Enabling Environment for Software Engineering Industry:

A Strategic Framework of eSEE eAgenda 2002 and

eSEE eAgenda+ 2007
Zlatan Šabić, M.Sc., Ph.D. Tarik Zaimović, M.A. Nera Nazečić, M.A. Candidate
Candidate University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Programme Manager of eLeadership
University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Economics, and Programme for the Western Balkans,
Electrical Engineering, and eGovernance and ICT Portfolio and
eGovernment Specialist, UNDP BiH Manager, UNDP BiH, Head of eSEE Secretariat, UNDP BiH
+387 33 447 559 +387 33 563 848 +387 33 563 836
tarik.zaimovic@efsa.unsa.ba nnazecic@undp.ba
zsabic@etf.unsa.ba

Timur Gadžo Merima Avdagić, M.Sc.

B.Sc. E.E. The eGovernment Project Manager,
Head of Department for UNDP BiH,
Informatization, +387 33 563 850
Ministry of Communications and mavdagic@undp.ba
Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
and eEnvoy of Bosnia and
Herzegovina to eSEE Initiative
+387 33 254 376
gtimur@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Modern technologies have the tremendous capacity to unleash the
potential of the South Eastern Europe (SEE) countries, and to
help increase their economic growth and foster their integration in
world market. This paper is set forth to analyze the policy impact
of “eSEE Agenda for the Development of the Information
Society” (eSEE Agenda), as a regional action plan for Information
Society development in SEE region implemented from 2002 to
2007, including the policy impact to development of national
software engineering industries. As several reviews and reports
from recent South Eastern Europe Ministerial Conference on
Information Society Development (Sarajevo, October 2007)
indicate, the initial Agenda's aims have in good measure been
attained. Development of an enabling framework is largely
complete, new ICT infrastructure is being introduced in
government departments and public institutions, a very wide
range of e-services for the public and business are either already
operational or close to becoming so. Recognition of this fact by
the members of the Initiative has led to an extension of the
initiative, with the agreement of a second phase, “eSEE Agenda
Plus for the Development of Information Society in South Eastern
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SEESE’08, May 13, 2008, Leipzig, Germany.
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Europe 2007-2012”, signed in Sarajevo on 29 October 2007 at the
South Eastern Europe Ministerial Conference on Information
Society Development. This paper will also look into current
trends and perspectives articulated in the second generation of
Initiative activities and the Action Plan of the Taskforce for
Broadband, and their implications for Information Society
development in South Eastern Europe as the basic software
engineering development environment.
Categories and Subject Descriptors
K.5.2 [Legal Aspects of Computing: Governmental Issues]:
Regulation; K.4.1 [Computing Milieux: Computers and
Society: Public Policy Issues]: Regulation; K.1 [Computing
Milieux: The Computer Industry]: Markets, Standards; D.2.0
[Software Engineering: General]: Standards
General Terms
Management, Economics, Standardization, Legal Aspects.
Keywords
policy, South Eastern Europe, SEE, eSEE, information society,
environment, software engineering, industry, strategic framework,
eAgenda
1. INTRODUCTION
As the political and economic map of European Union is redrawn
through enlargements, Western Balkan countries risk being left on
the margins of the new and integrated Europe and becoming an
economically peripheral region. The eSEE1 Initiative expresses
the strategic effort of the Western Balkans to jointly employ
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a vehicle
for economic growth, employment rise, EU integration and long-
term stability of the region thus preventing the risk of
uncoordinated and incoherent approaches to ICT. The eSEE
Initiative provides a balanced policy and cooperation framework
and provides one of the best examples of regional cooperation in
the Stability Pact practice.
Both the UNDP and the Stability Pact have supported the eSEE
initiative since its inception under the Pact's Working Table II
(Economy). Since its creation in 2002, the eSEE Secretariat has
been hosted by the UNDP Country Office for Bosnia and
Herzegovina in Sarajevo. The eSEE Secretariat is an executive
arm of the eSEE Initiative, which is playing pivotal role in
implementation of the Initiative objectives, and also acts as a focal
point for visibility of the Initiative.
