Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on Interoperable Delivery of pan-European eGovernment Services to Public Administrations, Businesses and Citizens (IDABC)" (COM(2003) 406 final — 2003/0147 (COD))
Date: 2003-12-10
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: ESC opinion, data transmission, electronic government, public administration, telematics, transmission network

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In this connection, it should be pointed out that the
3.7.
footnote to Article 2(2) of the proposal for a Directive refers
to document COM(2001) 318 final relating to the proposal
for a Directive extending the compulsory introduction of speed
limitation devices to vehicle categories N2 and M2. That
proposal then became Directive 2002/85/EC, referred to more
than once as being the basis for the current proposal. The
footnote should therefore be corrected, and reference made to
the Directive and its timetable.

Brussels, 10 December 2003.

The Committee hopes that the legislative process will
3.8.
be completed rapidly. Health protection and road safety should
be treated as a vital joint commitment of universal value, given
primarily the social and then the economic costs generated by
road accidents.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Decision of the
European Parliament and of the Council on Interoperable Delivery of pan-European eGovernment
Services to Public Administrations, Businesses and Citizens (IDABC)’

(COM(2003) 406 final — 2003/0147 (COD))

(2004/C 80/23)

On 17 July 2003, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 156 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 24 November 2003. The
rapporteur was Mr Pezzini.

At its 404th plenary session on 10 and 11 December 2003 (meeting of 10 December), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 116 votes to one with one abstention.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
Networking across borders, by making use of infor-
mation technologies (IT), has become the key instrument for
bringing public administrations together and supporting their
cooperative efforts towards a modern, enlarged and secure
Europe. Furthermore, studies conducted by the Commission
consistently show that investments in this area boost the
economy (with high rates of return). A Community initiative
on the subject, ‘Interchange of Data between Administrations’
(IDA), was launched by the Commission in 1993-1995 with
IDA I (1995-1999). Between 1999 and 2004, EUR 127 million
of Community resources have been allocated for IDA II. Of
these, around 60 % have been used for sectoral projects of

common interest (PCIs), and the remainder for horizontal
measures aimed at ensuring interoperability and full accessi-
bility of trans-European networks.

1.2.
The interoperability of information systems, the shar-
ing and re-use of information, and the joining-up of adminis-
trative processes are essential for the provision of high quality,
interactive, user-centric eGovernment services. The IDA II
Programme has been an effective support tool and has also
given an important boost to the administration of the internal
market, by facilitating the mobility of European citizens and
businesses across borders.

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The Committee has had several opportunities to
1.3.
express its opinion on the IDA programme, in April 1998 (1)
and, more recently, in January 2002 (2), emphasising among
other things:

in Justice and Home Affairs,

in Agriculture and
finance,
Fisheries, in transport and in regional policy. It also enables
the management of import/export licences and the collection
and distribution of statistical data (Datashop).

— the importance of strengthening the IDA programme,
not only for the benefit of administrations and insti-
tutions, but also for that of the public, businesses and,
more generally, of organised civil society in order to
ensure better economic and social cohesion of the Union
and boost European competitiveness, in keeping with the
conclusions of the Lisbon and Stockholm summits;

— the importance of an effective EU certification authority,
in order to secure adequate levels of security for access to
and the exchange of information;

— the importance of securing maximum visibility, accessi-
bility and interoperability for end users of the networks
promoted through the IDA programme;

— the need to promote initiatives at various levels in order
to ensure continuous training of users and to open
up the above-mentioned network infrastructure for the
purposes of continuous training;

— the need, given the sensitivity of the data being handled,
to guarantee levels of network security by means of
suitable safeguards and, where necessary, secure trans-
mission protocols, both at the central and at the periph-
eral level.

1.4.
The second phase of the programme, expiring on
31 December 2004, has been instrumental in achieving steady
progress in cooperation between the European Commission
and Member State public administrations, as well as between
Community institutions.

1.4.1.
An example of this is the CIRCA network infrastruc-
ture for the development of application services, based on a
web environment and on open-source (LINUX) components,
capable of providing on-line services in a virtual space. This
network is used by more than 700 interest groups, including
almost all the Directorates-General and departments of the
Commission, using the ‘write once, use many times’ principle,
ensuring accessibility to a large number of users.

