Grenzenloze e-overheidsdiensten besproken in Poznan (en)

The development of e-government services in Europe and the challenges it is likely to face in the years ahead were the subject of the conference Borderless e-Government Services for Europeans, held in Poznanon 17thand 18thNovember.

The conference was attended, among others, by Michal Boni, Minister in the Chancellery of the Polish Prime Minister, Neelie Kroes i, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Digital Agenda and Maroš Šefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Interinstitutional Relations and Administration.

During the event, experts representing the scientific, business and political communities debated the greatest challenges confronting e-government in the European Union. They emphasised that European citizens and companies required further development of trans-border e-government services. Making e-services readily accessible to every European, regardless of his or her country of origin and place of residence was a topic that figured prominently on the agenda.

The conference brought together some 800 participants from around the world, including representatives of national, regional and local administrations, the business community, NGOs and experts. Also invited were ministers from 35 European countries.

Almost 200,000 web users from across Europeparticipated in the related Twitter discussion. In their view, priority should be given to the development of trans-border services in the realms of healthcare, justice, public tenders, business start-up and education. The conference profile on Facebook also enjoyed wide popularity, particularly among users aged 18 to 25.

An informal meeting of ministers tasked with e-government issues was held on the first day of the conference. They considered the outlook for international recognition of electronic documents, trans-border public administration services and interoperability of public administration e-services. The continuation and expansion of large scale e-government pilot projects was another important topic.

The conference was accompanied by an exhibition of the latest achievements in the area of e-government services and applications in Europe. Minister Boni and Vice-President Kroes, who toured the exhibition, saw presentations of large-scale European projects (LSPs). The Polish e-Court, permitting electronic conduct of court proceedings, also attracted considerable interest.

During the ministers' meeting, attended by Vice-President Kroes i, Polandand Germany signed a letter of intent on cooperation in sharing experiences connected with the introduction of electronic identity documents.