
– involvement of citizens and business in policy-making process

Read article (eGov Monitor)

More background:
– EU press release
– Fact sheet: Digital Agenda – what would it do for me?
– Fact sheet: Pilot projects
– Digital Agenda for Europe (website)
– Digital Agenda for Europe (Communication – legal text)
– Speech by Nelly Kroes, VP of European Commission