COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS The European eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 Harnessing ICT to promote smart, sustainable & innovative Government
Date: 2010-12-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Internet, action programme, cross-frontier data flow, electronic government, information society, information system, information technology, innovation, public administration, public service

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 15.12.2010 
COM(2010) 743 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

The European eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 
Harnessing ICT to promote smart, sustainable & innovative Government 

SEC(2010) 1539 final 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

The European eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 
Harnessing ICT to promote smart, sustainable & innovative Government 

The  Digital  Agenda  for  Europe1  sets  eGovernment  within  a  comprehensive  set  of  measures 
aimed at exploiting the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICT) across 
Europe.  At  a  time  of  highly  constrained  public  resources,  ICT  can  help  the  public  sector 
develop  innovative  ways  of  delivering  its  services  to  citizens  while  unleashing  efficiencies 
and driving down costs. 

The  implementation  of  the  first  European  eGovernment  Action  Plan2  has  seen  governments 
across  all  Member  States  exchange  good  practice,  and  resulted  in  a  number  of  large-scale 
pilot  projects  which  are  developing  concrete  solutions  for  rolling  out  cross-border 
eGovernment  services3.  An  online  community  of  practitioners4,  established  in  2002,  has 
provided a focus for debate among 80.000 participants on the potential to provide innovative 
solutions in areas such as eGovernment, health services, and inclusion. Progress has also been 
made  in  the  re-use  of  public  sector  information5,  and  an  electronic  public  procurement 
platform  developed  to  allow  companies  from  across  Europe  to  offer  their  services  to 
governments  outside  their  home  country6.  EU-wide  electronic  identity  systems  are  coming 
into  existence,  which  will  enable  people  to  access  public  services  electronically  across  the 
EU7. 

The  availability  of  innovative  technologies  such  as  social  networks  has  increased  the 
expectations  of  citizens  in  terms  of  responsiveness  when  accessing  all  kinds  of  services  on 
line.  However,  cross-border  eGovernment  services  are  few  and,  even  where  eGovernment 
services are offered, the majority of EU citizens are reluctant to use them8. There is clearly a 
need  to  move  towards  a  more  open  model  of  design,  production  and  delivery  of  online 
services,  taking  advantage  of  the  possibility  offered  by  collaboration  between  citizens, 
entrepreneurs  and  civil  society.  The  combination  of  new  technologies,  open  specifications, 
innovative  architectures  and  the  availability  of  public  sector  information  can  deliver  greater 
value to citizens with fewer resources.  

The  Commission  is  therefore  proposing  a  second  eGovernment  Action  Plan  which  aims  to 
realise  the  ambitious  vision  contained  in  the  Declaration  made  at  the  5th  Ministerial 

1 
2 

3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
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COM(2010) 245. 
eGovernment Action Plan 2006, COM 2006/173 of 25.04.2006 
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/library/index_en.htm  
CIP ICT PSP: 
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/implementation/ict_psp/index_en.htm  
http://www.epractice.eu/ 
Directive 2003/98/EC on re-use of public sector information, 17.11.2003, OJ L345, 31.12.2003, 90-96 
http://www.peppol.eu  
http://www.eid-stork.eu 
Europe's Digital Competitiveness Report 2010, p.88. 
See http://intra.infso.cec.eu.int/C4/docs/main%20page/european_competitiveness_report_2010.pdf  

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eGovernment Conference (the ‘Malmö Declaration’9), which was also supported by industry10 
and by a citizens’ panel11.  

According  to  this  ambitious  vision,  by  2015  European  public  administrations  will  be 
"recognised  for  being  open,  flexible  and  collaborative  in  their  relations  with  citizens  and 
businesses.  They  use  eGovernment  to  increase  their  efficiency  and  effectiveness  and  to 
constantly  improve  public  services  in  a  way  that  caters  for  user's  different  needs  and 
maximises  public  value,  thus  supporting  the  transition  of  Europe  to  a  leading  knowledge-
based economy." 

The Malmö Declaration sets out 4 political priorities for all European public administrations 
over the next 5 years: 

•  Citizens and businesses are empowered by eGovernment services designed around users’ 
needs and developed in collaboration with third parties, as well as by increased access to 
public  information,  strengthened  transparency  and  effective  means  for  involvement  of 
stakeholders in the policy process,  

•  Mobility  in  the  Single  Market  is  reinforced  by  seamless  eGovernment  services  for  the 
setting  up  and  running  of  a  business  and  for  studying,  working,  residing  and  retiring 
anywhere in the European Union,  

•  Efficiency and effectiveness is enabled by a constant effort to use eGovernment to reduce 
the  administrative  burden,  improve  organisational  processes  and  promote  a  sustainable 
low-carbon economy,  

•  The  implementation  of  the  policy  priorities  is  made  possible  by  creating  the  appropriate 

key enablers and by establishing the necessary legal and technical preconditions.  

