Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala dismissed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Ivan Bartos on the pretext that he is "unable to bring the digitalisation to a successful conclusion". However, Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalisation Ivan Bartoš, in cooperation with the Cabinet of Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalisation, has started and completed a number of successful plans and priorities in the field of digitalisation over the last three years.
These include the establishment of the Digital and Information Agency, the launch of eDocuments, the completion of an improved version of the Citizen Portal and the launch of its mobile application, the Representation Register, the move to the single state domain gov.cz, the strengthening of the basic registers and the Citizen Identity, and more. These are systemic steps that will increase the efficiency and performance of the authorities on the one hand, while also bringing comfort and savings to people and companies in their dealings with the state on the other. These achievements are proof that digitisation has developed at a record pace over the last three years and many major projects have been implemented.
A major success was the establishment of the Digital and Information Agency, following the example of Great Britain, Denmark, Estonia and dozens of other countries that are further ahead in the digitalisation of public administration. As a central government body, the DIA can finally effectively manage the digitisation of the state and specific projects, thus defeating departmentalism.
We have successfully launched eDocuments and more than 500,000 people already have an ID card on their mobile phones. Since 1 July, the verifiers have included labour offices, tax offices, regions, municipalities with extended jurisdiction, courts, the rest of the police and several hundred more verifiers have voluntarily joined, as well as a number of private parties such as Airbank and Vodafone.
In the last wave, which will start on 1 January 2025, the remaining municipalities, precinct election commissions, schools, health insurance companies, banks, notaries, the Czech Post and embassies will join in.
This project has not gone unnoticed in Europe either, with European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager highlighting the Czech Republic as a pioneer of digital solutions in the preparation of the European Digital Wallet. Our efforts in digitalisation are thus receiving international recognition.
The certificate of study, which the Digital Cabinet is currently working on, will soon be added to the eDocuments.
It is also a preparation for a Europe-wide system. From 2026, Europe will gradually move to a European digital wallet. This will come into force during 2026 and will allow you to prove your identity across the EU if necessary, but also make it easier to access services, applications or university applications anywhere in the EU. eDocuments will make the transition much easier and smoother for Czechs.
We have completed an improved version of the Citizen Portal and the improvements are visible in the data. In 2019, the Portal had 45,000 users and 29 services. Now there are over 600 services and more than 1,400,000 users and the numbers continue to grow. Thus, we are now at 76 % in the use of the state's digital services and the results are continuously improving.
The Citizen Portal mobile app was added in April. Citizens do not have to deal with complicated logging in to state services from a computer or web interface. At the beginning of the summer, the DROZD system was added to the Portal, which serves as a voluntary registration of Czech citizens abroad and helps, for example, in situations of natural disasters. Thanks to this registration, we are able to provide effective assistance to our citizens.
Another project is the Register of Representations, which will create conditions for granting powers of attorney digitally. The Register of Representations (REZA) has entered into force and is now being integrated with the authorities. REZA will enable the granting of powers of attorney digitally and their registration in a central database. To grant a power of attorney, all that will be needed is to confirm it using the citizen's identity and to write out either the power of attorney itself or fill in one of the forms prepared for different occasions. Powers of attorney will remain on file until revocation or expiry, so it will not be necessary to grant the same person a power of attorney repeatedly. REZA support will gradually move to all government agencies, both for individuals and corporations.
In a world of increasing cyber-attacks, it is also important that the migration to the single state domain gov.cz is underway, as it is in many other countries. This brings greater security to citizens, who can now recognise the official state website at a glance. It also brings other benefits related to background security.
We have consistently begun to enforce the use of a uniform state graphic design for web applications. This saves resources and makes websites more accessible and easier to understand.
The Basic Registers and the National Identity of the Citizen (NIA) are the technological basis of the state IT infrastructure. These foundations have not been invested in for years, and after more than 12 years, they are gradually being renewed and adapted to new requirements. This change, which is being done on the fly in a subtle manner so as not to disrupt the normal operation of the legacy systems, will have a multi-year impact on digitalisation. For example, it will be much better able to cope with peaks in traffic, enabling stronger inter-departmental interconnection of systems and stronger deployment of automation.
Thanks to this, the digitisation of secondary school applications could take place, the EZkarta mobile application could be set up, tax returns and cadastral offices for property tax could be linked, and dozens of other small and larger applications and simplifications across ministries could be launched.
We have introduced online courses for improving digital skills at: osveta.gov.cz. Easily accessible eGovernment courses that show, for example, how to log in and obtain a Citizen Identity, how to set up and use a data box and the Citizen Portal service, including its mobile app, will become the basis for educating librarians and the public alike.
In addition to libraries, courses are also available online. Course participants will get a basic overview of the process of signing up and obtaining a Citizen Identity, how to set up and use data boxes, and how to use the Citizen Portal including its new app. The set-up of the courses builds on so-called life situations, using personas (fictional characters) to help them deal with specific situations and requests.
"If I had to describe the Prime Minister's actions in one word, it was a set-up that lacked the basic elements of human decency. I have always appreciated the fairness of the Prime Minister's actions and the fact that we were able to pull together. Today, I met with Petr Fiala to discuss our priorities for next year so that this country does not slip into the hands of populists. The Prime Minister did not suggest any steps that would in any way break the unity of the government, but the reality was different."
Also in the pipeline shortly before the launch is the biggest event in the field of education called the Week for Digital Czechia for the general public, which will start on 18 November across the Czech Republic, both physically and online.
This year's priority areas, which we will focus on in detail, are three: digital skills for a changing labour market, safety in the online world and online communication with the state. We want to build on last year's successful edition, which saw over 5,300 participants, 126 events, 103 partner organisations involved and the campaign reaching around 2.4 million people.
In February 2025, the Digital Service Rights Act, the overarching document of the entire digitisation in the Czech Republic, will come into full force. The DIA will oversee the entire process of implementation and assist the authorities with its implementation.
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