News
Andorra to improve digital services for citizens with support from CEB
09 December 2021
PARIS - The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has approved a €8 million Public Sector Financing Facility (PFF) to the Government of Andorra to partially finance the modernisation and digitalisation of the public administration.
The PFF will fund expenditures related to the digital transformation of the Andorran economy, such as digital identity, skills and regulation, to allow the public administration to offer digital services, namely e-government, e-trade, e-tourism, e-health, e-mobility, e-education, e-citizen, and e-justice.
“The approved Public Sector Financing Facility will support the Government of Andorra in its strategy for the recovery from Covid-19 and its efforts to provide quality public services for more than 70 500 Andorran citizens,” noted CEB Governor Rolf Wenzel.
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Andorra’s economy, highly dependent on tourism. Accordingly, in 2020 the government presented its Action Plan 2020-2023 (Horizon 23) to revitalise the economy and overcome the adverse effects of the pandemic. It outlines public policies to generate economic growth and improve social welfare, with digital technologies playing a key role.
As part of Horizon 23, the government’s “Digital Transformation Programme” envisages more than 100 initiatives to be implemented in the period between 2020 and 2024 at an estimated cost of €20.6 million. The aim is to digitalise government operations and provide citizens with quality digital services in line with the practices of the European Union.
In Andorra, only less than 5% of administrative transactions are online, which is well below the EU average of 67%. Furthermore, less than 30% of employees possess “at least basic digital skills” as opposed to 58% in the EU.
Andorra
Andorra is the latest CEB member country, having joined in May 2020. So far, the Bank has granted €12 million to partially finance extraordinary expenditures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, namely the purchase of supplementary medical and pharmaceutical supplies, the acquisition of medical equipment and intensive care beds, as well as salaries and overtime payments for new and existing medical and non-medical staff.
Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 42 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable, AAA with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable, AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook positive and AAA* with Scope Ratings, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.
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