On 6 October, EU ministers meet in Tallinn to formally adopt an eGovernment Declaration. This ministerial declaration aims to enable the transition towards a borderless government, and to practically support the public sector to fully grasp the benefits of the Digital Age.

The vision of a public sector which can excel at the implementation of the ‘once-only’ principle, which facilitates the reuse of data and the open collaboration of various departments nationally and across borders, is the recognised shared objective of the policy makers and reflects the expectations of the EU citizens. This is also part of the current legislative negotiations for the proposed Directive on introducing a European Services e-card and related administrative facilities.

Showing this strong commitment is a signal that the public sector is willing to adapt to the technology change and face the challenges that such a transition would entail. Achieving such a vision is complex. Implementing this transition will pass through several preparation phases, exchange of best practices and public administrations working together towards these identified common goals.

What does a borderless government mean in practice and which are the future trends? What are the next steps following the adoption of the Tallinn eGovernment Declaration? How can Open Source speed up the digital transformation? And what are the benefits of an open Public Sector Digital Transformation for the citizens? These are some of the questions which will be addressed by our speakers and participants.

Panelists:

• Ms Kaja Kallas, Member of the European Parliament, ALDE, Estonia
• Ms Jaana Sahk-Labi, Counsellor for Information Society, Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU
• Mr Pierre Damas, DG DIGIT, European Commission

Moderator:

• Mr James Lovegrove, OFE’s Chair for the Task Force on Open Government and Red Hat’s EMEA Public Affairs Director

The discussion following the introductory presentations will be moderated and will be held under the Chatham House Rule.

A light lunch will be served at 12h00 and the presentations will start at 12h30.

Registrations are open until 9 October 2017 COB.

The post Public Sector Digital Transformation – From the Tallinn Declaration to a borderless government appeared first on OpenForum Europe.

***White Paper now available***

Blockchain is the new hot topic, both in Brussels and around the world. The IT market is excited not only about distributed ledger technology, but the security possibilities it brings. All eyes are looking at how it disrupts the way we exchange and store data. But what is this technology all about, how does it work and what is meant by a ‘distributed’ ledger? How can ledger technology assist governments in providing better suited services for citizens and how to ensure that the underlying technology is not confused with its use cases, e.g. Bitcoin?

Panelists:

• Fabrizio Sestini, Senior Expert  for Digital Social Innovation, DG CONNECT European Commission; 
• John Palfreyman, Director – Blockchain, IBM Cloud Division;
• Daniele De Gennaro, Team Leader, European Banking Federation; 
• Catherine Mulligan, Associate Director, IC3RE (Imperial College Centre for Cryptocurrency Research and Engineering)

Our panel will cover these issues and more, in a discussion moderated by Dr. Alea Fairchild, Professor at KU Leuven and also OFE Academic Fellow. The event will be followed by a reception.

The post The Blockchain Revolution – How will it change the way we do Business and interact with Government? appeared first on OpenForum Europe.

That is why OpenForum Europe and the Free Software Foundation Europe have organised a European Software Freedom Policy meeting to take place on 29 January. It will bring together dedicated organisations to discuss the merits of Openness in Europe. This meeting will enable the participants to find out what other groups are working on, identify synergies and benefit from each others’ knowledge.
One Member of the European Parliament and a representative from the European Commission are planned to share insights of relevant EU policiy and progress with the registered participants.

The space is very limited and it is upon invitation only. If you want to join the meeting, please contact Diana Cocoru (diana@openforumeurope.org) or Matthias Kirschner (mk@fsfe.org) for more information.

The post European Software Freedom Policy Meeting appeared first on OpenForum Europe.

Early  in 2015, the  Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission  presented his  plans to settle the Net Neutrality question, by applying  Title II  (common carrier) of the Communications Act of 1934 to the  internet in a  vote expected on February 26, 2015. At  the same  time on the other side of the Atlantic, the European Union is  about to decide on its own framework for regulation of the network.  After a vote in Parliament  in 2014 which toughened up the proposal of  the Commission, Member  States are now reportedly close to reaching an  agreement on a  principle-based approach to Net Neutrality. Issues such  as how to tackle  positive discrimination aka ‘zero-rating’ appear to  remain unresolved.

