People and goods can move freely within the European Union. However to support this effective cross-boarder electronic exchange of information and documentation between Member States is required.
As more citizens and businesses making use of the European single market’s freedoms, further pressure is being placed on the governments to deliver coherent, cross-border electronic public services.
Without these citizens and businesses cannot fully profit from a single market.
European public administrations are not currently set up to efficiently exchange information as national systems supporting eGovernment differ in style and function and predominantly support national needs. To improve matters a common approach is required.
The ISA (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations) programme aims to foster and facilitate electronic collaboration between Member States public administrations.
It provides a wide range of key information and interoperability enablers, tools and services that can assist in the delivery of effective cross-boarder eGovernment services. It answers a critical need to in support of the Europe 2020 strategy’s flagship initiatives.
There are a set of concrete actions:
- Trusted information exchange (e.g. ISA provides Member States with the tools to create and verify e-signatures)
- Interoperability architecture at the European level (structuring European public information systems and services around a joint architectural blueprint)
- ICT implications for new legislation (to ensure that the ICT implications of new legislation at EU and Member State level are addressed already at the drafting stage)
- Communicating and sharing assets and best practices with stakeholders across the EU (to promote a common approach and facilitate collaboration).
As Francisco García Morán, Director General of the European Commission’s Informatics Directorate-General (DG DIGIT) comments: “There is no doubt that in communicating better, in exchanging information among the different systems, we’re going to produce better results, we’re going to provide better services – we’re going to provide public value.”
You can watch the video below to find out more about ISA joining up Governments: