Ministers responsible for eGovernment issues in the EU Member States, applicant countries, candidate countries and the EFTA countries, together representing 34 countries, met yesterday in Malmö where they approved a new ministerial declaration on eGovernment up until 2015.

"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.