This round table will focus on the regulatory aspects of Net Neutrality, comparing EU and US perspectives, their differences, similarities and implications for the continued openness of a Borderless Internet and in terms  of regulatory  requirements for companies active in both sides of the  Atlantic.

Online invitation

Presentations of the speakers :

Antonios Drossos

Frode Sorensen

The post Regulating a Borderless Internet : EU vs US Perspectives on Net Neutrality appeared first on OpenForum Europe.

Time and time again people can hear references to “data Schengen area” or “fortress Europe”. While some people raise concerns about the negative impact of such regional approach, others consider that reinforcing regional clouds might be the appropriate solution.

During this second event of the OpenForum Academy Round Tables’ Programme, stakeholders from industry, European policy-making, academia and community looked at the policy and legal implications of regional cloud. To set up the context, Professor Millard described the historical context and the concept of “balkanisation” of the cloud and then he pointed out the difficulties of defining a “Europe-only cloud”. Following his intervention, Mr Graux, the editor of the EU Code of Conduct, described the drafting work and the outcomes of this industry-led non-binding text. Before passing to the interactive discussion with an audience of more than 45 participants, Mr Troyon Rama represented point of view of the industry and conveyed IBM’s observations about the shape of the European Cloud market opportunity as well as client feedback on what are their key priorities and concerns, majoring on how of new technologies are powerful enablers of innovation and economic growth.

The audience actively participated in the discussions, addressing several aspects of data storage localisation and its justification. The interventions raised concerns about the consequences of polarised debates, they touched the existing emotional justifications underlying the choices of data centres and also looked at alternative solutions to ensure data protection and privacy. Many of these points found the consensus of the participants to the event.

Online invitation

The post The Policy, Legal and Regulatory Implications of Regional Clouds appeared first on OpenForum Europe.

The European Commission’s Trusted Cloud Europe framework raises questions of trust and confidence in cloud computing. It seeks to encourage best practice and consensus building amongst both cloud providers and cloud users. And it sets thresholds for public procurement. Much positive work has been done but there’s more to do. As the market for cloud services evolves rapidly, some burning questions remain for the enterprise cloud market of today.

Online registration

The post Trusted Cloud for the Enterprise –what are the key factors today? appeared first on OpenForum Europe.

OpenForum Academy (OFA) Round Table discussion on the security of critical ICT Infrastrucutre.

The post Ensuring the security of critical ICT Infrastructure after Heartbleed: Should we leave it to the Community or does Government have a role? appeared first on OpenForum Europe.

Patents have proven useful in protecting innovation by ensuring fair  revenue to inventors in  exchange for public disclosure. The current  system, however, has led to a number of abuses in the field of technology  which are harming innovation in a significant manner. So-called ‘patent trolls’, companies whose business model consists in buying up patents  with the sole aim of  taking anyone who infringes them to court, have grown exponentially, particularly in the US where they are increasingly  seen as a major problem.

The post Patent non-aggression pacts: a way forward for technological innovation? appeared first on OpenForum Europe.

In September 2013 the European Commission unveiled its proposals for a new Telecoms package, including the draft Regulation coined as Connected Continent. One of its key components is a new set of rules intended to safeguard net neutrality. While such action has been long-awaited by many stakeholders, the current proposal is not without criticism. At a time when business models on the Internet are evolving and many European countries are already taking action to ensure a fair and balanced framework the time is now for the EU to take action.

 In line with its mission to spur insight and innovative thinking into the issues which impact the openness of technology, OpenForum Academy together with MEP Marietje Schaake organised a European Parliament Round Table on 13th November 2013. The discussion was dedicated to the economic aspects of net neutrality, and in particular the proposed provisions regarding so-called “specialised services”. How will this impact the different economic actors in the value-chain, and how would such services affect the open, non-discriminatory character of the Internet?

The post Exploring the economic impact of net neutrality in Europe appeared first on OpenForum Europe.