Commission reveals the best of the eGovernments and establishes new competition
The national government websites of the EU generally serve businesses better than citizens and are most advanced in the income generation services they offer. These are two of the conclusions of benchmarking survey carried out as part of the European Commission's eEurope plan, which were revealed at the 'eGovernment: from policy to practice' conference held in Brussels on 29 and 30 November. The survey was carried out on a representative sample of the 7,400 websites of the local, regional and national authorities in the EU Member States, looking at a list of 20 basic services offered. It looked at how extensively the service was available on an electronic and interactive basis, allocating percentage points the higher the level. Results showed that only the Benelux countries put more effort into services aimed at citizens, whereas other Member States had better services for businesses. The best scores were found in services which generated income, such as income tax, VAT and social contributions. The lowest scores were found in document delivery services, such as passports and driving licenses. Countries with a high general score included Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. To stimulate further improvements in the area, the European Commissioner for Information Society and Enterprise, Erkki Liikanen, used the event to launch a new competition which will give awards for the best developments on governmental websites. In the first allocation of awards, 60 online services which had used information society technologies to improve the quality and accessibility of their public services were awarded the eGovernment label. The awards are designed to be an effective way of highlighting best practice and rewarding new developments. The next awards are planned for the Danish Presidency in the second half of 2002. Commenting on the awards, Commissioner Liikanen emphasised their importance for citizens. 'eGovernment is not about new technologies, it is about how governments can make life easier for citizens and companies by serving them better. We should always remember that in delivering its services, the role of a government is special. Because a government does not choose its clients, it must be ensured that all citizens have access to the improved services. No-one must be excluded,' he said. The 29 November had brought together ministers from 28 countries, drawn from the EU, EFTA and the candidate countries. They produced a declaration which outlined the main areas that needed focus: encouraging participation, inclusiveness, organisational change and trust and security. The ministers invited the Commission to make the appropriate investments in research and development to assist in these areas, particularly in the context of the Sixth Framework programme. The next analysis of the progress in this area will be carried out at an eGovernment conference in Italy in July 2003. Speaking at the conference, certain ministers highlighted the concrete effects that eGovernment can have. On the French government's national site, of the 10 most used words in the search field, minimum wage are two of the most common, according to French Minister for the civil service and administrative reform, Michel Sapin. The need to generate better communication with the public was emphasised by Vivienne Jupp, director of global eGovernment services at Accenture. She said that the feedback from a report she had recently finished concluded that 'there is evidence of a growing gap between politicians and the public - people need to be informed and involved.' In addition, a leaked document published by the BBC shows that one of the elements in a speech to be made by Belgian President Guy Verhofstadt at the forthcoming Laeken European Council will be the failure of the European Union to keep in touch with its citizens. Part of the draft text claims that European citizens need more transparency and efficiency and that too much is being done without public knowledge or democratic control.