1.4.2.
It is also worth noting the role of the TESTA trans-
European network, which connects the administrations of
the Union with those of the Member States, the European
(Commission, European Parliament, Council,
institutions
Court of Justice, Court of Auditors, EESC, CoR), and the
European Agencies, with a vast programme of expansion in
the accession countries. TESTA is also used in the field of

1.4.3.
The IDA Public Key Infrastructure acts as a certifi-
cation authority for servers and users, providing secure and
interoperable authentication certificates.

1.4.4.
By putting in place common formats on the basis of
pilot schemes and the integration of existing services, such as
SIMAP and TED-Tender Electronic Daily, IDA II has provided
support for a strategy for the development of a European
system of eProcurement, as stated in the 2002 eEurope Action
Plan and reaffirmed in the 2005 Action Plan.

1.4.5.
Common interest projects (45) have been carried out
in sectors such as the management of the single agricultural
market, the fight against fraud, the pan-European database,
telematic services for management of customs tariffs, taxes
and quotas, customs checks and checks on freight transport,
the EURES pan-European employment network, the single
pan-European licensing network for the pharmaceutical sector
(EUDRANET),
the network for the transfer of pensions,
maternity pay and unemployment benefit (TESS), the trans-
European public health network for the prevention of con-
tagious diseases (EUPHIN), the support network for the animal
disease notification system (ADNS), the networks on the safety
of chemical products and electrical appliances, the SOLVIT
assistance network (application of Community law), the Plo-
teus network on e-learning opportunities, the telematic net-
work for the fields of tourism, environment and consumer
protection (TOURNET), which links European, national,
regional and local administrations, the networks on migration
policy, judicial co-operation (EUROJUST) and security.

2. The Commission proposal

The Commission now proposes to follow up this
2.1.
programme with a new one that will be different in both name
and content, and yet will maintain basic continuity with the
two previous programmes. The main thrust of the new 2005-
2009 five-year programme IDABC (Interoperable Delivery
of pan-European eGovernment Services to Administrations,
Businesses and Citizens)
is the delivery of pan-European
eGovernment services, not only to public administrations at
various levels, but also to the end users of the Community’s
internal market, i.e. to businesses and citizens. Putting this
programme into practice could help to bring fully to fruition
the rights guaranteed under the four fundamental freedoms (3)
provided for in the Treaties in the whole of the newly enlarged
European Union.

(1) OJ C 214, 10.7.1998, p. 33.
(2) OJ C 80, 3.4.2002, p. 21.

(3) Free movement of persons, goods, services and capital.

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The new programme will comprise two strands, name-
2.2.
ly projects of common interest in support of sectoral policies
and horizontal measures in support of interoperability. It is
primarily about infrastructure services with procedures that
are much simpler than those that have gone before, partly
thanks to a single Decision on the two operating methods. The
Committee had criticised the procedural complexity of the old
programme, where two Decisions were required, and indeed
called for a ‘single framework’ (1).

2.3.
The new characteristics of the Community programme
reflect the need to raise the ranking among the primary
objectives of the Union of initiatives in the field of eGovern-
ment, which should be considered, in the Committee’s opinion,
as a means of giving citizens and businesses their full rights,
obligations and opportunities in the forthcoming single market
of 25 and, in the future, 28 states (to which the countries of
the European Economic Area should be added). From this point
of view of opportunity, the following should be considered:

— a strategic action plan that will work at a pan-European
level and will converge towards a common telematic
interface;

— easier access for businesses and citizens in order to ensure
full participation in EU integration and in the Union’s
political and institutional future;

— total interoperability among sectors at various levels (pan-
European, national, regional and local) and among the
various types of users (public administrations, businesses
and citizens);

— easier communications between Community institutions
and their services at various levels, including the European
agencies, in order to simplify and improve the decision-
making process;

— better transparency, security, responsive capacity and

service culture;

— implementation of unified, slimmed-down, rationalised,
decentralised procedures and sharing of best practice;

— a close link with other Community initiatives and pro-
grammes such as eTEN, eContent, Modinis (2) and the
the 6th Framework Pro-
relevant RTDD activities of
gramme.

to

resources

The Commission’s proposal assigns Community finan-
2.4.
new IDABC amounting
to
cial
the
EUR 59,1 million for
the period 2005/2006 and
EUR 89,6 million are expected in the new financial perspectives
for 2007-2009. Over the five-year period, the new programme
should be assigned a total of EUR 148,7 million (compared to
EUR 145,6 million in 1999-2004). In the Committee’s opin-
ion, this does not appear to be in proportion with the newly-
assigned tasks and objectives.

