Financing for digitalization has been increased by 1.2 billion euros in the coming year. The largest part of this goes to the expansion of broadband, followed by e-government, in which the various data registers of the ministries are linked together. This must be made concretely visible on, for example, the new digital identity card or the digital e-card.
Linking the ministries’ data collections is necessary to provide digital official channels, explains Florian Tursky (ÖVP), the State Secretary responsible for digitalization. Until now, when applying for a passport, you had to bring proof of citizenship. “If I combine these registers, I can offer all these services digitally.”
Digital registration certificate “fixed”
A relaunch of the ‘Digital Office’ app and new digital identity cards are planned for next year. The digital identity card and digital registration certificate should arrive next year, “that’s for sure,” says Tursky. More than 200 official channels have already been digitized.
Another area of focus should be the ongoing conversion of the mobile phone signature to ID-Austria. “We already have 1.6 million Austrians on ID-Austria.” The mobile phone signature will be disabled on December 5. “From now on, an Austria ID will be automatically issued with every passport.”
ELGA is intended as “more than a PDF collection”.
Tursky announced that an additional 17 million euros will be spent in the eHealth sector next year. The plan includes modernizing the ELGA (electronic health record), which has been around for ten years, to ‘make it more than a PDF collection’. All data should appear in the ELGA, “unless you unsubscribe”. There must also be interfaces with the ELGA when it comes to occupational or school medical examinations. The data from the parent-child card must also be included in the ELGA. But this is more of a long-term project. “We want to create the legal requirements next year.”
The second important point in healthcare is the digitalization of the e-card, which is expected to come to mobile phones in the second half of 2024. The digital identity cards should be available in the first half of the year. As with all digital ID cards, the digital e-card will complement the existing card, but not replace it, Tursky emphasizes. The registration certificate is a bit “difficult because I have to be able to hand the registration certificate to other people.”
Tursky announced that an additional 52.7 million euros would be invested in cybersecurity. 19 million euros is available for cybersecurity research.
“Germans are not leaders”
Austria is a pilot country when it comes to digital ID cards, “my goal is for everything to be recognized throughout Europe.” The digital driving license is currently only recognized in Austria and is expected to be recognized in other EU countries by 2026. Mutual acceptance with individual states, such as the Czech Republic or Liechtenstein, could also occur sooner. “The Germans are not frontrunners when it comes to digital identity; it will certainly last until 2026.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