Governments need to provide better public services with fewer resources. Each of the above 
political  priorities  works  towards  that  aim,  as  well  as  providing  new  and  better  ways  to 
engage  with  citizens.  The  emergence  of  innovative  technologies  such  as  "service-oriented 
architectures" (SOA), or "clouds" of services, together with more open specifications which 
allow for greater sharing, re-use and interoperability reinforce the ability of ICT to play a key 
role in this quest for effficiency in the public sector. 

As part of the Commission-wide effort to promote a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy 
for  the  European  Union,  as  outlined  in  the  Europe  2020  Strategy12,  this  Action  Plan 
contributes  towards  fulfilling  two  key  objectives  of  the  Digital  Agenda  for  Europe,  in 
particular :  

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12 

By  2015  European  public  administrations  should  be  "recognised  for  being  open,  flexible  and 
collaborative  in  their  relations  with  citizens  and  businesses.  They  use  eGovernment  to  increase  their 
efficiency  and  effectiveness  and  to  constantly  improve  public  services  in  a  way  that  caters  for  user's 
different  needs  and  maximises  public  value,  thus  supporting  the  transition  of  Europe  to  a  leading 
knowledge-based economy." See http://www.egov2009.se/wp-content/uploads/Ministerial-Declaration-
on-eGovernment.pdf. This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe, and built on the previous 
bi-annual Ministerial meetings of Brussels in 2001, Como in 2003, Manchester in 2005 and Lisbon in 
2007.  See  http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/library/index_en.htm.  This 
also included the commitment on the part of candidate and EFTA countries. 
Declaration by "DigitalEurope", see http://www.digitaleurope.org/index.php?id=1068&id_article=390 
Open declaration on public services 2.0, http://eups20.wordpress.com/the-open-declaration  
COM (2010) 2020 

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– 

By 2015, a number of key cross-border services will be available on line – enabling 
entrepreneurs to set up and run a business anywhere in Europe independently of their 
original location, and allowing citizens to study, work, reside and retire anywhere in 
the European Union.  

– 

By 2015, 50% of EU citizens will have used eGovernment services. 

Since eGovernment services are also of great importance for businesses, this Action Plan also 
aims that by 2015, 80% of enterprises will have used eGovernment.  

1. 

SCOPE OF THE ACTION PLAN 

This  Action  Plan  aims  at  maximising  the  complementary  nature  of  national  and  European 
policy instruments. It supports the transition from current eGovernment to a new generation 
of open, flexible and collaborative seamless eGovernment services at local, regional, national 
and European levels that will empower citizens and businesses. 

There  are  powerful  political  and  economic  reasons  to  support  European  collaboration  on 
eGovernment.  Joint  action  on  eGovernment  can  contribute  to  overcoming  the  current 
economic crisis by using public resources more efficiently and reducing public expenditures. 
eGovernment  services  can  be  developed  more  economically  by  coordinating  and  pooling 
public and private resources.  

Given the central role of national governments in the implementation of this action plan the 
European Commission’s main responsibility is to improve the conditions for development of 
cross-border  eGovernment  services  provided  to  citizens  and  businesses  regardless  of  their 
country  of  origin.  This  includes  establishing  pre-conditions,  such  as  interoperability, 
eSignatures  and  eIdentification.  These  services  strengthen 
internal  market  and 
complement EU legislative acts and their effectiveness13 in a number of domains where ICT 
can  improve  delivery  of  services;  such  as  in  procurement,  justice,  health,  environment, 
mobility and social security, and support the implementation of citizens' initiatives14 with ICT 
tools . The Commission will aim to lead by example. 

the 

2. 

PRIORITIES AND ACTIONS 

Various actions related to the four political priorities identified are proposed below, together 
with  the  planned  timing.  These  can  be  categorised  in  three  groups,  depending  on  the  actors 
involved and the competence defined in the Treaty:  

– 

13 

14 

Where Member States are leading and rely on their own resources, the Commission 
will  help  by  supporting  and  coordinating  activities.  The  measures  proposed  will 
focus on setting targets with the Member States and on how to achieve these targets 

Such  EU  legislative  acts  include:  the  Services  Directive  (2006/123/EC),  the  eSignatures  Directive 
(1999/93/EC), the Procurement Directives (2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC), the Data Protection Directive 
(95/46/EC), the Directive on the re-use of public sector information (2003/98/EC), the Infrastructure for 
Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC), the public access to 
environmental information Directive (2003/4/EC). 
Art. 11 of the Treaty on European Union and Art. 24 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union. 

