CEF Digital 2018 Presents "Accelerating the digital transformation of government", at EWRC

The Workshop, part of the European Week Of Cities and Regions 2016, looked at "Accelerating the digital transformation of government" and presented the new eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020, which aims to accelerate the digital transformation of government in the EU.

During the event, Mr Joao Rodrigues Frade of the Directorate General for Informatics (DIGIT) presented the CEF building blocks, cross-border digital services supported by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the key EU funding instrument to promote the trans-European networks and infrastructure,

What are the Opportunities for Cities and Regions?

In his presentation, Mr Rodrigues Frade looked at the EUR 300 million that will be invested by CEF Telecom in grants between 2014 and 2020. The presentation looked at two concrete examples:

You can download the presentation in full here.

In addition, of specific relevance to Regions and Cities, reuse of the CEF building blocks reinforces security and trust through having common legal certainty and boosting trust, security and convenience on-line. Reuse of the CEF building blocks also enables efficiency gains by providing better access for consumers and businesses to digital services across Europe.

What are the CEF Building Blocks?

The CEF building blocks provide basic capabilities that are reusable in different ways, which underpin the creation of an interoperable and interconnected Europe. The CEF building blocks consist of key digital services, identified as required for most pan-European projects (such as message transfer or authentication).

The CEF building blocks (CEF eDelivery, eInvoicing, eID, eSignature and eTranslation) are Digital Service Infrastructure (DSI), which have the following characteristics:

• Designed for cross border use
• Deliver digital services
• Have sufficient maturity
• Support EU policies
• Plan to become sustainable
• As much as possible based on market-driven open standards and technical specifications

The CEF building blocks are regulated by the Regulation (EU) N°910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS Regulation) and the eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020. Via the eGovernment Plan, the Commission will lead by example and reuse the CEF DSIs as an early adopter. As envisaged in the eGovernment Action Plan, use of the CEF building blocks will enable individuals and businesses to use electronic services easily and carry out cross-border online activities in a secure way.

During the workshop, presenters informed regional and local authorities on how they can contribute to achieving the overall vision of the plan by suggesting additional actions. In addition, the workshop showcased eGovernment initiatives at the regional and the local level that may be replicated by other regions and local authorities.

To learn more about the CEF building blocks, watch our short video now