ABSTRACT

Established European democracies implement the principles of e-Governance as further development at the new technological level. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe, on the other hand, experience political, economic and social changes, coinciding with a constant process of reinventing governance. The introduction of e-Governance in transition economies enables and drives the process of democratisation. The focus of discussion here is Bulgaria, where the specialisation in the field of information technology within the former Soviet Bloc and the tradition of the education system has contributed to the eighth place worldwide in the number of computer science graduates and IT certified professionals (Trifonov, 2006). In its priorities for 2006, the Bulgarian Ministry of State Administration and Administrative Reform envisage that ‘The increase in electronic communication will eliminate administrative barriers and promote the development of the economy and society, will raise the effectiveness of the state governance and improve the interaction and dialogue between institutions, private sector and citizens. The service delivery by electronic means will diminish the conditions for corruption.’ (Vassilev, 2006). The e-Governance strategy has been developed and implemented through the participation of Bulgaria in the EC Programmes IDA, IDA II and IDABC. Bulgarian Universities, NGOs and private companies have further taken part in projects within the Framework Programmes FP5 and FP6, within e-Content and e-Ten. We evaluate the implementation of the overall strategy, consider some of the projects in detail, and identify further challenges.