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by means of measures such as exchanging best practice and information, conducting 
studies and benchmarking. 

– 

– 

Where  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  work  jointly  to  develop,  deploy  or 
improve cross-border services, the Commission will take the lead in activities where 
joint  resources  are  used,  while  the  Member  States  will  bear  the  final  responsibility 
for  implementing  activities  using  their  own  resources.  The  measures  proposed  will 
include  research  and  development,  pilot  projects,  collaborative  development  of 
services by Member States and transfer of knowledge to the market.  

Where the Commission can create enabling conditions, the measures proposed will 
include  adopting 
instruments,  setting  standards,  formulating  common 
frameworks,  implementing  generic  tools,  providing  (re-usable)  technical  building 
blocks and ensuring interoperability. 

legal 

2.1. 

User Empowerment 

Empowerment  means increasing the capacity of citizens, businesses and other organisations 
to be pro-active in society through the use of new technological tools. Public services can gain 
in  efficiency  and  users  in  satisfaction  by  meeting the expectations of users better and being 
designed around their needs and in collaboration with them whenever possible. Empowerment 
also  means  that  governments  should  provide  easy  access  to  public  information,  improve 
transparency and allow effective involvement of citizens and businesses in the policy-making 
process. 

2.1.1. 

Services designed around users needs and Inclusive Services 

Increasing effective eGovernment means that services are designed around users’ needs and 
provide flexible and personalised ways of interacting and performing transactions with public 
administrations. For example, to track allocation of allowances or benefits, enrol in schools or 
universities,  request  and  receive  online  civil  certificates,  submit  online  tax  declarations.  In 
addition,  the  usability  of  and  access  to  eGovernment  services  should  be  improved  by 
delivering  eGovernment  services  via  multiple  channels  (including  Internet,  TV,  telephone, 
mobile devices, or where appropriate through intermediaries).  

2011-
2013 

The Commission will support Member States in developing eGovernment services 
designed around user needs and in ensuring inclusiveness and accessibility by: 

– 

– 

– 

agreeing common targets and evaluation criteria with the Member States, 

organising  exchanges  of  valuable  expertise  at  national,  regional  or  local 
level to support additional take-up,  

supporting  effective  and  concrete  accessibility  solutions,  compliant  with 
relevant  European  and  international  standards  when  available,  through 
demonstration 

2013  Member States will develop personalised online services, including functions such 

as monitoring the progress of transactions with public administrations. 

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2.1.2.  Collaborative Production of Services 

Social networking and collaborative tools (e.g. Web 2.0 technologies) enable users to play an 
active  role  in  the  design  and  production  of  public  services.  Though  still  small,  there  are  a 
growing number of services targeted at the needs of citizens, often developed by civil society 
organisations  which  are  based  on  the  effective  collaboration  between  the  private  and  the 
public sector15. However, it needs to be explored which are the most suitable tools and how 
best to apply these to effectively engage businesses, civil society and individual citizens.  

In  a  first  step,  it  is  needed  to  undertake  an  analysis  of  ICT-based  collaborative  production 
techniques and of their cost effectiveness and ability to deliver high quality and reliable public 
services.  With  this  knowledge  the  aim  should  be  to  engage  third  parties  in  developing 
services. 

2011 

Based on a study, the Commission will first assess how to involve users actively in 
design  and  production  of  eGovernment  services  and 
further  elaborate 
recommendations / guidelines with and for the Member States.  

2011-
2013 

The  Commission  will  facilitate  exchanges  of  knowledge  and  experience  between 
stakeholders,  and,  agree  with  Member  States  on  common  targets  for  the  roll  out 
collaborative services. 

2.1.3.  Re-use of Public Sector Information 

The  public  sector  holds  a  gold  mine  of  information16.  Much  of  data  that  public  authorities 
gather are not used or serve only a limited purpose. The release of non personal public data 
(geographical, demographic, statistical, environmental data etc…) in particular when provided 
in a machine readable format allows citizens, and businesses to find new ways to use it and to 
create new innovative products and services.  

