Financiarul

The United Kingdom and Romania will back common positions on the European policies related to the information technology and communications (ITC), the Romanian Ministry of Communication and Information Society told in a release on Friday.

Amid the institutional changes taking place in the European Union, the year 2009 will be used to lay down new policies that will define the future of the ITC sector on a European level, the ministry said.

Britain has answered a proposal for cooperation between the Romanian and British governments on ITC that Romanian Communication Minister Gabriel Sandu made the British officials on the occasion of the Prague meeting of the EU telecoms ministers.

Thus, Sandu met Lord Stephen Carter, the British Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting in London on Thursday in order to outline the framework for the two countries’ cooperation in this area, the release said.

Lord Carter stressed Britain traditionally has a special regard for Romania and Minister Sandu’s presence in London is the prerequisite to build and deepen such special relation.

The Romanian side proposed the British officials to close a governmental agreement that should use the British experience in implementing the portals aimed at the citizens and private companies as well as the single identification system for access to the electronic public services Gateway.

The talks also focused on the national strategies for switching from an analogue to a digital system, the ministry added.

The British minister said Romania should make good use of its advantage of having a ministry purposely aimed at the information society, which can offer the alternative of cutting the public administration costs by supplying electronic services.