BERLIN, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The majority of Germans wants better digital management of citizen services, according to a study by the German digital association Bitkom published on Wednesday.
Two thirds of all respondents thought that it is possible to deal with administrative formalities online without any problems.
"Queuing at the public office and the time-consuming paperwork when applying for documents and social benefits cost valuable time and make our lives unnecessarily complicated," said Bitkom managing director Bernhard Rohleder at the presentation of the study.
According to the survey, an online reporting tool where German citizens can flag issues such as potholes on streets is the most desired governmental service. 83 percent of interviewees want such a tool.
Some 74 percent would like to be able to register or change their place of residence online. More than every second person surveyed wants the option to apply online for official certificates of good conduct.
"Germany needs a real e-government offensive," said Johannes Ludewig, chairman of the National Regulatory Control Council (NKR) which co-presented the study alongside Bitkom.
Digital offers that currently existed were often not known enough or would be too cumbersome for most citizens. The NKR is an independent advisory body of the German government which made the digitization of administrative acts for citizens one of its main priorities in recent years.
In a survey conducted by the network for digital society Initiative D21, only 41 percent of respondents in Germany stated that they had used electronic governmental services in the past twelve months. In Switzerland, the figure was 61 percent, in Austria even 74 percent.
Bitkom and the NKR see the results of the survey as a clear signal that Germany needs to adjust the legal conditions for the digitization of administrative acts.