The  Commission  and  Member  States  are  committed  to  maximising  the  value  of  re-use  of 
public sector information (PSI), e.g. by making raw data and documents available for re-use 
in a wide variety of formats (including machine-readable ones) and languages and by setting 
up PSI portals17. Actions in this area will be linked to the implementation and review of the 
Directive  on  the  re-use  of  public  sector  information  (the  PSI  Directive)18,  the  review  of  the 
Commission Decision on the re-use of Commission information19 and efficient cooperation in 
the PSI Group20.  

2011  Member States will agree on a common set of PSI re-use indicators. 

15 
16 

17 
18 

19 
20 

E.g. fixmystreet.com 
The Commission and MS have acknowledged this value for many years and have adopted the Directive 
on the re-use of public sector information (the PSI Directive). 
E.g. Data.gov.uk 
Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information of 17.11.2003, OJ L345, 31.12.2003, p. 
90-96 
Commission Decision 2006/291/EC on the re-use of Commission information of 07.04.2006 
The PSI Group consists of officials from Member State, local or regional authorities and representatives 
from  private  sector  organisations  who  meet  regularly  to  exchange  good  practices  on  PSI  re-use  and 
initiatives  supporting  PSI  re-use  and  discuss  practical  issues  regarding  transposition  of  the  PSI 
Directive. 

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2011 

2011-
2013 

2011-
2012 

The Commission will conduct a study to assess to what extent open data catalogues 
and/or  PSI  portals  (e.g.  data.gov.uk)  have  been  developed  and  implemented  by 
Member States.  

The  Commission  will  facilitate  exchanges  of  good  practice  and  awareness-raising 
activities  and  will  adopt  its  own  internal  PSI  re-use  strategy  based  on  a  review  of 
the PSI Decision. 

The Commission will review the PSI Directive, as indicated in the Digital Agenda 
for Europe, and will  consider the  possibility of an extended strategy for European 
PSI. 

2.1.4. 

Improvement of Transparency 

Transparency in government decision making and in its use of personal data help to build the 
trust of citizens and improve accountability of policy makers. Although many Member States 
have set transparency goals, no common European objectives exist yet.  

Surveys show that new technologies and services allowing users to trace their personal data 
stored  by  public  administrations,  enabling  users  to  check  who  accessed  their  administrative 
files and giving users insight in the process of decision making are featuring amongst the most 
demanded eGovernment services. Action in this field should be in accordance with the Data 
Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC).  

2011 

The  Commission  and  Member  States  will  set  common  voluntary  transparency 
targets and exchange available experiences. 

2013  Member  States  and  the  Commission  will  provide  online  access  to  information  on 

government laws and regulations, policies and finance. 

2014 

In accordance with Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, Member States will enable 
citizens to have electronic access to those personal data that are held on them when 
available electronically and will inform them electronically whenever such data are 
being processed by automatic means, in a simple and unambiguous manner. 

2.1.5. 

 Involvement of citizens and businesses in policy-making processes 

Member  States  are  committed  to  developing  and  promoting  more  useful  and  better  ways, 
relying  on  ICT  solutions,  for  businesses  and  citizens  to  participate  in  public  policy 
consultations,  debates  and  policy-making  processes.  New  tools  for  governance  and  policy 
modelling,  currently  being  developed  under  the  seventh  EU  Framework  Programme  for 
research,  technological  development  and  demonstration  activities  (FP7)21,  will  support 
governments in delivering smarter, targeted and adaptive policies, whilst better understanding 
cost-effectiveness and impacts.  

21 

Seventh EU Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration 
activities (FP 7) 
http://ec.europa.eu/informhttp://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/research/fp7/i
ndex_en.htmation_society/policy/psi/index_en.htm 

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The envisaged actions will improve the ability of people to have their voice heard and make 
suggestions  for  policy  actions  in  the  Member  States  and  the  European  Union  as  a  whole. 
These  actions  will  build  on  projects  on  eParticipation  already  launched  under  the 
Competitiveness  and  Innovation  Framework  Programme  (CIP),  e.g.  by  using  e-Petitioning 
ICT tools to support 'citizens initiatives'22, or on new calls for proposals to be opened under 
the seventh EU Framework Programme (FP7).  

2011 

2011 

The Commission will collaborate with Member States on developing the electronic 
service  to  support  ‘citizens  initiatives’  (as  foreseen  by  Art.  11  of  the  Treaty  on 
European Union). 

The Commission will assess existing research projects and launch new ones under 
the  ‘ICT  for  Governance  and  Policy  Modelling’  objective  of  the  2011-2012  FP7 
Work Programme and ensure further exchanges of knowledge and best practice. 

2011-
2015 

Member  States,  the  Commission  and  other  representative  institutions  such  as 
parliaments should develop services that involve stakeholders in public debates and 
decision-making processes building on pilots and demonstration.  

2.2. 

Internal Market 

Most public online services do not work across borders or involve cumbersome procedures to 
be accessible. People from one EU country cannot easily apply for public services in another 
country  than  the  one  in  which  they  are  established,  using  for  instance  national  electronic 
identity cards. This seriously reduces the mobility of businesses and citizens. To support the 
Internal Market, governments should develop ‘seamless’ services for entrepreneurs to set up 
and  run  a  business  anywhere  in  Europe  and  allowing  individuals  to  study,  work,  reside, 
receive health care and retire anywhere in the European Union.  

2.2.1. 

Seamless Services for Businesses 

Businesses should be able to sell and provide services and products all across the EU, through 
easy electronic public procurement and the effective implementation of the Services offering 
single  points  of  contact  to  businesses  for  their  interactions  with  government.  Two  major 
initiatives have been set up in both areas over the last two years:  

– 

– 

22 

23 
24 

SPOCS  "Simple  Procedures  Online  for  Cross-border  Services"23  aims  at  removing 
the  administrative  barriers  that  European  business  face  when  wanting  to  offer  their 
services abroad, by supporting the implementation of next generation points of single 
contact and the associated eProcedures.  

PEPPOL "Pan-European Public eProcurement On-Line"24 aims to pilot an EU-wide 
interoperable  public  eProcurement  solution  allowing  entrepreneurs  to  perform  the 
full  public  procurement  cycle  online,  from  ordering  to  invoicing  and  access  to 
catalogues.  This  will  reduce  administrative  burden;  increased  transparency  and 
potentially large save costs savings are the expected gains from such implementation.  

Art. 11 of the Treaty on European Union and Art. 24 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union 
SPOCS (Simple Procedures Online for Cross-border Services) (http://www.eu-spocs.eu). 
PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) (http://www.peppol.eu). 

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Based on the results of the above initiatives, the envisaged actions should be: a cross-border 
and interoperable eProcurement infrastructure based on the results of the PEPPOL large scale 
pilot; and the development of a ‘second generation’ of points of single contact along with an 
extension of the Services Directive to other areas of business. This would mean that by 2015 
businesses in Europe will be able to sell goods and provide services to public administrations 
in other countries just as easily as they currently do to those in their home country. Expanding 
a business into other countries and registering can be done remotely – i.e. without leaving the 
office.  

2011  Member States and the Commission will assess outcomes of PEPPOL and SPOCS 

and ensure sustainable follow up. 

2011 

The  Commission  will  issue  a  White  Paper  on  practical  steps  to  inter-connect 
eProcurement capacity across the internal market25. 

2012-
2014 

Member  States  should  roll  out  cross-border  services  based  on  the  results  of 
PEPPOL and SPOCS. 

2013  Member  States  will  ensure  that  a  ‘second  generation’  of  points  of  single  contact 
will  function  as  fully  fledged  eGovernment  centres  beyond  the  requirements  and 
areas covered by the Services Directive.26 

2.2.2.  Personal Mobility 

Citizens  of  Europe  should  be  able  to  move  and  reside  freely  across  Europe27.  In  this  area 
Member States and the Commission will work together to develop services for increasing the 
mobility of people who want to move between European countries for e.g. study, work, health 
care, residence and/or retirement.  

The  envisaged  actions  should  ensure  the  development  of  interoperable  services  enabling 
citizens to communicate, perform transactions, and send and receive electronic documents and 
information to and from public administrations across the EU. These will allow for delivering 
secure  cross-border  exchange  and  safe  storage  of  electronic  information  (eDelivery  of 
documents and information). People shall be able to access personal documents such as birth 
certificates from all over Europe, be eligible for and receive pension rights when retiring in 
another  country  than  the  one  where  they  worked,  or  electronically  enrol  in  any  European 
university. 

2012-
2014 

The Commission will support exchanges of best practice and coordinate the efforts 
of Member States to jointly develop and set up interoperable eDelivery services. 

2015  Member States will  provide cross-border and interoperable eDelivery  services  for 
citizens,  e.g.  so  that  they  can  study,  work,  reside,  receive  health  care  and  retire 
anywhere in the European Union. 

25 
26 
27 

This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe 
This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe 
Implementing of the Directive on the right of citizens of the Union to move and reside freely within its 
territory and on the right to free movement of persons. 

