Edemocracy and Eparticipation the PRECIOUS FIRST STEPS and the WAY FORWARD

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Edemocracy and Eparticipation the PRECIOUS FIRST STEPS and the WAY FORWARD eDemocracy and eParticipation THE PRECIOUS FIRST STEPS AND THE WAY FORWARD 1 ISBN 978-619-90549-9-4 Design: Ivan Panov | www.epiquestudio.com © 2017 European Liberal Forum. All rights reserved. This publication can be downloaded for free on www.liberalforum.eu or www.fnf-southeasteurope.org. Published by the European Liberal Forum asbl with the support of the Project office for South- east Europe of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. Co-funded by the European Parliament. Neither the European Parliament nor the European Liberal Forum asbl are responsible for the content of this publication, or for any use that may be made of it. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) alone. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the European Parliament and/or the European Liberal Forum asbl. 2 Table of contents About the Publishers ...........................................................................................................................................................................4 Foreword by Andrus Ansip ..............................................................................................................................................................5 Foreword by Daniel Kaddik .............................................................................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 1 eDemocracy, opportunities and challenges ..........................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER 2 eDemocracy “Why do we need it?” ...........................................................................................................................................12 CHAPTER 3 eDemocracy in Europe ......................................................................................................................................................................20 The Nordic Countries: Combining eGovernance with eDemocracy ..........................................................................24 Finland: eDemocracy adding value and venues for democracy ...............................................................................26 eParticipation in Denmark – A state-of-play report .....................................................................................................35 The Norwegian perspective on the digital democracy ...............................................................................................39 eDemocracy in Sweden .............................................................................................................................................................44 eEstonia: a front-runner .............................................................................................................................................................50 Central Europe: where East and West, North and South meet ....................................................................................55 Austria: Many attempts, but much still has to be done ..............................................................................................60 Croatia – modernising, simplifying and speeding up communication between citizens and administration ......................................................................................................................................................64 eDemocracy practices in Slovenia: a quest for governance impact through an online deliberation .................................................................................................................................................................67 eDemocracy in Poland ................................................................................................................................................................72 eDemocracy in Hungary: high supply, low demand ......................................................................................................78 Southeastern Europe: ready for a paradigm shift? .............................................................................................................82 Digital Democracy in Greece enters early childhood ...................................................................................................83 Turning ‘the silent majority’ in Bulgaria into active citizens .......................................................................................90 eParticipation on the rise in Romania ..................................................................................................................................98 In lieu of conclusions .........................................................................................................................................................................102 CHAPTER 4 Diverse eDemocracy, as diverse as the EU itself ..................................................................................................................105 About the editors .................................................................................................................................................................................111 eDEMOCRACY AND ePARTICIPATION 3 THE PRECIOUS FIRST STEPS AND THE WAY FORWARD Abouth the publishers EUROPEAN LIBERAL FORUM The European Liberal Forum (ELF) is the foundation of the European Liberal Democrats, the ALDE Party. A core aspect of our work consists in issuing publications on Liberal- ism and European public policy issues. We also provide a space for the discussion of European politics, and offer training for liberal-minded citizens. Our aim is to promote active citizenship in all of this. Our foundation is made up of a number of European think tanks, political foun- dations and institutes. The diversity of our membership provides us with a wealth of knowledge and is a constant source of innovation. In turn, we provide our members with the opportunity to cooperate on European projects under the ELF umbrella. We work throughout Europe as well as in the EU Neighbourhood countries. The youthful and dynamic nature of ELF allows us to be at the forefront in promoting ac- tive citizenship, getting the citizen involved with European issues and building an open, Liberal Europe. www.liberalforum.eu PROJECT OFFICE FOR SOUTHEAST EUROPE OF THE FRIEDRICH NAUMANN FOUNDATION FOR FREEDOM The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom is a German political foundation, which promotes liberal polices and political knowledge in over 60 countries worldwide with the aim of consolidating liberal democracy and building free and prosperous societies. The Project office for Southeast Europe of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom implements the activities and programmers of the Foundation in Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova in close cooperation with a high number of local part- ners – liberal political parties, think-tanks, institutes, and civil organisations. Focus areas of our current work at national and regional levels are anticorruption and transparency, freedom of media, economic entrepreneurship, and education. We provide consultan- cy on all these topics in order to facilitate a transfer of knowledge and best practices. With a large number of diverse public activities and publications we strive to raise the awareness on the principles of liberal democracy, to increase civic engagement, and last, but by far not least, to foster good governance in our four project countries. www.fnf-southeasteurope.org eDEMOCRACY AND ePARTICIPATION 4 THE PRECIOUS FIRST STEPS AND THE WAY FORWARD FOREWORD Foreword s our lives become more digital, we have high expectations of how public services are provided. We want them to be open – yet secure and easy to use. We want them to let us take part more in forming policy and taking decisions that directly affect us. If people can interact more easily with their elected government or with a particu- Alar public authority, that is a good thing. It promotes trust; it involves people more in matters that affect them directly. It is democracy in action, even be it a simple administrative operation, like renewing an iden- tity card or registering a change of address. Digital technology can help support and increase public involvement: good for legitimacy, accountability and – ultimately – trust in government. This is not only about value for taxpayers’ money. It is about the government and state properly serving its people. And this is where digital can help. In other words: eDemocracy. Recently in Tallinn, EU leaders committed to developing an e-government to „respect, sup- port and enhance the fundamental freedoms of people, such as the freedoms of expression, privacy and the right to protection of personal data“. They agreed that digital means should be used to empower people and businesses to voice views, involve people further in creating public services, and ultimately provide better digital public services. Digital is a force for technological progress, as well as, for social, political and economic inclusion. If the European Union can turn these ambitions into reality, it would be a true digital democracy. Andrus Ansip Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the Digital Single Market eDEMOCRACY AND ePARTICIPATION 5 THE PRECIOUS FIRST STEPS AND THE WAY FORWARD FOREWORD Foreword he amazing increase in the quantity and speed of information, provided by digital means that were unthinkable just 10 years ago, brings
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