By participating in eSEE Initiative, its members acknowledged the
importance of strengthening the regional approach towards the
development of the Information Society, with the aim of avoiding
the adoption of ad hoc solutions and technologies that lead to
inconsistent development, incompatibility between national and
local systems, and thus delay progress and implementation. By
recently adopting the eSEE Agenda+ [1], which is closely aligned
with the i2010 [2], a European Information Society for Growth
and Employment Action Plan and other globally recognized
approaches, the region expressed their determination to introduce
compatible, innovative and interoperable technologies and
systems and integrated and interconnected networks, with the
ultimate aim of transforming the South Eastern Europe into
prosperous, modern and stable region that can compete more
effectively in the global market economy.
As a complementary process, eSEE Initiative is currently also
supporting the work of the Taskforce for Broadband in
implementation of bSEE Action Plan, and their efforts to support
the SEE participants in promotion of coordinated broadband
development, including the creation of domestic Broadband
Strategies, aggregating demand and local content, highlighting the
importance of broadband development, raising funds for
broadband activities and ultimately lowering the cost of
broadband services in the region.
eSEE Initiative processes will be additionally strengthened by the
upcoming UNDP led eLeadership Programme for the Western
Balkans. It will be implemented in cooperation with the eSEE
participants through eSEE Initiative Secretariat, UNDP and the
Italian Government, with the aim of strengthening intra-regional
and international cooperation in South Eastern Europe by
encouraging and supporting collaborative actions in Information
Society Technologies, especially in e-Governance and e-
Democracy.
1
eSEE Initiative members are: Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro,
Serbia and UNMIK/Kosovo. Romania and Greece are
participants in the bSEE Taskforce, while Romania has recently
joined the eSEE Initiative formally by signing the eSEE Agenda
Plus.
Recent efforts that culminated in the signing of the MoU on joint
cooperation towards the creation of Center for eGovernance
(CeGD) in Slovenia, is another example of successful eSEE led
regional cooperation. CeGD will be a valuable instrument in
training and advising leaders and stakeholders in the use of ICT to
increase government efficiency and to improve democratic
processes and thus to build open information societies, increase
transparency, reduce corruption and minimize the digital divide in
South East Europe and the member states of the EU and the rest
of the world.
Future work of eSEE Initiative shall build on domestic and
regional actions, with the connection to European policies and
practice, with participation of the signatories represented through
their Appointed Senior Policy Officials, under overall guidance of
the eSEE Initiative Chair, and the support of UNDP funded eSEE
Secretariat.
As of this year, the successor to the Stability Pact, the Regional
Cooperation Council, will also be based in Sarajevo. eSEE
Initiative is planning to capitalize on continued strong
engagement on the part of the Regional Cooperation Council and
its Secretary General in furthering the cause of joint ICT agenda
and the promotion of the Information Society and the Knowledge
Economy in South Eastern Europe.
This paper analyses the impact of eSEE Agenda, Regional Action
Plan for Information Society Development in South Eastern
Europe [3], adopted in 2002 by eSEE Initiative members. It also
looks into current trends and perspectives articulated in the
second generation of Initiative activities, and their implications
for Information Society development in South Eastern Europe as
the basic software engineering development environment.
2. eSEE AGENDA 2002
Mainstreaming ICT in the national development programs and
segments of society such as governance, education, business, and
health is becoming increasingly more important for the SEE
countries, as the region is moving towards EU integration process.
Owing to the eSEE Initiative, for the past several years, SEE
countries were fully focused on implementation of the
commitments accepted in 2002 within “eSEE Agenda for the
Development of the Information Society” (eSEE Agenda) as a
basic document for IT development activities in SEE region. By
signing eSEE Agenda, SEE countries agreed to adopt it as their
principle vehicle for planning, coordinating, and implementing
the development of an Information Society in South Eastern
Europe generally and in each of the co-operating countries/areas
separately. This was followed by the Memorandum of
Understanding on a Taskforce for Broadband, signed at the
Ministerial Conference at Thessaloniki [3] with a view to the
implementation of the bSEE Action Plan. It includes Greece and
Romania as new members. Through this process, the eSEE
member countries also associated themselves unilaterally with the
objectives of the EU’s eEurope and eEurope+ processes and
agreed specific actions within the constraints of their specific
environment in the fields of:
1. Adoption of policy and strategy for the Information
Society;
 2. Adoption and implementation of Legal Infrastructure
for Information Society accordingly to Acquis
Communitaire settled within European Union countries;
3. Establishment of regional cooperation and national
implementation mechanisms;
