This Action Plan is designed to make public services more efficient and more modern and to target the needs of the general population more precisely. To do this, it proposes a series of priorities and a roadmap to accelerate the deployment of eGovernment in Europe.

Communication from the Commission, of 25 April 2006, i2010 eGovernment Action Plan - Accelerating eGovernment in Europe for the Benefit of All [COM(2006) 173 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

The Action Plan stresses the importance of accelerating the introduction of eGovernment * in Europe to respond to a number of challenges and requirements:

eGovernment initiatives have already enabled a number of Member States to make substantial savings of both time and money. Moreover, it is estimated that a total of 50 billion euro could be saved annually if electronic invoicing were to become common practice in Europe.

The spread of eGovernment should benefit everybody. For this to happen, it is necessary that disadvantaged people encounter as few obstacles as possible when accessing public services on-line.

In this fight against the digital divide, Member States have committed to ensuring that, by 2010, all citizens, including socially disadvantaged groups, become major beneficiaries of eGovernment.

In accordance with the eAccessibility * Communication and the agenda for eInclusion *, the Commission will support the Member States' efforts to achieve these objectives.

The Member States have committed themselves to achieving gains in efficiency through the innovative use of information and communication technologies (ICT) * and to significantly lightening the administrative burden by 2010.

To facilitate this process, the Action Plan provides for the Member States and the Commission to put in place a system for comparatively evaluating the impact and benefit of eGovernment. Measures will also be taken to encourage greater sharing of experience.

A number of services delivered across borders make a significant difference to citizens, businesses and administrations. They can consequently act as flagships for European eGovernment.

One such high-impact service is electronic public procurement. Public contracts represent 15 to 20% of GDP, i.e. about 1 500 billion euro every year in Europe. Electronic procurement could result in an annual saving of tens of billions of euro. Hence the importance of a high level of take-up of e-procurement.

The Member States have undertaken to give their public administrations the capability to carry out 100% of their procurement electronically. In particular, this means ensuring that at least 50% of procurement above the EC threshold (from 50 000 euro for simple public services to 6 000 000 euro for public works) is carried out electronically by 2010.

The Action Plan provides for a roadmap for meeting these objectives. Between 2006 and 2010, cooperation on additional high-impact eGovernment services will be agreed with the Member States.

The Member States have agreed to put in place by 2010 secure systems of mutual recognition of national electronic identifiers for websites and public administration services.

The Commission will contribute to these efforts, defining common specifications for the management of electronic identification and monitoring large-scale pilots of e-IDMs.

ICT have great potential to involve large numbers of citizens in public debate and decision-making. Indeed, 65% of respondents to an on-line eGovernment policy poll considered that on-line democracy ("eDemocracy") can help reduce democratic deficits.

To encourage this potential, the Action Plan proposes support for projects which enhance the use of ICT with the aim of increasing public involvement in the democratic process.

This Action Plan is part of the EU's i2010 strategy, which aims to stimulate the development of the digital economy in Europe. It draws on the Ministerial Declaration adopted at the 3rd Ministerial eGovernment Conference (November 2005, Manchester, United Kingdom), which set expectations for measurable benefits from eGovernment by 2010.

Key terms used in the act

eGovernment: eGovernment seeks to use information and communication technologies to improve the quality and accessibility of public services. It can reduce costs for businesses and administrations alike, and facilitate transactions between administrations and citizens. It also helps to make the public sector more open and transparent and governments more accountable and understandable to citizens.
Information and communication technologies (ICT): the term ICT covers a wide range of services, applications, technologies, devices and software, i.e. tools such as telephony and the Internet, distance learning, televisions, computers, and the networks and software required to use these technologies, which are revolutionising social, cultural and economic structures by creating new attitudes towards information, knowledge, working life, etc.
eAccessibility: eAccessibility refers to initiatives taken to ensure that all citizens have access to Information Society services. This is about removing the technical, legal and other barriers that some people encounter when using ICT-related services.
eInclusion: this concept is linked to the development of an Information Society for all, i.e. one which ensures equal access to ICT and the same availability at an affordable cost. In particular, eInclusion involves putting in place systems which allow elderly people and people with disabilities easy access to Information Society services.
Interoperability: interoperability means that several systems, whether they are identical or radically different, can communicate without ambiguity and work together.

Communication from the Commission of 1 June 2005, "i2010 - A European Information Society for growth and employment " [COM(2005) 229 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

Communication from the Commission of 26 September 2003, "The Role of eGovernment for Europe's Future" [COM(2003) 567 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

See also