Romania’s six billion euro bet to accelerate digital public services [Advocacy Lab Content]

Despite boasting IT specialisation, Romania struggles with one of the most underdeveloped digital public bureaucracies in the region. A new €6 billion injection from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan could revitalise the sector.

According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), the significant investment of EU funds could see Romania’s digital economy worth €52 billion by 2030, accounting for almost ten per cent of the country’s GDP.

A diagnosis of Romania’s digital transformation highlights persistent weaknesses alongside strengths and challenges. The internal functioning of the public administration – in terms of design, operations, interoperability, and security – digital public services and digital skills of public sector employees are among the main objectives, according to a 2022 sectorial diagnosis by Michele Giove, EY Romania.

While modernising public administration has been identified as a key objective, it’s not the sole focus. 

Bridging the digital gap between rural and urban areas, as emphasised in the Digital Economy and Society Index 2022 report (DESI), stands at the forefront of the recommendations.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), is contributing €5.97 billion (20.5% of Romania’s total allocation) to digital objectives, aiming to address long-lasting structural problems.

The first five calls for projects for the digitalisation of public administration, totalling €524 million, were announced by Bogdan Gruia Ivan, Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation, last August.

“Through these investments, we are streamlining and simplifying citizens’ interactions with the state. Over three million Romanians will gain access to electronic public services, while at least 30 state institutions will adopt advanced technologies to securely exchange data”, the minister said.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Romania excels in IT specialisation, as “the leader in Europe and sixth in the world regarding the number of certified IT specialists per 1,000 inhabitants, larger than in the US or Russia”, as per ITA data.

The IT service software market “is growing substantially and appears likely to become the most critical contributor to GDP in the medium-to-long run”, according to the cited source.

Conversely, Romania sits at the bottom of 27 EU countries for human capital, digital technologies, and digital public services, according to 2022 DESI data.

The same report shows that Romania’s relative annual growth is behind of its peers, and “the country is lagging behind for several indicators in the human capital dimension, with a very low level of basic digital skills compared to the EU average, but maintaining its high ranking in the proportion of female specialist in employment (ranking 2nd) and ICT graduates (ranking 4th).”

Challenges include the lack of interoperability in public informatics systems and societal resistance to advanced technologies in certain groups of the population.

Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitisation, Marius Viorel Poșa highlighted this resistance in response to parliamentary inquiries, citing factors such as “insufficient information, knowledge, and skills, as well as the high costs associated with developing digital competencies.”

To address these challenges, initiatives have already begun. The Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania has implemented a project aimed to bolster digital competencies in advanced technologies in 2000 SMEs, with a focus on reducing the digital divide and enhancing socio-economic inclusion.

Additionally, strategic educational initiatives like SMART-Edu seek to improve the digital skills of public sector employees and enhance the internal functioning of public administration, according to Poșa.

The digital transformation agenda needs to include various sectors, including the business environment, railway systems, tax and pension authorities, education, and government cloud adoption, all aimed at fostering digital participation and improving services.

While Romania’s digital landscape faces significant hurdles, strategic NRRP investments are closely watched to produce a return on investment.  

[By Manuela Preoteasa I Edited by Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]

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