Bulgaria’s Parliament gave the green light to the establishment of a state agency in charge of electronic government, public radio broadcaster BNR reported on Thursday.

The Electronic Government State Agency will be responsible for the implementation of projects related to e-governance as well as coordination of national policies in the area with the EU requirements and practices.

The agency will also be in charge of electronic identification and information security in public administration bodies.

The new agency is expected to boost accountability of officials, speed up the introduction of e-government services, cut red tape and prevent waste of funds, according to Antoni Trenchev, a member of parliament from the Reformist Bloc, the junior partner in the minority coalition government.

The cabinet will set the structure and budget of the new agency and will appoint its head, according to amendments to the Electronic Government Act adopted on second and final reading on Thursday.

The EU defines electronic government as the use of information and communication technologies in public administrations - combined with organisational change and new skills - to improve public services and democratic processes and to strengthen support to public policies.