Digitalization of Democracy: Is the EU falling behind?

by Teodor Kalpakchiev

The recognition of the role of Internet and digital technologies can easily be judged by the self-criticism in the latest Digital Agenda for communication in Europe[1]. With the presence of 50 million wireless devices by 2020, Europe should provide the necessary digital solutions to pave the way to the already existent ICT growth. But when it comes down to the question of increasing public value through technology, the conclusions are superficially connected solely with money saving through e-Procurement and e-Government.

This means that the process in some member states continue to be unacknowledged, as for less than a decade Estonia, the country of the Baltic region, became a Tiger in one more aspect – providing a viable alternative to the traditional election process. With the help of “robust accountability and verifiable transparency“[2] the government overcame the largest problem of trust and the results in the…