1st Balkan Digital Summit hosted by Macedonian Government
Prime ministers of the Western Balkan jointly with their colleagues (ministers responsible for public administration, for economy, etc.), representatives of the EU Commission have met in the framework of Digital Summit 2018 in Skoplje, Macedonia on 18 – 19 April 2018. The Summit gathered more than 600 participants encompassing regional and international institutions, public administration, academia, think thanks.
Summit is part of the Berlin process, and it was hosted by Macedonian Government, co-organized by the Regional Cooperation Council in the cooperation with the rest of Western Balkan Governments, EU Commission and German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. It was great opportunity to reconfirm that ReSPA has adequately chosen to dedicate significant time (2011-ongoing) and energy to the topics which are of common importance to the entire region and the EC Commission. Some of those topics are open data, digital skills and digital transformation of the governments with the emphasis on interoperability, once only principle, increase of quality of public services and cyber security.
During the Summit the Prime ministers have welcomed the European Commission's Digital Agenda Flagship Initiative, which was announced on 6 February 2018, and which fulfills regional expectations, and complements the actions agreed on in the MAP (Multiannual Action Plan) for REA (Regional Economic Area).
Declaration which was endorsed at the end of the Summit reflects regional commitment to owning the processes of economic development, in order to ensure a prosperous and sustainable future for the citizens, technological transformation and digitalization of the Western Balkans that profoundly affects jobs, goods and services, industries, and education. By remaining dedicated to eGovernmemt in particularly in domain of optimization of public services / eServices, ReSPA will significantly contribute to the realization of the Summit’s Declaration implementation.
