Seven principles for government services
Government services in the European Union should deliver services digitally by default, and make these services open and interoperable, including across borders. These are four of seven principles unveiled by the European Commission (EC) in its eGovernment Action Plan for 2016-2020, published on 19 April.
The European Commission’s Action Plan emphasises seven principles:
- Digital by default;
- Once only principle;
- Inclusiveness and accessibility;
- Openness and transparency;
- Cross-border by default;
- Interoperability by default;
- Trustworthiness and Security.
“Initiatives to be launched as part of this Action Plan should observe theses principles, which are strongly supported by stakeholders”, the EC writes.
The Action Plan also sets out 20 actions.
Digital times
The eGovernment Action Plan should “remove existing digital barriers to the Digital Single Market and prevent further fragmentation arising in the context of the modernisation of public administrations”, the European Commission writes in its introduction.
“By 2020, public administrations and public institutions in the European Union should be open, efficient and inclusive, providing borderless, personalised, user-friendly, end-to-end digital public services to all citizens and businesses in the EU. Innovative approaches are used to design and deliver better services in line with the needs and demands of citizens and businesses. Public administrations use the opportunities offered by the new digital environment to facilitate their interactions with stakeholders and with each other.”
A press release quotes Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, as saying: "The industrial revolution of our time is digital. We need the right scale for technologies such as cloud computing, data-driven science and the internet of things to reach their full potential. As companies aim to scale up across the Single Market, public e-services should also meet today's needs: be digital, open and cross-border by design. The EU is the right scale for the digital times."
More information:
Announcement of the eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020
eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 (PDF)
European Commission press release