Brussels, 02/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - On 7-8 July in Cernobbio the European Conference on E-Government will be held. Jointly organised by the European Commission and the Italian government, this conference will be chaired by the Italian Minister for Innovation and Technology, Lucio Staca and the European Commissioner for the Information Society, Erkki Liikanen. The participation of the Acting President of the European Council, Silvio Berlusconi is planned for 7 July. Work will focus on: development of information and communication technologies (ICT) in public administrations that allow for improved services for citizens and which are likely to lead to greeter efficiency in the administrations themselves.
A certain number of other themes were raised as well in the meetings, notably the role of e-government in European competitiveness and "digital" cooperation between European governments. Forty Ministers in charge of "e-government" will also be attending: from EU and candidate countries, as well as Ministers from third countries to which Italy provides assistance for the development of their e-government. Representatives from regional and local administrations will also be taking part in the event, as well as business leaders from the ICT sector. In parallel to the conference, a big exhibition will be organised with the presentation of sixty-five examples illustrating good practices in the field of "e-government".