4. Promotion of Information Society for development.
By adopting eSEE Agenda, the region of South East Europe has
embarked on a broad strategy to promote the development of the
Information Society. The countries of the region have made
considerable progress on the tasks contained in the original eSEE
Agenda agreed in 2002. They have established a regional
framework and put in place compatible national ICT development
policies and legislation, while designing and implementing a
range of exciting and inventive ICT, eGovernance, and public
administration reform projects in all areas of government.
3. eSEE AGENDA IMPACT
3.1 Implementation Progress 2002-2007
Related to implementation of eSEE Agenda commitments, rather
than adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, the eSEE focus has been
on finding solutions which respect each country's different needs
and level of development, while preparing them all, individually
and together, for integration with the EU framework. Particular
attention has been paid to developing (i) the enabling Policy
Framework, (ii) proper Institutional Framework, and (iii) the
adequate Legislative Framework for each country to ensure
appropriate and sustainable ICT development, with full and
appropriate harmonization with EU law and regulations. The
eSEE Initiative aims to promote the best possible fit between the
countries of the region and the EU's own answer to the challenge
of ICT, eEurope+, the Lisbon Strategy, and the associated
eEurope2002 initiative (with its later continuations -
eEurope2005, and i2010). The Agenda has, therefore, a dual
aspect, with a regional dimension acting as the framework for co-
ordinated and mutually reinforcing activities at the national level.
The first two of the Agenda's four major commitments are related
to the creation of this regional framework and of national
guidelines for ICT for development policy [4] as well as the
institutional and legal mechanisms required for an information
society. These National Information Society Policies and National
Information Society Strategies and Action Plans are now largely
in place across the region, as are the planned programmes of
legislation on topics such as electronic communications
infrastructure, e-commerce, e-contracts, and e-signatures. It is
interesting to note that in mid 2004 only Albania, Croatia and
Montenegro had formally adopted national ICT strategies, and
Croatia was the only initiative member that had adopted almost all
key laws related to information society development [5]. Today’s
situation is quite the opposite.
The complete overview of 2007 status of eSEE Agenda
commitments is provided in an annex to this paper. As we can see,
despite different starting points and country specific dynamics of
each member state, all the countries of the region have so far
formulated and adopted National ICT Strategies and nearly all
have formed State Cabinet Level Bodies responsible for their
implementation. Legislation reform process is taking place in
synchronized manner in all eSEE member states, with the main
focus on the area of telecommunications, e-commerce, e-
signature, law on cyber-crime and personal data protection. In
addition, important web based applications and a number of
information systems for civil and document registry, custom and
border service are in the process of implementation, or have been
successfully implemented.
This status of implementation of eSEE Agenda is recorded in the
matrices prepared by eSEE Secretariat. Long version of the matrix
is of a descriptive nature and it involves mostly qualitative data,
focusing on the very process of implementation, while short
version of the matrix is focusing solely on quantifiable data.
Matrices have proven a useful internal benchmarking tool of the
eSEE Initiative and are issued every two months by Secretariat of
the Initiative in cooperation with the Appointed Government
Officials.
An overall conclusion that can be drawn from analyzing the
matrices is that the group is bringing the implementation of the
last few items of eSEE Agenda to the close. The first of the two
Agenda’s major commitments related to the creation of national
ICT for development policy as well as the institutional and legal
mechanisms required for an information society have been
implemented widely across the region. As the matrices indicate,
these National Information Society Policies and National
Information Society Strategies and Action Plans are now largely
in place across the region, as are the planned programmes of
putting in place the enabling legislation on topics such as
electronic communications infrastructure, e-commerce, e-
contracts, and e-signatures. After nearly seven years of
achievement, eSEE is widely recognized to be a good example of
regional co-operation.
However, while the results showcased in this matrix demonstrate
the easily quantifiable data, there are several items that could not
be seen from the enclosed short matrix, because of its quantitative
rather than qualitative perspective. Therefore, what can not be
seen is that new ICT infrastructure is being introduced in the
widest possible range of government departments and public
institutions. In addition, a very wide range of e-services for the
public and business are either already operational or close to
becoming so. A number of national information systems were
implemented such Civil Registry and Residence, Document
Registry for ID Cards and Driving License, Passport Document
and Vehicle Registries, Police, Customs information systems and
Integrated Border Management system. Besides giving a factual
status of eSEE Agenda implementation, for practical reasons, the
matrix leaves out that many of the countries of the region have
indeed adopted cutting edge national ICT development policies
and legislation, designed and implemented a range of innovative
eGovernance initiatives, and public administration reform
programme, while many have introduced the compatible,
interoperable and interconnected networks, technologies and
systems, with the ultimate aim of transforming the SEE into
stable, progressive and booming region that can compete in the
global market economy.
3.2 Essential Impact of eSEE Agenda
As explicitly stated in the official final review of the eSEE
Agenda’s policy impact [6], the eSEE Agenda, in addition to
providing a policy and regional cooperation framework to IS
development, has inspired and supported significant changes in
IS development affairs within the signatory countries. The
Agenda provided unique development framework that was
explored and used to different extents depending on specific
situation in initiative members. In some cases, such as in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, the Agenda was true enabler of strategic
planning processes that finally lead to formulation and adoption
of state level ICT policy, strategy and action plan, in situation
where very few political and other factors were in favor of such
development.
The eSEE Agenda supported the task of developing and adopting
strategies and action plans. Significantly, however, this support
influenced the process towards an open and participatory
approach in several countries, including in Albania, BiH,
Macedonia, Moldova and Serbia. Working group of national
experts from different sectors (including government, private
sector, academia and civil society) were formed, with the support
of UNDP national offices, and were entrusted with the task of
drafting the national strategy and action plan.
Members of these working groups were drawn from the most
qualified and experienced people in the country. The open process
led to a high level of acceptance and ownership towards the
strategy document from the public, private and civil society
sector, and also enhanced the strategic value of this activity.
Also, the strategy formulation process initially inspired by
commitments under eSEE Agenda gained momentum of its own
to create home-grown policies and strategies (for example, in
Moldova, it led to creation of an additional strategy on E-
Governance and public administration reform, in BiH it led to
involvement of IT in Public Administration Reform Strategy
endorsed in September 2006, in Croatia, National Programme on
Information Security and the One Stop Shop Strategy
(HITRO.HR) were created etc.).
Creation and reorganization of institutions for the IS in most of
the involved countries was a direct impact of eSEE Agenda. In
some countries, such as Croatia, a similar scenario related to
institutional development would most probably happen regardless
of the Agenda commitments (for example, Government Office for
Internet Infrastructure Development was established in November
2000 as a cabinet level body responsible for development of
information society), but those commitments influenced the
outcome, to differing extents, in all countries, including Croatia.
On the other hand, there are examples where the creation of some
bodies was a direct impact of eSEE Agenda (for example, in
Macedonia, the IT department within the General Secretariat of
the government).
However, several challenges face the development of IT capacities
in public administration in many of the eSEE countries. Some
relate to the need for better physical infrastructure, a prerequisite
to technically demanding information systems covering several
institutions; others to the presence of the institutional capacity to
develop, update and maintain such systems, while in Bosnia and
Herzegovina the establishment of state level agency for
information society is still delayed due to complex political
configuration of the country.
The eSEE Agenda has enhanced the pace of policy development,
especially within the legal framework of IS development. It
created awareness among policymakers on relevant laws and their
role in promoting IS development. In Serbia, laws on electronic
signatures and on free access to public information were adopted
after the eSEE Agenda. Similarly in Montenegro it led to the
adoption of the law on electronic commerce and electronic
signature. In Croatia the Law on Digital Documents was inspired
by the eSEE Agenda, as most of their other laws (as per the eSEE
requirements) were either already adopted, or were in drafting
stage.
The eSEE Agenda has indirectly provided a framework for the
consolidation of ICT related activities taken up by other
international organizations. As a consequence, the scope for
partnership has expanded under the umbrella approach to IS
development of the eSEE, and to which different agencies now
align their ICT-related activities. For instance, in the province of
Kosovo, UNDP Kosovo, the Kosovo Fund for Open Society
(KFOS), the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Regione
Lazio have come together to fund the wiring of local government
and e-governance projects in 19 municipalities. In Macedonia and
Serbia, UNDP and the Open Society are together supporting the
development of national IS strategy through their respective
programmes. In addition, the work of eSEEurope Working Group
has benefited by the participation of South-eastern Europe
Telecommunications & Informatics Research Institute – INA and
South Eastern Europe Telecommunications Academy (SETA –
INA Academy). Considerable assistance was provided in terms of
technical expertise in drafting the National Information Society
2
Policies (NISP – eSEE Guidelines) .
On the other hand, significant challenges still remain. Many of the
countries of the region have been in extended transition to a
market economy and all have been affected by a significant
development gap. All the countries are at different stages of IS
development. While some are facing the challenge of dealing with
obsolete, inappropriate, or seriously damaged infrastructure,
others are facing a lack of appropriate institutional capacity.
Legislative and structural frameworks are not fully completed,
with resources (human, financial, etc.) often insufficient to carry
through ambitious reforms. Exchange of experiences and
knowledge in this area is an essential part of this process.
Moreover, SEE countries share common problems in this area
such us capital shortage, hardware and software shortage,
underdeveloped telecommunication infrastructures and
telecommunication market monopolies, low public awareness,
need for improvement in digital literacy and skills by businesses,
organizations and consumers, necessity for organizational
transformation and national economy reconstruction, need to
follow social and cultural implications of new economy.
It would therefore be difficult to overstress the importance of the
regional approach. For only a coherent region with seamless
integration of major infrastructural and economic systems has any
chance of successful interface with an increasingly unitary
European system.
2
INA has assisted eSEE and in other major activities as
benchmarking ICT and training. It also acted as a liaison to the
private sector and to similar initiatives as ITU Centers of
Excellence. INA Academy supported the group with the
provision of specialized training for the countries.
3.3 Impact to National Software Engineering
Industries
The issue of ICT industry development, especially software
engineering industry is related to overall information society
development. According to the experiences from many countries,
it is much more efficient and quicker to develop many attributes
of information society with parallel development of own ICT
industry, as a separate production line of the total economy of a
country, than to develop the IS with someone else’s ICT industry.
There are several benefits of this approach, in the social and
economic sense. The society will have its own development and
research, which provides the foundation of permanent
development and advancement of the society and economy in
future. Without the development of the software engineering
industry, the society would be destined to permanent dependence
and hindrance of development.
Despite pessimistic indicators with respect to the SEE economy,
the ICT industry is actually developing and spreading within the
region – it is one of the drivers of the economic growth. The
reason behind that lies in the fact that the ICT is not limited to
only developed countries; instead, it represents global interest and
the interests of all in particular. Governments of almost all
countries within the region are trying to design or have designed
effective policies to facilitate the use of ICT with the aim of
stimulating the economic growth.
The ICT industry is growing within the region. For example, the
IT market in Macedonia has increased from 37 million USD in
2000 to more than 50 million USD in 2003. In Croatia, even
though the number of ICT companies has not significantly
increased between 1994 and 2002 (15.76%), the gross income of
these companies has increased by 300%.
In addition, the segmentation is changing. Hardware sales still
dominate, but software development and services are taking larger
share of market (examples: Macedonia – software application
share increased from 15% in 2000 to 36% in 2003; Moldova - the
average growth of sales in software industry during the period
2001–2003 was 50%, BiH software development share in 2005
was 67.5%). By looking particularly at BiH the “eReadiness
Assessment Report for 2005”, around 2.600 companies in BiH are
registered business in ICT industry [7]. Compared with the same
study for 2003 the number of registered ICT companies grew
tenfold.
Moving to more macro perspective, according to the IDC [8] the
IT spending in some of the SEE countries in 2006 have been
rather respectable (Croatia 25%, Serbia 13% and Romania 36%),
and respectfully GDP IT revenue share has also followed as much
as 5.6% in Serbia.
However, it seems that governments do not always recognize
these potentials. There are resources (factories, companies) that
have potential, but without serious governmental stimulation, that
potential cannot be developed. Governments are very often
without managerial resources and available, updated and accurate
data.
The eSEE Agenda and related national strategies have addressed
this issue well, and ICT industry, including software engineering
is treated as one of development priorities. As typical example,
the Bosnia and Herzegovina national Policy for IS development,
for the first time in any sectoral policy, explicitly states that
“development of information and communications technologies
industry (software engineering, hardware, consultancy)” is one
of the IS development goals related also to overall economic
development strategies. It also states that “information society
development will be followed by the industrialization in the area
of ICT, especially in the software industry segment” [9].
This has raised the awareness that software engineering industry
of all SEE countries are looking for help to increase the ability of
local companies to participate in the production and delivery of
software for domestic and export needs, resulting in various
governmental measures towards creation of environment suitable
for the ICT industry development.
4. NEW DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
OF eSEE AGENDA+
4.1 eSEE Agenda+ Fact Sheet
The eSEE Initiative Working Group made a commitment in 2006
that a further stage of the eSEE Agenda should be articulated and
agreed. Having an obligation to provide and implement
government services and to create and support environment for
other electronic services of the information society, the
governments of the region also felt that the time had arrived to
define and pursue a new set of goals that will jointly employ ICT
as tools for economic growth, job creation, EU integration, and to
underpin long-term stability in the region.
Drafting of the new document appropriately named “eSEE
Agenda Plus for the Development of Information Society in South
Eastern Europe 2007- 2012” and commonly referred to as “eSEE
Agenda+” started in April 2006 under the guidance of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. The adjustments were completed in the same year.
The signing ceremony took place in Sarajevo on 29th of October
2007 at the “South Eastern Europe Ministerial Conference on
Information Society Development”.
In eSEE Agenda+, the Governments of the countries of SEE and
3
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
stated that they were firmly resolved to pursue the priorities and
objectives defined by the document and would look to the eSEE
Working Group to ensure and monitor, within its responsibilities,
their fulfillment, as a major step to a joint effort for building
Information Society in South Eastern Europe.
The signatories endorsed the following strategic framework, in
order to encourage the development of information society in
eSEE Initiative member countries and The United Nations Interim
Administration in Kosovo during the period 2007-2012:
• they accepted the “i2010 – A European Information
Society (IS) for growth and employment” as general
framework for IS development in the region;
• they associated themselves with the priorities defined in
“i2010” framework, but within the specific environment
of SEE region, and therefore rephrasing the defined
3
On behalf of Kosovo in accordance with United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1244 (1999)
 priorities for IS development policies into the region
specific priorities:
1. Further development of a Single SEE information
space which promotes an open and competitive
internal market for Information Society and media,
moving it toward a common European Information
Space in terms of interoperability;
2. Strengthening Innovation and investment in ICT
research and education while working with the private
sector to promote growth and more and better jobs;
3. Achieving an Inclusive Information Society that
promotes growth and jobs in a manner that is
consistent with sustainable development and that
prioritizes better public services and quality of life.
While the i2010 initiative aims primarily to create growth and
jobs in Europe's Information Society, the real driver of growth is
demand for services. It is based on consumers’ interest in the
benefits of the technology: communication, entertainment, and
high quality services.
Those services are somewhat different from the region specific
priorities, taking into account the previous developments in the
European Union, which influenced the list of priorities as a
development framework for IS development.
While not including, for instance, some high definition audio
visual services, eSEE Agenda+ defines a range of services,
apposite to the regional environment, including broadband
communications, online content, interoperability, harmonization,
ICT skills improvement, research, services for citizens and
services for business.
Within the defined priorities, grouped into three priority areas, the
signatories devoted themselves to accomplishing the detailed and
measurable list of objectives, within the concrete deadlines. In
order to secure continuous implementation of the objectives of
eSEE Agenda+, the participants shall carry on annual domestic
benchmarking of an agreed subset of indicators used by EU for
the i2010 initiative.
Implementation of the eSEE Agenda+ priority areas shall be
facilitated through the platform provided by the eSEE Initiative
Working Group, under the emerging cooperation framework, the
Regional Cooperation Council based in Sarajevo.
