Press Release: Digital Agenda: eGovernment Action Plan to smooth access to public services across the EU

The European Commission has outlined an ambitious programme to work with Member States' public authorities to expand and improve the services which they offer via the Internet. The new eGovernment Action Plan foresees forty specific measures over the next five years to enable citizens and businesses to use online facilities to, for example, register a business, apply for and access social security and health benefits, enrol in a university or bid to provide goods and services for public administrations. Promoting eGovernment can help boost Europe's competitiveness and allow public authorities to offer improved services more cost-effectively at a time of budget constraints. This is why it is a fundamental part of the Digital Agenda for Europe, which aims to increase the use of eGovernment services by citizens to 50%, and by businesses to 80% by 2015. The new Action Plan builds on experience gained with the 2006 European eGovernment Action Plan.

European Commission: Speech/10/752: Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, "My vision for eGovernment, and how to make it real", Lift-Off towards Open Government conference, Brussels, 15 December 2010 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/10/752&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: Memo/10/681: Digital Agenda: eGovernment Action Plan - what would it do for me? http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/10/681&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: Memo/10/680: Digital Agenda: pilot projects show the way in easy access to online public services across the EU http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/10/680&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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