In a large-scale study, the EU examined the degree of digitization of the authorities in 35 European countries and derived recommendations from this.
In its eGovernment Benchmark 2022, the European Commission examined the degree of digitization of the authorities in the 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. In addition, citizens from these countries tried to complete the official stuff related to nine life events in their country via the Internet. They visited and evaluated more than 14,000 government websites in 35 countries.
The life events were in the areas of starting a business, health, career, family, school and college, normal business activities, health, relocation, filing an application, and transportation. This included finding relevant information (in the health sector, for example, searching for a doctor or hospital), interactions (electronic consultation hours, issuing an e-prescription) and a portal that offers information and services related to this event across authorities. A distinction was also made between a citizen requesting the services in their own country and using them in another EU country.
What makes good eGovernment?
(Image: eGovernment Benchmark 2022)
The quality of the services was evaluated according to four dimensions: user centricity (to what extent is information and services available online and also for mobile devices), transparency of the services and their handling of personal data, existence of key enablers (eID, electronic documents, digital mail, security) and cross-border services.
The 35 countries considered have an average of 68 percent for government digitization. With a value of 63 percent, Germany only occupies 21st place. Overall, there is a clear north-west-south-east divide: Scandinavia, the western European countries and the Baltic states are in good shape with values over 70 percent, the worst values can be found in the south-east European countries. The leaders in government digitization are Malta (96 percent) and Estonia (90 percent). It is followed by Luxembourg, Iceland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Lithuania with values between 87 and 83 percent.
What works and what doesn’t
In terms of user centricity, the study considers it promising that 81 percent of government services across the EU are available online. 92 percent of websites also work on mobile devices. However, only 58 percent of government websites explain which personal data they use. Two thirds of all services can be used with an electronic ID card (eID). However, three quarters of the services only accept the eID of their own country, which makes cross-border use difficult. Overall, almost half of the offers can also be used from another country.
The coronavirus pandemic, the report summarizes, has further advanced the digitization of public authorities in Europe. The study identifies three challenges for further digitization: User-centricity must improve – more e-government services must become available to more users, including those with low digital skills or people with disabilities. In addition, portals are needed that are based on life events and bring together the services of different authorities in one place. Finally, interoperability between different levels of government and agencies needs to be improved through data sharing and an overarching electronic identity.
Source: eGovernment Benchmark 2022
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