Manchester, England, November 25, 2005 — The European Union has set itself a strategic goal: To make Europe the world's most competitive and dynamic economy by 2010. The mission is characterised by efforts to develop sustainable growth, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

To create new jobs, for example, many cities in Europe have acted to attract and encourage new businesses and research institutes. Indeed, cities are working with schools, colleges and universities not only to provide education for all age groups, but also to create training opportunities to equip people with the skills they need to succeed in today's rapidly changing, knowledge-based economy.

These are among the main conclusions of the "eCitizenship for All: 2005 European Benchmark Report" (eCitizenship for All), a joint initiative of EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum — TeleCities (EUROCITIES) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's Public Sector industry group. The results of this third annual eCitizenship for All survey were presented today in Manchester at the European Union Ministerial Conference on eGovernment.

In 2005, 48 cities in 18 countries across Europe took part in the general questionnaire. The spread of city size and regional location among survey participants suggests results should be considered representative for all the members of the EUROCITIES network, which includes more than 170 local governments (including 40 partner cities) across 34 countries in Europe. However, the relatively low number of responses from cities in central and eastern Europe means that it is not yet possible to properly evaluate the situation in these countries.

The eCitizenship for All benchmark survey was designed to investigate what cities already are doing as well as what they plan to do in the future — to positively contribute to the delivery of the goals outlined in Lisbon that were agreed upon by members of the European Union. The benchmark survey covers three main fields of action:

• e-Europe, in terms of restructuring governmental services and establishing the infrastructure to connect citizens and businesses, employment and education;
• Employment, in terms of creating jobs in the knowledge economy;
• Education, to ensure that all citizens and all age groups can develop the skills necessary to participate in the knowledge society.

The survey also includes questions related to "good governance," which is important to ensure an effective and efficient implementation of necessary measures at all levels of government.

The importance of cities in achieving the objectives set forth in Lisbon
The survey results confirm that Europe's cities are important centres in terms of social and economic development. As the main drivers of Europe's economy, it is therefore appropriate that cities should play a prominent role in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy.

However, since the original Lisbon Declaration in March 2000, the European Union (EU) and national governments have failed to fully recognise the contribution that cities and local governments can make in terms of helping to achieve the Lisbon goals, which are perceived to be the responsibility of regional and national governments.

Nevertheless, the majority of cities are implementing policies in fields relevant to the Lisbon agenda, such as employment, e-government and education. But, one may still conclude that the role of cities in relation to the Lisbon agenda has been undervalued, and deserves to be given greater recognition.

Richard Leese, president of EUROCITIES and Leader of Manchester City Council, explains: "Europe's cities have a central role to play in helping to deliver the Lisbon agenda. The re-launched Lisbon Strategy will only be successful if cities are directly involved in the design and delivery of the National Reform Programmes for growth and jobs, and also the National Action Plans for social inclusion in all (EU) member states. The eCitizenship for All benchmark survey is an excellent initiative which demonstrates the important role of local authorities in accomplishing the Lisbon goals by providing citizens with tangible benefits in terms of economic prosperity, social cohesion, more and better jobs and a healthier environment."

Deloitte's Frank Wilson, Global Managing Partner, Local Government, adds: "Deloitte has recognized the importance of the all inclusive information society for the prosperity of citizens. We support the ambitious cities in Europe in making their contributions to the Lisbon Agenda by transforming their services to a higher level to meet the needs of the 21st century citizens."