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2.2.3.  EU-wide implementation of cross-border services 

The Commission and the Member States will jointly share results on successful experiences 
gained in the large-scale pilot projects28 to determine and agree on key cross-border services 
ready for sustainable implementation throughout the EU. Member States and the Commission 
will  assess  their  readiness  by  analysing  the  organisational,  legal,  technical  and  semantic 
barriers that could hinder their definitive deployment. 

The availability of cross-border services in the EU will be increased, initially, through support 
to  new  large-scale  pilots  based  on  well-defined  needs  (e.g.  in  the  areas  like  eJustice  or 
eEnvironment), and on the opportunities for re-use of existing infrastructures. The envisaged 
actions should provide the prerequisites for the Member States to engage in full deployment 
throughout the EU of cross-border services and start new ones. 

. 

2011 

The Commission will conduct a study with the Member States, of the demand for 
cross-border  services  and  assess  the  organisational,  legal,  technical  and  semantic 
barriers. 

2011  Member  States  will  agree  on  a  number  of  key  cross-border  public  services  to  be 
rolled out between 2012 and 2015 and will identify appropriate life events/stages29. 

2012-
2015 

The Commission will support and coordinate the efforts of Member States to roll 
out  Large  Scale  Pilot  projects  and  to  start  new  ones,  while  encouraging 
coordination and re-use of results and solutions between them. 

2012-
2015 

The  Commission  will  work  with  Member  States  and  stakeholders  to  implement 
cross-border eEnvironment services30. 

2.3. 

Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governments and Administrations 

The actions on this priority will focus on using ICT and enabling organisational changes to 
deliver  better,  less  intrusive,  more  sustainable  and  faster  public  services,  by  reducing  the 
administrative burden, improving organisational processes and promoting a sustainable low-
carbon economy. 

2.3.1. 

Improving Organisational Processes 

eGovernment  serves  as  an  instrument  of  change  to  improve  organisational  processes  in 
administrations  and  limiting  cost.  For  example,  the  cost  of  invoicing  can  be  decreased  in 
electronic public procurement processes, while increasing effectiveness, for example through 
faster processing. Civil servants will benefit  from enhancing their eSkills and  from  learning 
from experiences in other parts of Europe on ways to improve organisational processes. The 
ePractice.eu portal will play a pivotal role in this.  

28 

29 
30 

STORK  (Secure  identiTy  acrOss  boRders  linKed)  (https://www.eid-stork.eu/).  epSOS  (Smart  Open 
Services for European Patients) (http://www.epsos.eu).  
This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe. 
This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe. 

EN 

10 

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In addition, the Commission will lead by example and apply state-of-the-art and most suitable 
eGovernment technologies and policies within its own organisation. The eCommission 2011-
2015  Action  Plan  will  support  streamlined  administrative  processes,  facilitate  information-
sharing and simplify interaction with the Commission. 

2011 

2011-
2012 

2011-
2015 

2013 

The Commission will facilitate the exchange of experience, encouraging re-use of 
successful solutions and applications and exploring new approaches to support the 
Member States in improving organisational processes. 

The Commission will transform the ePractice.eu portal into an effective experience 
exchange and information tool for Member States’ eGovernment practitioners 

The Commission will implement an ambitious eCommission Action Plan for 2011-
2015,  including  full  electronic  procurement,  a  public  sector  information  strategy 
and a transparency policy31. 

The  Commission,  in  close  cooperation  with  Member  States,  will  set  up  a 
programme  for  staff  exchanges  between  administrations  in  different  Member 
States. 

2.3.2.  Reduction of Administrative Burdens 

For many people and businesses the best government is one that goes unnoticed. In practice 
interactions  with  governments 
however,  many  procedures  and  requirements  make 
burdensome  in  terms  of  time  and  resources.  Therefore  simplification  or  elimination  of 
administrative  processes  should  be  an  important  objective,  as  laid  out  in  the  Action 
Programme for reducing administrative burdens in the European Union32. 

The  envisaged  actions  should  help  Member  States  eliminating  unnecessary  administrative 
burdens.  This  can  be  achieved,  e.g.  through  smart  use  by  public  authorities  of  citizens' 
available  information  and  by  applying  the  principle  of  ‘once-only’  registration  of  data 
whereby the information needed from citizens is only collected once, on condition that data 
and privacy protection requirements are met. 

2011-
2013 

The Commission will organise with Member States the sharing of experiences on 
the  implementation  of  the  'once-only'  registration  principle  and,  on  electronic 
procedures and communications having become a dominant channel for delivering 
eGovernment  services,  conduct  a  cost-benefit  analysis  and  design  a  roadmap  for 
further implementation. 