4.2 eSEE Agenda+ Expectations
The eSEE Agenda+ expected impacts can be summarized as
following:
• national development
• regional cooperation
• EU complying
The central goal of those participating in the eSEE Agenda+,
similar to the eSEE Agenda, including most of those active at the
national level, is to give a significant boost to the development of
the Information Society in their respective countries, and to
prolong a momentum of regional cooperation that will also be
sustained into the future.
Different starting points of signatory countries, as well as
fluctuating level of political commitment and resources available
between countries, will most likely influence the final outcome of
this action plan. However, having a regional master plan for
information society development provides the common ground
and thread of continuity in the light of the ever changing and
politically unstable environment of SEE.
Signing of the eSEE Agenda raised the strategic importance of
information society development activities at the national level in
terms of the increase in level of awareness, commitment and
communication on IT issues.
The visible public impact is achieved by implementing
eGovernment services and eventually creating the One Stop Shop
strategy. Access to technology, e-Participation, and e-Democracy
will lead to a cultural and social change. This will be facilitated by
more affordable broadband networks and secure services. The
knowledge building and resulting economic impacts are achieved
through fostering the development of e-Business and ICT
research.
The eAgenda+ also envisages development of ICT private-sector
to be a part of key strategic development document of any of the
respectful country. This was a case in the timeframe of eAgenda
and as a result the ICT industry representatives and associations
where key stakeholder and player in both development and
implementation of different country strategies (for example in BiH
Development Strategy, EU Accession Programme/Strategy and
Public Administration Reform Strategy). Also, continuous work
within the sector, e.g. regular meetings with government and
participation in different government commission, provides to
ICT industry a way for direct participation and influence over
upcoming government policies, laws, initiatives, etc. and thus
should directly help develop software engineering as a
fundamental part of any ICT industry in the region.
The document itself contains solid foundations for the regional
cooperation and projects with the common benefits. We can
anticipate concrete regional coordination, collaboration and
interactions, as well as promotion of the optimal practices and
exchange of know-how. This can lead further to the
interconnection to similar international initiatives.
In the process of implementation of eSEE Agenda+, the
participants consented to make provisions for collaborative
actions and build strong partnership with the EU, encouraging the
institutions, businesses, and authorities to learn from their
experiences.
The reforms are supposed to be implemented within the
framework of harmonization with Acquis Communautaire with
respect to all the respective commitments and obligations of the
participants with the EU. Opting to follow European programs
and practice before accessing to EU, the signatories are sending a
strong signal for readiness towards EU compliance.
Aiming to improve regional cooperation, the participants shall
build domestic and regional capacities to link professionals,
business, and institutions across the region and EU. Creating a
single information space is facilitated by following European
practice, interoperability and harmonization of rules.
The eSEE Agenda+ has a prospect to generate ample momentum
and fully enthuse policy makers and implementation entities more
widely by the ability to effectively coordinate across ministries, to
reach out and enable the effective participation of other non-
governmental stakeholders.
5. CONCLUSIONS
As several reviews and reports from recent South Eastern Europe
Ministerial Conference on Information Society Development
(Sarajevo, October 2007) indicate, the initial Agenda's aims have
in good measure been attained. Not merely is the development of
an enabling framework largely complete, but new ICT
infrastructure is being introduced in the widest possible range of
government departments and public institutions. In addition, a
very wide range of e-services for the public and business are
either already operational or close to becoming so.
For the first time, the national sectoral policies and strategies put
the ICT industry, including software engineering, into the position
of one of the information society and overall economic
development priorities.
eSEE Agenda has raised the awareness that software engineering
industries of all SEE countries are looking for supportive
governmental measures to increase the ability of local companies
to participate in the production and delivery of software for
domestic and export needs.
Implementing eSEE Agenda+ objectives will further raise
information society awareness and lead to the concrete activities
throughout the whole government and further on amongst the
other stakeholders, citizens, and businesses.
Software engineering will be stirred even more with eSEE
Agenda+ than from eSEE Agenda, due to the fact that priorities
and focus groups are very diverse, still heavily relying on ICT
industry support for achieving its outcomes.
