Communications Minister: Digitalisation remains the answer and solution to most challenges faced by Romanian administration

Digitalisation remains the answer and the solution to most of the challenges faced by today's Romanian administration, Communications Minister Alexandru Petrescu said at the signing ceremony for three EU financing contracts for the digitalisation of public services, which took place at the Victoria Palace of Government. Minister of European Funds Roxana Minzatu, Minister of Communications Alexandru Petrescu, Interior Minister Carmen Dan, Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu and President of the National Authority for Persons with Disabilities (ANPD) Adrian Vlad Chiotan signed the financing contracts for the projects: "Interior Ministry service hub (electronic service delivery center)," "Integrated computerized system for the release and management of electronic, diplomatic and service passports and travel documents in the consular post offices," and" National disability management system." Minister of Communications Alexandru Petrescu said that the three financing contracts will significantly contribute to the improvement of the interaction between the state and the citizen. "Digitialisation remains, in my opinion, the answer and the solution to most of the challenges to today's Romanian administration. Today we gathered for the signing of three financing contracts that will significantly contribute to the improvement of the interaction between the state and the citizen. Through the implementation of the three projects, worth a combined 197.7 million lei, of which 168 million, or about 85 percent, in European funding, we will digitalize a considerable number of life events centered around the citizens' identity and activity - obtaining their ID and passport - the electronic passport included, for Romanians abroad, of the diplomatic and service passport, driving license. The system will also allow vehicle registration. One of the projects, the beneficiary of which is the National Authority for Persons with Disabilities, will substantially contribute to facilitating the interaction between people with disabilities and state authorities," said Petrescu. Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu said the project for an integrated IT system for issuing and managing electronic, diplomatic and service passports and travel documents in the offices of consular posts is worth 13 million euro. "From our point of view, there are three essential accomplishments that will be achieved in the two years the program will run. First of all, the possibility of online registration for passport release, secondly the possibility to considerably reduce the waiting time, because all operations will be digital, and thirdly - increasing the quality and security of the documents. We envisage the simple electronic passport, the temporary electronic passports and the travel documents for the Romanian citizens who have lost their documents. The IT system of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Consular Directorate is one of the best in Europe," the Foreign Minister said. In his turn, ANPD head Adrian Vlad Chiotan pointed out that the centralized national platform created and implemented through the project "National Disability Management System" makes an essential contribution to both the efficiency of the citizen's and the disabled person's relationship with the public institutions, as well as to increasing the effectiveness of the services provided by the county Social Assistance Directorates and by ANPD at central level. "The project will be implemented at the 41 county Social Assistance Directorates and the six Social Assistance Directorates of Bucharest. The central node will be installed at the Special Telecommunications Service and will be administered by the National Authority for Persons with Disabilities. The information entered in the new system will allow the centralised tracking of aspects that contribute to deinstitutionalising, cutting red tape, the computerized management of online registration for citizens; the system will be closely interconnected with the IT systems of other institutions that will send the requested information, thus ensuring the correct payment of the social benefits and reducing the risk of errors and frauds. This system will manage the documents in the citizen's or the disabled person's file, without their physical presence being necessary," Chiotan explained. AGERPRES (RO - author: Dana Piciu, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)