2.3.3.  Green Government 

The  Commission  Recommendation  on  mobilising 
information  and  communications 
technologies  to  facilitate  the  transition  to  an  energy-efficient,  low-carbon  economy  includes 
public organisations33. Specific targets relating to eGovernment are missing and need to be set 
and assessed.  

31 
32 
33 

This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe. 
COM(2007) 23. 
COM(2009) 111. 

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11 

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The  envisaged  actions  described  below  will  aim  to  reduce  the  carbon  footprint  of 
administrations  in  Member  States,  for  example  by  implementing  electronic  archiving,  using 
videoconferences instead of travelling, etc. 

2012 

The Commission will conduct a study on the potential of eGovernment to reducing 
carbon footprint of governments including best practices. 

2013  Member States should develop and agree indicators and evaluation procedures for 
measuring the reduction of the carbon footprint of their administrations as a result 
of eGovernment services. 

2.4. 

Pre-conditions for developing eGovernment 

A  number  of  technical  and  legal  pre-conditions  need  to  be  put  in  place  to  enable  the 
implementation  of  the  actions  that  will  enhance  eGovernment  services  in  Europe.  These 
include the promotion of interoperability across borders, which would allow - among others - 
sharing  of  information,  deployments  of  one-stop-shop  approaches,  Europe  wide  use  of 
(national)  electronic  identity  solutions  and  payment  schemes.  Interoperability  is  supported 
through open specifications and the development of key enablers such as electronic identity 
management and stimulation of innovation in eGovernment. 

2.4.1.  Open Specifications and Interoperability 

Interoperability  is  the  ability  of  systems  and  machines  to  exchange,  process  and  correctly 
interpret  information.  It  is  more  than  just  a  technical  challenge,  as  it  also  involves  legal, 
organisational  and  semantic  aspects  of  handling  data.  Interoperability  is  an  essential  pre-
condition  for  open,  flexible  delivery  of  eGovernment  services  and  will  enable  collaboration 
between  administrations  in  Europe.  In  particular,  standards  and  open  platforms  offer 
opportunities for more cost-effective use of resources and delivery of services.  

The envisaged actions will lead to develop a common strategy for achieving interoperability 
between Member States at European level. 

2011-
2015 

2012 

The  Commission  (via  the  ISA  programme)  will  implement  activities  to  put  into 
the  European 
action 
Interoperability Strategy (EIS) (adoption of the EIF and EIS expected in 2010). 

the  European  Interoperability  Framework  (EIF)  and 

The Commission will organise exchanges of expertise and promote the re-use and 
sharing  of  solutions  to  implement  interoperable  eGovernment  services.  This 
includes  establishment  of  interfaces  to  gain  access  to  and  use  authentic  national 
sources.  

2013  Member  States  should  have  aligned  their  national  interoperability  frameworks  to 

the EIF34. 

34 

This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe. 

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12 

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2.4.2.  Key Enablers 

For many online services it is essential to identify and authenticate the person or legal entity 
to  whom/which  a  service  will  be  delivered.  Electronic  identification  (eID)  technologies  and 
authentication  services  are  essential  for  the  security  of  electronic  transactions  (in  both  the 
public  and  private  sectors).  Today  the  most  common  way  to  authenticate  is  by  means  of 
passwords,  but  more  secure  solutions  protecting  privacy  are  increasingly  needed.  Europe 
needs  better  administrative  cooperation  to  develop  and  deploy  cross-border  public  online 
services,  including  practical  eIdentification  and  eAuthentication  solutions.  Initiatives  have 
already been started such as the STORK Large Scale Pilot which aims to establish a European 
eID Interoperability  Platform that  will allow citizens to  access eGovernment services  inside 
and outside their home country by using their national eID.  

The  envisaged  actions  will  contribute  to  build  a  Pan-European  framework  for  mutually 
recognised  eID35,  allowing  citizens  and  businesses  to  identify  themselves  electronically 
throughout  Europe.  The  approach  should  build  on  the  results  of  the  above  initiatives,  in 
particular  STORK,  relying  on  authenticated  identities,  compliant  with  data  and  privacy 
protection provisions. This work will complement and take into account the existing European 
Action Plan for eSignatures and eIdentification36 and the revision of the eSignature Directive 
planned in 2011. 

2011 

2012 

The Commission will propose a revision of the eSignature Directive with a view to 
providing  a  legal  framework  for  cross-border  recognition  and  interoperability  of 
secure eAuthentication systems37. 

