Opportunities for Cooperation between Estonia and ... - Valitsus
Opportunities for Cooperation between Estonia and ... - Valitsus
Opportunities for Cooperation between Estonia and ... - Valitsus
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APPENDIX 9<br />
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY<br />
The Global In<strong>for</strong>mation Technology Report by the World Economic Forum<br />
ranked <strong>Estonia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Finl<strong>and</strong> as the two most advanced countries in Europe<br />
in terms of in<strong>for</strong>mation society policy. According to the UN’s annual Digital<br />
Governance in Municipalities Worldwide Survey, Helsinki is one of the top ten<br />
cities in the world as a provider of high-quality e-government services. Even<br />
so, both countries can learn from each other in this, engage in cooperation <strong>and</strong><br />
share its results with others.<br />
International companies have resorted to joint cross-border solutions in their<br />
IT applications ever since the 1980s. At present, routine services in the private<br />
sector, such as ticket sales, hotel bookings, receipt of orders <strong>for</strong> goods or<br />
the retaining of services takes place mostly over the Internet. Several states<br />
have already prepared in<strong>for</strong>mation society, e-administration <strong>and</strong> e-government<br />
development plans in order to upgrade the procedures applied in the public<br />
sector <strong>and</strong> central government. The most advanced countries have achieved<br />
much in this respect.<br />
According to the European In<strong>for</strong>mation Technology Observatory (EITO), central<br />
government in<strong>for</strong>mation technology systems account <strong>for</strong> more than one third<br />
of the European IT market <strong>and</strong>, together with local government systems, <strong>for</strong><br />
40%. Since 2002, public sector investments in in<strong>for</strong>mation technology have<br />
outpaced corresponding investments in other sectors.<br />
As the importance of cross-border cooperation <strong>between</strong> various authorities<br />
within the European Union will only increase, <strong>Estonia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Finl<strong>and</strong> could<br />
consider the development of a joint e-government. In real terms, it would<br />
mean that joint interests of the two countries <strong>and</strong> the experiences gained by<br />
the neighbouring country would be taken into account when developing the<br />
national e-government. St<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>and</strong> technological solutions should, from<br />
the outset, be developed with a view to mutual compatibility <strong>and</strong> shared use.<br />
Aside from the fact that these IT solutions will improve administrative efficiency<br />
in <strong>Estonia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Finl<strong>and</strong>, local IT companies could perhaps, thanks to first-h<strong>and</strong><br />
experience from practical cooperation, per<strong>for</strong>m well when participating in<br />
Europe-wide projects.<br />
To develop the in<strong>for</strong>mation society, the provision of diversified <strong>and</strong> highst<strong>and</strong>ard<br />
college-level education in in<strong>for</strong>mation <strong>and</strong> communications<br />
50