Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Internet, Legislation, Technology

The president of CoR, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, said that local and regional administrations must help manage the digital revolution in the European Union, spokespeople for the Association of Estonian Cities (AEC) said.

Lambertz described Estonia as one of the most advanced digital societies in the world and a pioneer in e-democracy and e-government. He said the success story of Estonia is an excellent example of the potential for public administration entailed in the transition to digital economy, which makes day-to-day life easier for people. Using digital solutions, local and regional administrations are on the forefront of developing new and better services, whereas the European Union must ensure that all regions benefit from the digital revolution.

The Estonian minister of public administration, Jaak Aab, highlighted the big number of public e-services developed for residents in Estonia. He said the potential clearly exists both for improving the quality of existing services as well as developing of new ones, such as EU cross-border e-services.

Aab said that, by way of example, digital signature alone allows to save on the average five working days per person per year.

The acting mayor of Tallinn, Taavi Aas, informed the forum that Tallinn has been shortlisted as one of the ten finalists for the title of 2017 European Capital of Innovation.

Lambertz said that while the digital single market is important for job creation and economic growth in Europe, it should not be established at the expense of social protection and consumer rights. Besides, greater effort should be made to put a stop to the widening of disparities between different regions of the EU.

"Everyone must be provided access to high speed broadband internet to narrow the digital divide," he said.

The bureau of the CoR traditionally convenes in the country holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union, which at present is Estonia.

The Committee of the Regions, established in 1994 by the Treaty of Maastricht, is an advisory political body made up of locally and regionally elected representatives. The CoR represents the interests of the European Union's regional and city governments and submits opinions to the Council of the EU and the European Commission. To serve the general interests of the European Union, the CoR's 350 members are independent in performing their duties.