19. Elektronische Behördendienste zur schnelleren Abwicklung digitaler öffentlicher Dienstleistungen, die dem Funktionieren des Binnenmarkts förderlich sind (kurze Darstellung)
President. – The next item is a short presentation of the report by Tomislav Sokol on eGovernment accelerating digital public services that support the functioning of the single market (2022/2036(INI)) (A9-0065/2023).
Tomislav Sokol, Rapporteur. – Poštovani potpredsjedniče, povjerenice, kolegice i kolege, digitalna tranzicija kojoj svjedočimo, a koja dodatno ubrzava zbog pandemije Covida 19., iz temelja mijenja obrasce ponašanja građana, njihovu komunikaciju s upravom i način kupnje. U takvim okolnostima moramo osigurati da iz nje nitko ne bude izostavljen.
Dok smo svjesni da digitalizacija ima brojne pozitivne strane, ne smijemo zaboraviti da zaštita podataka građana mora ostati prioritet, naročito u izazovnim geopolitičkim okolnostima i naročito za osjetljive podatke, kao što su zdravstveni podaci.
Digitalnim kompasom Europska komisija postavila je ambiciozne ciljeve, pa tako do 2030. ključne javne usluge u potpunosti moraju biti dostupne putem interneta, a 80 posto građana trebalo bi se do tada koristiti digitalnom identifikacijom, što će uvelike olakšati korištenje digitalnih usluga. Međutim, istraživanja su pokazala da čak 42 posto građana EU-a nemaju osnovne digitalne vještine zbog čega ostvarivanje digitalnih ciljeva ne bi bilo moguće bez sustavne edukacije građana. K tome, europsko jedinstveno digitalno tržište ne može se izgraditi bez unapređenja digitalnih vještina i dostupnosti širokopojasnog interneta. Stoga smo u izvješću pozvali Komisiju da odlučno provede akcijski plan za digitalno obrazovanje, a dodatno smo pozvali i na izgradnju potrebne infrastrukture. Posebno na otocima i u brdsko - planinskim područjima.
Digitalnim pružanjem javnih usluga može se značajno smanjiti administrativno opterećenje, naročito za male i srednje poduzetnike. U tom smislu potreban nam je ambiciozniji pristup u svim stadijima izdavanja građevinskih dozvola. Potrebno je također nastaviti s daljnjom digitalizacijom zemljišnih knjiga jer će jedino tako Europska unija moći ostati konkurentna kad je u pitanju privlačenje investicija. Nažalost, pri utvrđivanju vlasništva građani često imaju problema s pristupom zemljišnim knjigama, njezinim povijesnim izvacima, što može dovesti do pravne nesigurnosti.
U srži ovog izvješća je pojednostavljenje administrativnih postupaka za građane. Zato je važno naglasiti da velik dio građana nema printere, pa smatramo da građani moraju imati mogućnost ispunjavanja, potpisivanja i podnošenja obrazaca digitalno, bez potrebe printanja. Nadalje, budući da građani sve više koriste mobitele, također smatramo da sve web stranice za pružanje javnih usluga moraju biti prilagođene pristupu s mobilnih uređaja.
Isto tako, važno je da države članice implementiraju načelo ‘samo jednom’, a to znači da od građana ne zahtijevaju opetovano dostavu one dokumentacije koju javne vlasti već posjeduju.
Digitalizacija još uvijek treba ostvariti svoj puni potencijal također u područjima zdravstva i pravosuđa. Zato snažno pozdravljamo stvaranje europskog prostora za zdravstvene podatke kao nužnog dijela digitalne tranzicije. Nadalje, primijetili smo da digitalizacija može imati pozitivan učinak i na ovršni postupak i zato smo pozvali Komisiju da procijeni kako digitalizacija može smanjiti troškove ovršnog postupka za potrošača, a ti veliki troškovi danas za mnoge od njih predstavljaju vrlo veliki problem.
Također, u izvješću sam se posebno usredotočio na javnu nabavu. Naime, zlouporaba podnošenja žalbi isključivo u cilju produljenja postupka javne nabave vrlo često ometa ulaganja i oduljuje postupak. Zato se izvješćem poziva Komisiju da procijeni u kojoj mjeri dolazi do zlouporabe pravnih lijekova te da razmotri načine njihovog sprječavanja.
U konačnici, izvješćem se ističe važnost donošenja nove strategije za e-usluge koja će odgovoriti potrebama europskih građana i pripremiti jedinstveno tržište za digitalno doba.
I, evo, samo na kraju, pored svega navedenog također bih zahvalio svim kolegama i kolegicama koji su radili na ovom izvješću i vjerujem da će sutra biti posve usvojeno velikom većinom na plenarnoj sjednici.
Catch-the-eye procedure
Alexander Bernhuber (PPE). – Herr Präsident, sehr geehrte Frau Kommissarin! Lieber Herr Kollege, herzlichen Dank für deinen vorgestellten Bericht. E-Government ist ja wirklich ein wahres Zukunftsthema, weil es uns wirklich eine Vielzahl an Themen öffnet und Möglichkeiten eröffnet – auf der einen Seite für Unternehmen, die hier ja einen Beitrag leisten können oder einfacher Behördenwege abwickeln können, und auf der anderen Seite natürlich auch für Privatpersonen.
