Debate: eGovernment accelerating digital public services that support the functioning of the single market
Date: MONDAY, 17 APRIL 2023
Speaker: Dubravka Šuica
Language: EN

As recalled in last month’s Communication on the Single Market, digitalising public services cuts red tape and makes the single market work better, in particular for SMEs. That is why the Digital Decade policy programme sets a target of having 100% of key public services accessible online. The European Parliament’s resolution is thus very timely. The Commission welcomes the report, and specifically its call on the Commission to propose a strategic approach which connects the dots and assesses how better eGovernment contributes to an improved business environment, while reducing costs for governments. I particularly welcome that the report emphasises the importance of e-procurement. Recently, on 16 March, the Commission introduced the Public Procurement Data Space. This new data space will improve public spending, boost data-driven policymaking and improve access to tenders for companies, SMEs, public buyers, policy-makers and citizens. It will tap into the full potential of public procurement data in the single market. The initial feedback is encouraging. Most Member States signalled their interest in connecting national data sources to the PPDS, the Public Procurement Data Space. I take note of the report’s call to include public procurement in the list of high-value datasets. The Commission has commissioned a study on the extension of categories of high-value datasets that will be published soon. As recommended in the report, we employ open source technologies wherever possible to ensure easy re-use of the tools by the Member States. We agree that timely implementation of the new digital standard for publishing public procurement – by using the so-called eForms – is key. This is why the Commission and the Union’s Publication Office work together to support Member States in their uptake of eForms, including for calls below EU thresholds. EForms will be constantly enriched to support optional elements, such as information on the green and digital transitions. We also intend to include the use of completion notices to harvest data covering the entire procurement cycle. As the report stresses, another important data space initiative is the Commission’s proposal for the European Health Data Space, which was presented in May last year. The European Health Data Space aims to further accelerate the use of digital health data by individuals and for secondary use purposes, including research and development. We fully endorse the report’s call for quicker, easy-to-use online information and administrative procedures. This is precisely the purpose of the single digital gateway, launched in 2020. It’s portal, Your Europe, provides a one-stop shop for reliable administrative and regulatory information and assistance at all levels of government. It has had a promising start: visitor statistics show that, in 2022, more than 120 000 hours were spent on the Your Europe webpages. Even by a conservative estimate of legal advice costs, this can be translated to savings, especially for small businesses, of around €2.5 million per year. The once only technical system will bring the digitalisation of public services to the next level. It will be deployed by the end of this year and will ensure that when a business or citizen has submitted the document to a public administration, the document can be safely transferred to other public administrations, avoiding the need to resubmit it. This will massively reduce burdens on businesses. For instance, it will make it easier to comply with social security obligations or to get a permit. That is why the single digital gateway will also help realise the ambitions under the Net Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act. The Commission will soon adopt the first single digital gateway implementation report. As a complement to the single digital gateway, the Commission also recently adopted a proposal to further expand the use of digital tools and processes in EU company law. In addition, the European Digital Identity framework – currently under discussion by co-legislators – will further facilitate access to online public services, such as those offered via the single digital gateway. To facilitate identification and authentication of digital transactions, it is important to bring this legislative process to a swift conclusion. I also took good note of the references in the report to the importance of connectivity for eGovernment. On 23 February, the Commission presented the new package of three initiatives, including a proposal for a regulation – the Gigabit Infrastructure Act – a new Gigabit Recommendation and an exploratory consultation on the future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure, which is open until 19 May. These initiatives will help create the right environment to stimulate investments and reduce the costs and delays for the deployment of very high capacity networks. I would finally like to stress the importance of the Interoperable Europe Act, which is currently in negotiation with the Council and Parliament. The Act will establish a strengthened governance structure between the Commission and Member States to ensure interoperability by default, limit administrative burden for citizens and businesses, and hence further strengthen our single market. Thanks again to the IMCO committee and the rapporteur, Mr Sokol, for this timely report on this important topic of eGovernment.