3. General comments

the

The Committee

3.1.
fundamental need
accepts
expressed in the proposal to revamp the IDA programme and
integrate it fully into the Lisbon strategy. The purpose of this,
as is well known, is to ensure that by 2010 the European
economy becomes the most dynamic and competitive in the
world. It is connected with the eEurope 2005 action plan ‘An
information society for all’, which was launched at
the
European Council in Seville with the purpose of facilitating
the management of the single market and the cross-border
mobility of citizens, businesses, goods, capital and services
by delivering pan-European administrative services across
interoperable networks.

3.2.
The Committee supports the Proposal for a Decision
that it reflects the lines laid down in the
to the extent
Ministerial Declaration adopted in Cernobbio on 8 July 2003
at the European Conference on eGovernment (3). The purpose
of this was to allow open dialogue between public adminis-
trations, businesses and citizens with the principal objectives
of improving interoperability, introducing flexible and ever
cheaper and more secure methods of information exchange,
giving priority to services on the basis of analysis of business
and public demand, and systematically checking the value for
money for the end users and their level of satisfaction regarding
pan-European service delivery.

3.3.
The Committee believes that the revamped programme
should treat ‘online administration’ as an innovative way of
reorganising the way public services work and are delivered to
citizens and businesses. The objective is to create pan-European
services that are clear, simple and user-friendly. However, a
high level of legal certainty and tried and tested legal instru-
ments will be needed in order to strengthen consumer and
business confidence in online administration.

(1) OJ C 80, 3.4.2002, p. 21 (point 2.3).
(2) eTEN: Trans-European electronic telecommunications networks;
eContent: Electronic databases; Modinis: Information network
security.

(3) http://www.e-govconference2003.org/

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In the opinion of the Committee, particular attention
3.4.
must be given to the role of online administration in facilitating
the full integration of new Member States into the big internal
market of an enlarged Europe. This must be achieved in terms
of effective freedom of movement and of establishment of
people and businesses. The aim should be not only to
guarantee administrative transparency, but also to reduce
linguistic obstacles and judicial, bureaucratic and procedural
uncertainties.

3.5.
For these reasons, the Committee considers it to be of
the utmost importance that the Commission should create
coherent platforms for consulting the business world,
in
particular SMEs, as well as organised civil society and those
to the end
decentralised administrations that are closest
users. This should be done both through special consultative
committees and through periodic pan-European conferences
on online services in order to ensure constant evaluation and
adjustment of the IDABC programme in terms of value for
money and business satisfaction.

3.6.
In the opinion of the Committee, a serious deficiency
of the new programme is that it does not provide for any
information or training measures (in-service or online) either
for providers, to help the spread of a new ‘pan-European’
administrative culture of openness to the new reality of the
enlarged internal market, or for intermediate and end users,
who have the right to be fully informed about the services
offered by the programme across the whole territory of the
Union.

3.7.
It would also be helpful if the Commission were to
collect and distribute information on best practice among the
systems of eGovernment used in different countries. Apart
from anything else, this could offer ideas and pointers for
political decision-makers at different levels. An interactive
eGovernment service could allow the public to be involved
not only in the outcome but also in the course of an
administrative procedure, following its progress in real time.

3.8.
The EESC hopes that the Commission will advocate
the adoption by all the EU’s public administrations of the
European-designed LINUX open-source system on a European
level, and that it will also support a pan-European multilingual
search engine geared to the needs of businesses and the public.
There is also a need to guarantee access for all sections of the
public, whatever access point they may be using.

4. Specific comments

Legal basis: the Committee thinks that this should not
4.1.
be limited only to Article 156 of the EC Treaty, as happened
in the past, but should include Articles 154 and 157, given the
innovative set-up of IDABC.

the new tasks,

4.2.
Budget: the Committee considers the sums allocated to
be limiting. In its opinion, these do not seem to respond fully
to the scope of
taking into account the
forthcoming enlargement, relations with the countries of the
European Economic Area, and the international cooperation
under way with Mediterranean and Balkan countries (e.g. the
EURES network, migratory flows, visas and asylum, security
networks, etc).

