Edge Institute: State digitalization is blocked by politics in Romania

Romania’s digitalization efforts remain blocked despite having one of Europe’s strongest and most affordable internet infrastructures, as public digital services are fragmented and inefficient, according to a study released by the Edge Institute.

The analysis, carried out in collaboration with several experts from Estonia - widely regarded as a model for digital administration - concludes that Romania’s main obstacle lies in the absence of unified strategic governance. There is no clear center of responsibility or coherent operational strategy to coordinate the country’s digital transformation, the study finds.

“Much has been achieved on paper, in legislation and through isolated projects, but citizens still face fragmented, isolated and poor-quality services,” the Edge Institute report states, as quoted by Cursdeguvernare.ro.

The study notes that key digital governance principles such as electronic identity (eID), the “only-once” rule, the “digital-first” approach, and the equivalence between electronic and handwritten signatures - as well as data exchange between institutions - all exist formally in Romanian legislation.

“In practice, however, they are underused or limited to the level of individual institutions,” the report says.

The findings highlight a growing gap between Romania’s technological capacity and its administrative implementation, with experts arguing that without a centralized digital authority and inter-institutional coordination, progress towards a fully functional digital state will remain slow.

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