Switzerland lags Europe in e-governance

Swiss citizens still have to deal with more paperwork when dealing with the authorities than other European countries. Keystone

Switzerland’s slow progress in establishing a nationwide electronic identity system and digitising postal services means it lags behind other European countries in terms of e-governance, according to a European Commission comparison study.

The EC survey examined key areas of e-governance including user-friendliness, transparency, cross-border mobility for the population and companies and basic services. The conclusion was that while progress is being made, Switzerland is in the slow lane of the 34 countries surveyed.

Switzerland did pick up positive marks for improving performance is some areas but was let down by a lack of progress in others, the Swiss authorities admitted on Thursday.

Most notably, Switzerland is still setting up the basic infrastructure and legal framework for a national e-ID system, the report found.

Digital postal services were also behind other European countries, with little electronic transmission of information and documents between the state and citizens or companies.

The e-governance survey, conducted by German research group fortiss, found that the proportion of the Swiss population using e-government services had fallen from 58% in 2012 to 55% in 2018.