Historical archive

CEF Digital

Norway will become part of the EU’s Digital Single Market

Historical archive

Published under: Solberg's Government

Publisher: Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation

The Government has decided that Norway will participate in the EU programme CEF Digital. This programme will develop a single Digital Service Infrastructure in Europe within working life, health, justice, education and commerce.

The Government has decided that Norway will participate in the EU programme CEF Digital. This programme will develop a single Digital Service Infrastructure in Europe within working life, health, justice, education and commerce.

“Norway’s participation in the EU’s digital efforts will make it easier for Norwegian citizens to relate to foreign authorities or public services, and will constitute simplification for Norwegian businesses,” says Minister of Local Government and Modernisation Jan Tore Sanner.

Over the next seven years, the EU, along with Norway and Iceland, will spend more than EUR 1 billion on linking Europe more closely together digitally. The Norwegian contribution to CEF Digital has been estimated by EFTA at approx. NOK 270 million during this period.

“CEF Digital will make it possible to securely share information between different countries’ citizens, businesses and authorities. By joining the programme early, we will have more influence and can take professional leadership in areas where we have an advantage,” says Sanner.

For nearly 20 years, Norway has participated in the EU’s programmes for developing ICT systems that contribute to the free flow of labour, goods, services and capital. With CEF Digital, these services will be rolled out and we can contribute to implementing the work.

The systems now being established will primarily provide more efficient and secure exchange of information between authorities and businesses in Europe. But private citizens will also greatly benefit from a more closely connected Europe.

CEF Digital also aims to create better international cooperation on information security, where national security authorities can use shared solutions and systems to improve warnings of severe security vulnerabilities and incidents.

The European Commission has many visions of what will be in place by 2020. Here are a few examples:

  • With the services to be rolled out in CEF Digital, a Norwegian pensioner who retires to Spain will be able to use the same online login ID that she uses for Norwegian public services to communicate with Spanish public services. Instead of sending national insurance, population register and tax information by personal handover or by post, all information will be sent digitally.
     
  • A hospital in Norway will be able to send all necessary medical and practical patient data to a hospital in e.g. the UK, and thereby drastically shorten the waiting time for surgery.
     
  • For Norwegian businesses, CEF Digital will make it easier to found a company abroad, and it will be simpler for European businesses to establish themselves in Norway, e.g. eliminating the need to physically report for registration by various authorities.

The programme will also provide additional funding of measures linked to the ”Safer Internet for Children” programme, which ensures that children have help lines to turn to if they experience harassment or unwanted attention from adults online. This also includes extensive preventive work and monitoring of the child pornography development.

CEF Digital will also account for further financing of Europeana, the portal that collects and disseminates European cultural heritage.

CEF Digital will affect nine ministries and many of their subordinate agencies. The Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation will coordinate the programme activities in Norway along with the Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi).