Brussels, 28/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - Romania is a long way behind other member states in the digital field but is making huge efforts to improve the situation, explained Commissioner Neelie Kroes at the end of a visit there. The commissioner for the Digital Agenda took part a few days ago in the first digital conference ever organised in Romania, where she met the prime minister, the minister for telecommunications and the national regulator, as well as organisations and NGOs involved in digital technology application.
Currently only 23% of Romanian households have a broadband connection and almost six out of ten people have never used the internet. Romania is a poor country with 30% more inhabitants than the Netherlands. However, Romanian citizens have less than half the wealth of Dutch citizens, underlined the commissioner. Nonetheless, progress is being made: broadband penetration rates have gone up eightfold over the last five years and three out of four citizens can now get 3G coverage. The government is also taking action to improve the situation, setting up a promising target of an 80% broadband take-up rate. “There is, however, a long way to go”, acknowledged the commissioner. She is urging the government to finalise plans for broadband investment in order to take advantage of the €86 million from the EU budget structural funds, which are in principle earmarked to tackle this issue. The commissioner also welcomed the active involvement of organisations such as EOS, IREX and Microsoft, which are actively promoting new technologies in Romania. Kroes pointed out that their work will improve the quality of life for Romanians and they should be recognised for this. She added: “I want to get every European digital - and that includes the citizens in Romania just as much as in the wealthy member states. Indeed, the need to boost the economy through digital infrastructure and services is perhaps even greater there.” (I.L./transl.fl)