Baltic States – CIS, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Technology

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that Estonia has good experiences in developing and utilising information and communications technology and the success of our e-solutions is an example of how technology can help to advance democracy.

"Estonia is prepared to share its experiences in the e-governance and e-involvement sectors with other countries," he stated.

The foreign minister added that through training representatives of civil society and the public sector in Moldova and Montenegro, Estonia can make its own contribution to advancing democracy and good governance in those countries.

"Montenegro is starting accession negotiations with the European Union and Moldova's relations with the EU are also growing closer. Knowledge of how using new technologies helps governments communicate better with citizens and include them in decision-making processes is important, because it will help the principles of balanced government flourish in these countries. The citizens are then seen as an equal partner of the government – they are involved in a dialogue and are involved in the shaping of policy," he said.

The projects in Moldova and Montenegro are being carried out by the e-Governance Academy in co-operation with the UN Development Program's regional e-governance program eSEE Initiative, which is geared towards advancing democracy and good governance in the Western Balkan countries with the help of new technologies. The desired result of the projects is to increase people’s awareness of open governance, open legislative drafting, and involvement, as well as to increase their ability to plan and carry out involvement projects.

The Foreign Ministry is supporting the advancement of open governance in Moldova and Montenegro with 73,373 euros allocated from the budget for development co-operation.