Key findings of the eCitizenship for All: 2005 European Benchmark Report:

• eEurope: In the context of eEurope, the survey focused on three topics: 1) Restructuring of services, so that more services can be provided electronically; 2) Encouraging citizens to use the Internet; and, 3) The rolling-out of broadband infrastructures. Most participating cities are taking a long-term approach toward e-government. During the next five years, cities will invest the same amount of resources on e-government as they did in the past five years. The process of modernising cities through the increased use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has far-reaching consequences and takes considerable time. Across Europe, it can generally be seen that the traditional counter is still the most intensively used channel of services, closely followed by the telephone (call center). The use of internet then follows, just slightly ahead of postal services. Internet access is not evenly spread across Europe. Northern Europe has a higher access density, followed by cities in the west. Southern and eastern Europe lag behind. Across Europe, nearlt 100% of schools have internet access. Broadband is rapidly being established across Europe, supported by local initiatives both in the development of new services as well as in the deployment of infrastructures. In terms of investments, most local governments are cooperating with other partners to accomplish their local broadband strategies.
• Employment: A majority of cities have developed policies to support the creation of new jobs in the knowledge economy. Participating cities that were able to provide figures reported that they had managed to achieve an increase in the numbers of new jobs being created — with an average increase of 7%. Most cities have also developed policies establishing new facilities for business. To encourage the development of a more positive business environment, cities are making great efforts to decrease bureaucracy and improve the investment climate. Cities play a key role in the organisation of cooperation with other parties such as regional and national governments, schools and universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies and chambers of commerce.
• Education: To participate fully in the information society, people need the necessary knowledge as well as opportunities to access and use ICT, including computers and the internet. The target audience is broad, including all age groups, unemployed people and students. Most cities are working directly with schools or other providers of education, although there are significant differences between cities in different countries that are directly related to the differing roles of local governments in the field of education.
• Governance: Good governance — in terms of transparency, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness — is a critical success factor for achieving the Lisbon goals. The eCitizenship for All 2005 European Benchmark Report suggests that increasing the involvement of cities in the development of European and national policies will help to improve the implementation and delivery of these policies. There is a positive correlation between the level of achievement of the Lisbon goals and the instruments of governance used to justify expenditures to outside stakeholders and to assess policy effectiveness. In fact, external demand for justifications of expenditures and transparency in measuring actual results appears to have greater influence than internal operations and responsibilities.

Chris Newby, Chair of EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum — TeleCities and a Councillor in Liverpool City Council, says: "I believe that this eCitizenship for All report underlines the important role of local authorities as a key player in developing and implementing the Lisbon Strategy. The fact that more than 80% of Europe's economic activity occurs in towns and cities makes local government a major partner in the Lisbon Strategy's development and implementation."

Richard Drewes, Deloitte's survey leader in Europe, concludes: "The knowledge base created through this process represents a valuable and unique tool for European cities to benchmark themselves against each other and provide scope for bilateral learning and knowledge sharing in the light of the European Commission's new and comprehensive Information & Communication Technology strategy. This benchmark is an unprecedented tool for cities aiming at highly effective services and a greater overall performance."

About EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum — TeleCities
EUROCITIES is the network of major European cities. Established in 1986, EUROCITIES represents the local governments of 130 major cities in 34 European countries, and another 40 cities and towns are participating in the network as Associated Partners. EUROCITIES works with the European institutions on behalf of cities on a wide range of issues affecting local authorities and enables the exchange of best practices in local governance among its members. The EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum – TeleCities provides a platform for EUROCITIES members and their partners to work on leadership in the information and knowledge society through sharing experience and developing practical solutions to achieve inclusion, both at European and local levels. Its aim is to promote eGovernment and eCitizenship at the local level to ensure that all citizens can benefit from the opportunities provided by new technologies.

About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss Verein, its member firms, and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is an organization of member firms around the world devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice, focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 150 countries. With access to the deep intellectual capital of 120,000 people worldwide, Deloitte delivers services in four professional areas — audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services — and serves more than one-half of the world's largest companies, as well as large national enterprises, public institutions, locally important clients and successful, fast-growing global growth companies. Services are not provided by the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Verein and, for regulatory and other reasons, certain member firms do not provide services in all four professional areas.

As a Swiss Verein (association), neither Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu nor any of its member firms has any liability for each other’s acts or omissions. Each of the member firms is a separate and independent legal entity operating under the names "Deloitte," "Deloitte & Touche," "Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu" or other related names.