eGovernment: Using technology to improve public services and democratic participation

Governments implement eGovernment and digital government policies with the aim of introducing efficiencies, reducing administrative burdens on citizens and businesses, stimulating economic growth and fostering public participation in democratic public life. The European Union facilitates cross-border services for mobile citizens and businesses that offer services across the single market and encourages the exchange of best practices between national, regional and local authorities in Member States. While Europe has made progress over the past 15 years, this has not been enough to meet its own targets for the uptake of digital government services. Much remains to be done, including building up security and trust, promoting interoperability for cross-border services, encouraging citizens to engage with governments through digital channels, exploiting open data, and ensuring the effective use of technologies such as cloud computing.