PM Continues Fight for Streamlined EU Digital Services
Giving Parliament an overview of the government's activities today, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip continued his push for the digitilization of EU activities, saying the union needs to stay competitive with 21st century standards.
Ansip said the naysayers who feared the euro would collapse have been proven wrong, reported uudised.err.ee. "Above all, I find convincing the fact that the EU continues to be the world's biggest exporter and importer, the biggest recipient of foreign investment as well as the biggest foreign investor," Ansip said.
But one area where the single market remains divided into 28 parts is the digital market, Ansip said, echoing a presentation to EU leaders at a recent summit. He had advocated a large-scale adoption of e-services and that individual member states streamline their services across the EU.
He said digital signing technology should be introduced throughout the EU and that Estonia could play a significant part by sharing its experience and success in this area.
"The use of [digital signatures] has saved an estimated one work week per resident per year in Estonia. That's 2 percent of GDP," Ansip said.
"Adopting digital signing in Europe, the impact would be equivalent to two EU budgets."