EU ministers have committed to developing smarter online public services for citizens and businesses by 2015. The Commission has welcomed this step forward in making eGovernment more accessible, interactive and customised.

At the fifth Ministerial eGovernment Conference in Malmö (Sweden), EU ministers outlined a joint vision and policy priorities on how this should be delivered.

The declaration repeats some of the goals of the Smart Cities project:

The key objectives that Member States together with the Commission aim to achieve in the next five years are:

• to empower businesses and citizens through eGovernment services designed around users’ needs, better access to information and their
  active involvement in the policy making process;
• to facilitate mobility in the single market by seamless eGovernment services for setting up business, for studying, working, residing and
  retiring in Europe;
• to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of government services by reducing the administrative burden, improving organisational processes of administrations and using ICT to improve energy efficiency in public administrations which will result in a greater contribution to a sustainable low-carbon economy.

Read more: http://www.egov2009.se/2009/11/19/european-commission-press-release-on-e...