6. REFERENCES
[1] “eSEE Agenda + for the Development of Information
Society in SEE 2007-2012”, Sarajevo, October 2007
(http://www.eseeinitiative.org)
[2] “i2010 – A European Information Society for growth and
employment”, Communication from the Commission to the
Council, the European parliament, the European Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions,
Brussels, 6 January 2005
[3] “eSEE Agenda, Regional Action Plan for Information
Society Development in South Eastern Europe”, Belgrade,
October 2002. (http://www.eseeinitiative.org)
[4] “National Information Society Policies: eSEEurope Initiative
Common Guidelines”, UNDP Regional Service Centre,
Bratislava, November 2003
[5] “eSEEurope Regional ICT Sector Status and Usage Report:
Building an Information Society for All”, UNDP and
Stability Pact for SEE eSEEurope Initiative, 2004
[6] “The eSEE Initiative: Review of the eSEE Agenda’s Policy
Impact in the area of Information Society in SEE”, The Final
Report, UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre, 2006
[7] “eReadiness Assessment Report 2005”, UNDP BiH, 2006.
[8] “Comparative Overview of the Overall and Governmental IT
Spending in SEE countries”, IDC Adriatics, 2007
[9] “Policy for IS development in Bosnia and Herzegovina”,
Council of ministers of BiH, 2004.
 ANNEX: Overview of the Status of eSEE Agenda Commitments
Signatories of eSEE Agenda
eSEE Agenda commitment
Albania BIH Croatia FYROM Moldova Montenegro Serbia UNMIK-Kosovo
Adoption of Strategies ADOPTED (Y/N) YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
for IS Development on
16
the basis of the common DATE OF January
10 April 2003 November 16 June 2005 9 March 2005 17 June 2004 9 October 2006 26 April 2006
guidelines prepared by ADOPTION 2002
2004
the eSEE WG
ESTABLISHED YES-NO NO YES YES-NO YES YES-NO YES YES-NO
Cabinet Level Bodies for Inter ministerial CIT fotmed in 2002, The Cabinet
Ministry for
the development of IS in committee Competencies co Secretariat for Level Body for IS
DATE OF In the December Telecommunication
line with ToR prepared formed in May shared with Min. of June 2001 Development – IT will be
ESTABLISHMENT procedure 2003 s and Information
by the eSEE WG 2005.National transport and Department established by 15
Society, May 2007
Agency for IS communications December.
ESTABLISHED YES-NO YES YES YES- NO YES YES YES YES
By-laws updated in
Legal framework on e- It is approved by
DATE OF September January 25 April 2005- still November 2007.
Signature CoM not Yet in 15 July 2004 24 September 2003 July 2005
ESTABLISHMENT 2006 2002 needs legal acts CA establishment in
Parliament.
procedure
ADOPTED (Y/N) NO YES YES NO YES YES NO YES
Legal framework on e-
Commerce DATE OF November October The Law will be Public discussion
22 July 2004 24 December 2004 July 2005
ADOPTION 2007 2003 adopted during 2007 under way
ADOPTED (Y/N) NO NO YES Information not YES YES YES YES
available
Law on Electronic It is approved by Based on Article 6 Covered by the
Documents DATE OF the CoM. It is not December of The Law on IS, Law on
15 July 2004 26.Decembar 2007
ADOPTION approved in 2005 published in Public Information
parliament Office Journal 12/96 services
YES-NO
RATIFIED (Y/N) YES YES YES YES signed but not NO NO YES
ratified
The internal legal
Law on Cybercrime Sanctions against Cyber
Convention framework was
crime articulated in
DATE OF was signed November adjusted. A National Laws
Chapter 28 as part of the 31 August 2006
ADOPTION in March 2001 separate law on adopted April 2005
Penal Code endorsed in
2006 cybercrime is under
2003
elaboration.
ADOPTED (Y/N) YES-NO YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
Law on Approved by June 2004, electronic
DATE OF November New Law is currently being
Telecommunications CoM, not yet in July 2003 comm law adopted in November 2007 March 2003 May 2003
ADOPTION 2002 prepared
Parliament February 2005
ADOPTED (Y/N) NO YES YES YES YES NO YES-NO YES
2001 June 2003 January 2005 15 February 2007 Law proposal is in the Draft version July 2005
Law on Personal Data
DATE OF phase of pre-adoption by adopted by
Protection
ADOPTION Government Government in
January 2008.