4.3.
Priorities: the Committee endorses the priorities listed
in the proposal, which clearly highlight the considerable
potential
impact of the new initiative on businesses and
citizens, but stresses that the new approach must be under-
pinned by procedures for involving their representatives. It
believes that the construction of the programme, its direction
in response to customer satisfaction, and its intermediate and
final evaluation must result from jointly agreed procedures
and criteria.

4.4. Management Committee: in the opinion of the Com-
mittee, Article 11 should specify that the Commission, as well
as being assisted by the Telematics between Administrations
Committee (TAC), may also draw on contributions from
consultative committees involving end users and decentralised
administrations. Clearly, public and private representatives will
need a level of technical training that enables forward-looking
consultations. These Committees’ opinions should be taken
into account in the procedure set out in Article 11 (2).

4.5.
Implementation procedure: for each common interest
project or horizontal measure, the action programme should
also include, wherever appropriate, a new point (d) concerning
ongoing training of providers and intermediate and end users
as an integral part of the project or measure. In the Committee’s
opinion, every project should also explicitly provide for full
compliance with the WAI code concerning web accessibility
for elderly or disabled people.

4.6.
Annex I B — Community Policies and Activities: the
policies and activities covered by common interest projects
should include technical standardisation and certification, as
well as patent protection of intellectual and industrial property.

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Annex A III — The social security and pensions sectors,
4.7.
as well as the systems for refunding VAT, should be included
in the action programme.

5. Conclusions

5.1.
The Committee firmly believes that interoperable pan-
European public services are needed to improve the efficiency
and productivity of public administrations,
to make the
European single market more competitive and easier to
negotiate, and to promote transparency, participation in the
inclusion,
democratic decision-making process and social
primarily in the interests of end users.

5.2.
Segmentation of the market as a consequence of non-
interoperable e-government systems could, in the Committee’s
opinion, have political, economic and social repercussions for
the enlarged European Union of 25-28 Member States, its
effective functioning, and its competitiveness in the global
market.

5.3.
The Committee therefore wholeheartedly supports the
launch of the new IDABC programme, as this is consistent
with and integral to the eEurope 2005 Action Plan and
with the Community’s eTEN, eContent, eLearning and eSafe
schemes, as well as being in perfect synergy with the Sixth
Community RTDD Framework Programme, with the security
research programme, and with the programmes to support the
use of open standards, of open source systems and of
benchmarking of public administrations at various levels.

5.4.
The Committee believes that the new IDABC pro-
gramme should be an innovative means of reorganising
and optimising, across common interoperable platforms,
transparent and inclusive public services that are offered in
clear and easily understandable terms, with simple procedures
that are efficient in terms of time and cost, so as to improve

Brussels, 10 December 2003.

the quality of life of the citizen and the competitiveness of
European businesses.

The Committee therefore calls on the European Parlia-

5.5.
ment, the Council and the Commission:

— to adjust the funding allocated to the IDABC, taking into
account the new pan-European tasks entrusted to it and
which will involve international cooperation;

— to establish a forum for the systematic consultation of
businesses, especially SMEs, of organised civil society,
and of representatives of the various tiers of devolved
administration, by setting up appropriate regulatory
consultative committees (of type A);

— to organise periodic pan-European conferences on online
services, on the basis of programmes of benchmarking of
administrations at different levels,
in order to ensure
constant evaluation and adjustment of the IDABC pro-
gramme in terms of value for money and business
satisfaction;

— to launch a robust information and training programme
to promote a new pan-European administrative culture,
for both service providers and users, with particular
regard to public and private actors in the accession
countries;

— to see that every new common interest project or
horizontal measure automatically includes continuous
(including on-line) training measures aimed at providers
and intermediate and end users, as well as a clause
specifying full compliance with the WAI (1) code, ensuring
full access for all and preventing ‘digital exclusion’.

5.6.
The EESC remains committed to promoting the spread
of best practice in interoperable online administration and to
monitoring it by organising meetings of businesses, workers,
and the various parts of organised civil society that make up
the economy and society as a whole.

(1) WAI: Simplified access platform for elderly and disabled people.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH