During the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Commission (in collaboration with France and Germany) published the first report on the progress of the Berlin Declaration on the Digital Society and Value-Based Digital Government.
The declaration was signed on December 8, 2020, by all EU member states. It builds upon the political commitments of the Tallinn Declaration on eGovernment and takes a further step in strengthening the pioneering role of public administrations in value-based digital transformation, focusing on user-centric principles.
This report provides an overview of the performance and actions of the member states concerning the first year of implementing the commitments made in the declaration. It includes a description of the methodology and key performance indicators used for monitoring the activities.
Furthermore, it offers a national overview of the results for each of the 22 policy actions in the Declaration, as well as an overview of best practices in their implementation.
The First Progress Report of the Berlin Declaration
Download and Read the full progress report here.
About the Declaration of Berlin: 7 key principles
The Declaration acknowledges the public sector as an essential element of the European Single Market and a driving force for new and innovative technological solutions for public services and societal challenges. It emphasises that public authorities at all levels must lead by example to strengthen the tenets of the European Union.
To do so it sets out 7 key principles with related policy action lines and national and EU levels:
- Validity and respect of fundamental rights and democratic values in the digital sphere;
- Social participation and digital inclusion to shape the digital world;
- Empowerment and digital literacy, allowing all citizens to participate in the digital sphere;
- Trust and security in digital government interactions, allowing everyone to navigate the digital world safely, authenticate and be digitally recognised within the EU conveniently;
- Digital sovereignty and interoperability, as a key in ensuring the ability of citizens and public administrations to make decisions and act self-determined in the digital world;
- Human-centered systems and innovative technologies in the public sector, strengthening its pioneering role in the research on secure and trustworthy technology design;
- A resilient and sustainable digital society, preserving our natural foundations of life in line with the Green Deal and using digital technologies to enhance the sustainability of our health systems.