Ich komme aus Österreich, und bei uns ist E-Government wirklich ein Thema für die nächsten Jahre. Zum Beispiel ist bei uns umgesetzt worden, dass man seinen Führerschein auf dem Handy mitnehmen kann und nicht mehr mitführen muss. Und das ist ja nur ein kleines Beispiel, was hier alles möglich ist und was noch alles möglich sein kann, wenn es darum geht, Behördengänge wirklich zu vereinfachen, keine Dokumente mehr per Post zu verschicken, sondern man es einfach am PC hochladen kann und man sofort eine Antwort bekommt, ob das Dokument in Ordnung ist, ob es in Datenbanken eingespeichert ist. Aber nichtsdestotrotz, und Sie haben es ja angesprochen, muss man hier auch auf Datensicherheit achten, darauf achten, wie mit den Dokumenten umgegangen wird, wie sie abgespeichert werden und wer Zugriff darauf hat. Das zählt hier genauso.
(End of catch-the-eye procedure)
Dubravka Šuica,Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, today we are discussing the report on eGovernment by the IMCO Committee and honourable Member, my dear colleague, Tomislav Sokol.
As recalled in last month’s Communication on the Single Market, digitalising public services cuts red tape and makes the single market work better, in particular for SMEs. That is why the Digital Decade policy programme sets a target of having 100% of key public services accessible online.
The European Parliament’s resolution is thus very timely. The Commission welcomes the report, and specifically its call on the Commission to propose a strategic approach which connects the dots and assesses how better eGovernment contributes to an improved business environment, while reducing costs for governments.
I particularly welcome that the report emphasises the importance of e-procurement. Recently, on 16 March, the Commission introduced the Public Procurement Data Space. This new data space will improve public spending, boost data-driven policymaking and improve access to tenders for companies, SMEs, public buyers, policy-makers and citizens. It will tap into the full potential of public procurement data in the single market. The initial feedback is encouraging. Most Member States signalled their interest in connecting national data sources to the PPDS, the Public Procurement Data Space.
I take note of the report’s call to include public procurement in the list of high-value datasets. The Commission has commissioned a study on the extension of categories of high-value datasets that will be published soon. As recommended in the report, we employ open source technologies wherever possible to ensure easy re-use of the tools by the Member States.
We agree that timely implementation of the new digital standard for publishing public procurement – by using the so-called eForms – is key. This is why the Commission and the Union’s Publication Office work together to support Member States in their uptake of eForms, including for calls below EU thresholds. EForms will be constantly enriched to support optional elements, such as information on the green and digital transitions. We also intend to include the use of completion notices to harvest data covering the entire procurement cycle.
As the report stresses, another important data space initiative is the Commission’s proposal for the European Health Data Space, which was presented in May last year. The European Health Data Space aims to further accelerate the use of digital health data by individuals and for secondary use purposes, including research and development.
We fully endorse the report’s call for quicker, easy-to-use online information and administrative procedures. This is precisely the purpose of the single digital gateway, launched in 2020. It’s portal, Your Europe, provides a one-stop shop for reliable administrative and regulatory information and assistance at all levels of government.
It has had a promising start: visitor statistics show that, in 2022, more than 120 000 hours were spent on the Your Europe webpages. Even by a conservative estimate of legal advice costs, this can be translated to savings, especially for small businesses, of around €2.5 million per year.
The once only technical system will bring the digitalisation of public services to the next level. It will be deployed by the end of this year and will ensure that when a business or citizen has submitted the document to a public administration, the document can be safely transferred to other public administrations, avoiding the need to resubmit it.
This will massively reduce burdens on businesses. For instance, it will make it easier to comply with social security obligations or to get a permit. That is why the single digital gateway will also help realise the ambitions under the Net Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act. The Commission will soon adopt the first single digital gateway implementation report.
As a complement to the single digital gateway, the Commission also recently adopted a proposal to further expand the use of digital tools and processes in EU company law. In addition, the European Digital Identity framework – currently under discussion by co-legislators – will further facilitate access to online public services, such as those offered via the single digital gateway. To facilitate identification and authentication of digital transactions, it is important to bring this legislative process to a swift conclusion.
I also took good note of the references in the report to the importance of connectivity for eGovernment. On 23 February, the Commission presented the new package of three initiatives, including a proposal for a regulation – the Gigabit Infrastructure Act – a new Gigabit Recommendation and an exploratory consultation on the future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure, which is open until 19 May. These initiatives will help create the right environment to stimulate investments and reduce the costs and delays for the deployment of very high capacity networks.
I would finally like to stress the importance of the Interoperable Europe Act, which is currently in negotiation with the Council and Parliament. The Act will establish a strengthened governance structure between the Commission and Member States to ensure interoperability by default, limit administrative burden for citizens and businesses, and hence further strengthen our single market.
Thanks again to the IMCO committee and the rapporteur, Mr Sokol, for this timely report on this important topic of eGovernment.
President. – The item is closed. The vote will be held tomorrow.
Written statements (Rule 171)
Edina Tóth (NI), írásban. – Fontosnak tartom az e-közigazgatás fejlesztését, és a javaslatban kitűzött célokat. Úgy vélem, hogy az egységes piac versenyképessége szempontjából elengedhetetlen, hogy a belső piac és az azt támogató közszolgáltatások lépést tartsanak a digitális technológiával. Mindemellett a koronavírus-járvány mindannyiunk számára világossá tette: a közszolgáltatások digitális biztosítása nem pusztán lehetőség, hanem szükséglet, továbbá a polgárok részéről is egyre erősödő elvárás. A jól megvalósított e-közigazgatás számos területen érzékelteti hatását: gyorsabb és költséghatékonyabb.
A digitális közszolgáltatások kiépítése során különös figyelmet kell fordítani a polgárok számára a szükséges digitális készségek elsajátítására és a technikai feltételek megteremtésére. Bízom benne, hogy a javaslatban kitűzött célok gyakorlati megvalósítása során ezek a szempontok, valamint az állampolgárok és a kis- és középvállalkozások igényei kiemelt figyelmet kapnak majd.