When it comes to the offering of online public services, the Brussels-Capital Region scores above the EU average, highlighting its progress in digitalising many of its administrative functions.
Brussels' performance on the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) – developed by the European Commission to compare the digital performance of EU Member States – was revealed in a study by the Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis (BISA). The research was commissioned by the region's Minister for Digitalisation Bernard Clerfayt.
"According to the Brussels Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), digitisation in Brussels is well under way," Clerfayt announced on Monday.
The DESI 2021 figures show Brussels achieved a score of 58%, comparable to that of the Flemish Region (59%), but still far behind that of Denmark (70%), the leading EU Member State in this field. It does put the region ahead of the EU-27 average (51%) and the score of Belgium as a whole (54%).
'Universal online access'
When it comes to online public services, the region scores particularly well: In Brussels, 84% of administrative procedures for citizens are accessible online, compared to 75% for the European average. For businesses, this figure is as high as 99% compared with 85% at the European level.
However, the study did stress that some authorities still do not offer all of their services online yet. Furthermore, researchers stated that the experiences of Brussels' digital users are not sufficiently taken into account when developing and improving them.
Still, Brussels residents are more likely than those in the rest of Belgium and the EU to use e-government services (68% compared to 66% in Belgium and 64% in the EU). This can be explained by the fact that Brussels residents have a relatively higher level of digital skills than the European Union average of 27 countries, according to the study.
"The figures show that we are on the right track. Thanks to my new ordinance, Digital Brussels, which will provide universal online access to all administrative procedures, Brussels citizens will be able to benefit even more from the advantages of digital technology," Clerfayt concluded.
