Ministerial Declaration on 21st century Europe
Malmö, Sweden: 18 November 2009
Under the auspices of the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, the 5th Ministerial eGovernment Conference, Teaming up for the eUnion (19-20 November 2009), adopted a on how the future eGovernment in Europe is to be designed with common goals up to 2015.
The on eGovernment was approved unanimously in Malmö, Sweden on the 18 November 2009 by Ministers responsible for eGovernment issues in the EU Member States, applicant countries, candidate countries and the EFTA countries, together representing 34 countries.
Under paragraph 11 of the Declaration, public administrations should therefore:
“Increase availability of public sector information for re-use. We will increase availability of public sector information for reuse, in accordance with the spirit of and the conditions established by Public Sector Information Directive 2003/98/EC. We will encourage the reuse of public data by third parties to develop enriched services that maximise the value for the public. New demand-led information products and services enabled by the reuse of public sector information will support the transition of Europe to a knowledge-based economy.”
The press release by the Swedish Presidency of the European Union entitled, “An open Europe with accessible public administration – Ministerial declaration on eGovernment policy”, states:
"We want to work together to strengthen our citizens and create a more open public administration. We will make it easier for European citizens and businesses to move across borders. It shall be easy to study in Stockholm, work in London, retire in Italy and make use of all the opportunities offered by the internal market. At the same time, we will create a simpler and greener administration”, says Minister for Local Government and Financial Markets Mats Odell, who chaired the meeting.
The ministerial declaration contains a common vision and common priorities when it comes to the way the 34 countries behind the declaration intend to use eGovernment to strengthen citizens and companies, strengthen mobility on the internal market and render possible effective and environmentally friendly public administration in Europe.
Today many feel that there is a gap between people and their governments. eGovernment can be used to reconnect citizens and their elected politicians. The spirit of the ministerial declaration is that eGovernment shall be used to open the door to public administration and build bridges between people and their respective governments in a new and innovative way.
Another area of interest is how eGovernment can be used as a high-tech bridge between the countries in Europe, making it easier to become a true European. eGovernment will therefore be used to create a concrete and positive change that makes it easier for citizens to study, work, live and retire in any and all Member States, and a concrete and positive change in making it easier to start up and run a business in the common market.
To achieve all this, long-term and shared efforts are required from all Member States. The implementation process will therefore be led jointly by the Member States in close collaboration with the European Commission. The Commission is invited to coordinate the Member States’ activities and organise the management of the implementation through a special steering group that will meet regularly to propose adjustments to the priorities.”
Watch Webcasts of the Ministerial eGovernment Conference (plenary sessions and three of the parallel sections are webcast live and on demand)
Follow Discussions on Twitter about the Conference: #egov2009
European Commission New Release on the eGovernment Ministerial Declaration: “EU ministers: accessible, interactive and customised online public services in Europe by 2015”
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