The  Commission  will  propose  a  Council  and  European  Parliament  Decision  to 
ensure  mutual  recognition  of  eIdentification  and  eAuthentication  across  the  EU, 
based on online ‘authentication services’ to be offered in all Member States (which 
may  use  the  most  appropriate  official  identification  documents  —  issued  by  the 
public and private sectors)38. 

2012-
2014 

Member States should apply and roll out the eID solutions, based on the results of 
STORK and other eID-related projects. 

2.4.3. 

Innovative eGovernment  

The new generation of eGovernment services will need to rely on and benefit from innovative 
technical  approaches,  such  as  clouds  of  public  services  and  service-oriented  architecture 
(SOA) to build open, flexible and collaborative eGovernment services while at the same time 
lowering ICT costs. To promote the availability and use of convenient, on-demand access to 
shared resources and services for the provision of eGovernment services pilot projects will be 
launched.  In  addition,  administrations  will  need  to  take  action  to  upgrade  IPv6-relevant 
eGovernment infrastructure (portals, websites, applications, etc.) and online services of public 
interest, in view of the depletion of IPv4 addresses. This take-up of IPv6 will be beneficial for 

35 
36 
37 
38 

This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe. 
COM(2008) 798. 
This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe. 
This action is defined in the Digital Agenda for Europe. 

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public authorities in Member States to foster innovative, efficient and accessible applications 
and services39. 

The envisaged actions aim to identify and disseminate tested and safe solutions for clouds of 
public services, SOA and transition strategies for converting from IPv4 to IPv6. 

2011 

2011 

2012 

The  Commission  will  launch  a  study  and  recommend  action  on  how  to  apply 
emerging technologies and paradigms (such as SOA and clouds of public services) 
in the public sector. 

The  Commission  will  launch  activities  under  the  CIP  programme  to  support 
administrations  to  pilot  the  upgrade  to  IPv6,  thereby  creating  showcases  and  new 
momentum for moving to IPv6 on a large scale.  

The  Commission  will 
to  demonstrate  how  public 
administrations  can deliver eGovernment services in a more flexible and efficient 
way by using innovative architecture and technologies. 

launch  pilot  projects 

3. 

GOVERNANCE 

Member States are fully committed to the political priorities of the Malmö Declaration. They 
also  invited  the  European  Commission  to  organise  joint  governance  of  this  Action  Plan 
allowing active participation by the Member States in implementing it. 

To this end, the European Commission will set up and chair a High-Level Expert Group of 
Member  States’  representatives  responsible  for  the  national  eGovernment  strategies.  This 
High-Level Expert Group will inform the High-Level Group for the Digital Agenda and will 
coordinate  with  the  ISA  Programme  Committee.  Additional  cooperation  will  also  be 
encouraged. 

A coherent framework needs to be set up to discuss policies, monitor and evaluate the Action 
Plan and exchange experience. A mid-term evaluation of implementation of this Action Plan 
will be conducted in 2013. This will examine the extent to which the objectives of the Action 
Plan have been achieved, the progress made and the difficulties encountered. Depending on 
the  results  of  the  mid-term  evaluation,  any  necessary  adjustments  to  the  objectives  and 
activities of the Action Plan will be reviewed with the proposed High-Level Expert Group.  

The  overall  progress  made  on  the  Action  Plan  and  on  eGovernment  in  general  will  be 
measured annually, using an appropriate mix of instruments (benchmarking, bench-learning, 
self-assessment,  etc.)  and  methods  (web  research,  public  data  analysis,  user  testing, 
interviews,  etc.).  Member  States  will  share  relevant  benchmarking  initiatives  with  the 
European  Commission  and  other  Member  States  in  order  to  allow  development  of  common 
measurement exercises among interested parties.  

2011 

The  Commission  will  establish  a  High-Level  Expert  Group  of  Member  States’ 
representatives and will suggest an appropriate mandate. 

39 

In line with COM(2008) 313, the Commission will prepare a Staff Working Paper in 2011 identifying 
any follow-up action required. 

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14 

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2012  Member States will inform the Commission and the High-Level Expert Group how 
the  political  priorities  of  the  Malmö  Ministerial  Declaration  have  been  or  will  be 
reflected in their national eGovernment strategies.  

2013 

2013 

2015 

All  Member  States  will  have  incorporated  the  political  priorities  of  the  Malmö 
Declaration in their national strategies. 

The eGovernment Action Plan will be evaluated and the findings used to update the 
Action Plan. 

All Member States will inform the Commission and the High-Level Expert Group 
how the political priorities of the Malmö Declaration have been achieved.  

EN 

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   EN