📋 Tender Overview
The digitization of administration promises more efficiency and effectiveness, faster processes and greater transparency. A modern digital state that meets its citizens with an innovative administration is considered a trump card against bureaucracy and a shortage of skilled workers. Austria and the Free State of Bavaria are seen as pioneers in this regard and want to make the most of the opportunities offered by future technologies. To this end, the Federal Republic and the Free State are relying on numerous innovative projects and measures - with particular consideration of the possibilities of AI. With pioneering e-government solutions, the Austrian and Bavarian administrations are already providing their citizens with user-oriented, mobile and secure digital services. In order to further expand their respective offerings and mutually benefit from their shared expertise, Austria and the Free State of Bavaria would like to work together even more intensively in the field of digitization in the future. Claudia Plakolm, State Secretary for Digitization in the Austrian Federal Chancellery and Bavaria's Digital Minister Dr. Fabian Mehring agreed on this at a meeting in Vienna.
Claudia Plakolm, State Secretary for Digitalisation, Youth and Community Service:
"Digitization is intended to make things easier for people, to save annoying trips to the municipal office or the BH and to make administration available at any time. Fabian Mehring and I are in complete agreement on this and therefore want to further strengthen the cooperation between Austria and Bavaria, also for the benefit of our location in the middle of Europe. I am looking forward to further cooperation and to us using the opportunities of digitization together for our location in Central Europe by taking our citizens with us and supporting our economy."
Fabian Mehring, Bavarian State Minister for Digital Affairs
"Just like in Austria, life here in Bavaria is simply too good to waste time in offices doing paperwork! The modern administration of the future must therefore be possible at any time of day or night, from anywhere and digitally. In comparison with the other German federal states, Bavaria is considered a pioneer: our authorities already offer over 260 online services across the country. However, our competitors in the race for the digital future are not based in Berlin or Frankfurt, but in Asia and the USA. That is why we are consciously thinking outside the box and are cooperating specifically with other digital pioneers such as our neighbor Austria in order to jointly create a modern state whose innovative administration acts as a locational advantage."
Exchange about future cooperation
Both Austria and Bavaria see themselves as pioneers of digital transformation. Building on this, an in-depth exchange and cooperation with Bavaria is planned in order to benefit from each other.
Claudia Plakolm, State Secretary for Digitalisation, Youth and Community Service:
"The digitization of official procedures should also make our wallets lighter because we no longer have to carry all the ID cards with us. This is already partly a reality with the 200 digital official procedures and the driver's license, registration certificate and proof of age. By the end of June, the digital driver's license had been activated around 600,000 times in Austria. Our next goal is to ensure that the digital driver's license can be used as widely and cross-border as possible."
Fabian Mehring, Bavarian State Minister for Digital Affairs
"Austria is doing valuable pioneering work of international relevance on the subject of digital driving licenses. On this issue, as with other digitization issues, we finally need more speed across Europe. If the EU carries out its digital transformation in a sleeper car, it will endanger Europe's competitiveness, prosperity and security. In other words: Either we in Europe ignite the technology turbo together or we fall even further behind compared to the USA and Asia and passively watch how the prosperity of the future is distributed elsewhere. Instead of making ourselves as dependent and blackmailable in the markets of the future as we are currently in the energy sector, we need our own AI champions of the digital age in Europe. Our goal must be to create good framework conditions for a kind of cyber Airbus that can play a leading role in the global digital economy markets from Europe. This can only be achieved by working together with countries and regions that have recognized the opportunities this brings. Austria and Bavaria are particularly important to this."
Artificial intelligence as a future-oriented technology
Austria is working on the implementation of the EU AI regulation. An AI service center has been set up, which is anchored in the "Broadcasting and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority" (RTR). In addition, the AI ??Advisory Board has been created. It is intended to advise the federal government and the AI ??service center on the implementation of the AI ??regulation and on the use of opportunities through the use of AI.
Claudia Plakolm, State Secretary for Digitalisation, Youth and Community Service:
"I am convinced that digitization and artificial intelligence are a huge opportunity for us as a location, but also for every single Austrian. For me, when it comes to digitization and AI, the motto is: as few restrictions as necessary, as much freedom as possible. My aim as State Secretary for Digitization, who belongs to a business party, is that we use the opportunities of digitization for Austria as a location and enter into cooperation opportunities with ambitious partners such as the Free State of Bavaria."
