The Ministries of Administrative Reform and Interior have estimated that about 400 million euros can be saved on an annual basis in the public sector, simply by abolishing paper and switching to electronic documents instead.
This estimate is included in an ambitious draft bill that has been published for public consultation. Through this bill, the government aims to reduce bureaucracy, cut down on expenses and man hours, promote transparency and address environmental concerns related to hard copies.
Although a legal framework exists to cover electronic signatures, the public sector has been slow to make the switch and has spent an estimated 6 billion euros in the past 15 years on hard copies.
The new bill will come into effect in January 2017, although an extension until June 2017 may be provided in order to ensure that all ministries, public bodies and independent authorities convert to digital.
