Although the first steps in relation to eGovernment were taken in 2008, with the creation of the Guichet.lu portal – which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year – and its first platform for transactions, the project really took off in 2013, when the current version of MyGuichet.lu went online. This made it possible to industrialise the creation of digital administrative procedures, using common functions, while at the same time allowing a high degree of modularity in order to adapt to the needs of each administration.

All the indicators are currently on green, and the use of eAdministration will intensify further in the coming years, firstly as a result of pressure from users, both private and professional, who are increasingly used to carrying out many activities online. This growing interest for administrative online services is indeed confirmed by a recent STATEC study, which noted a substantial increase in eAdministration in the Grand Duchy over the past five years.[1]

A number of areas have been developed since 2013 in order to improve the State’s online services, and the general public is all in favour. 109,013 users have created their personal space on MyGuichet.lu in the past five years, of which 90,572 are members of the public and 18,441 are businesses. Growth boomed in 2017, with 58% more registrations than in 2016.

There are several reasons for this increase in the number of users, starting with the continuous increase in the number of procedures available online. 170 are currently available in authenticated mode for users, via a secure connection using a LuxTrust certificate. In addition, in order to simplify certain actions, about thirty procedures (including the reservation of vehicle number plates) have been available for the past few months in non-authenticated mode, using any device. 

The continuous development of new functions aimed at making people’s lives simpler in both the personal and professional spheres is another factor in the growing success of eAdministration in the Grand Duchy.

These functions include, for example, the possibility for users of consulting the civil status data recorded about them in the National Register (registre national des personnes physiques) via MyGuichet.lu. Users may also view the list of their property assets, see how many points they have left on their driving licence, check the date their vehicle is due for its next technical inspection, etc. Data of this type, referred to as authentic sources, was consulted more than 546,000 times in 2017, compared with 118,000 the previous year (an increase of 462%).

Another important function of MyGuichet.lu that has been online since October 2017 makes it possible to receive and print official documents (eDelivery) from the totally secure personal space. For example, anyone can now receive online details of refunds from the health fund (caisse de maladie). This dematerialisation of exchanges, which will continue to expand, will also make it possible to achieve substantial economies of scale in the coming years.

The introduction of online payment for the electronic identity card (eID) in 2014 and for passports and speeding fines in 2016 has also been very successful, with nearly 30,000 transactions recorded last year alone. MyGuichet.lu will very soon be introducing its first mobile payment solution – Digicash.

Many current and future projects will strengthen the importance of eAdministration in the Grand Duchy in the coming years. Starting in 2018, it will be possible to register on the electoral roll and request a postal vote online at MyGuichet.lu. Procedures and consultable data in connection with social security will gradually be extended. Other work will involve improving the platform’s ergonomics and the functions proposed, including the mass deposit of documents, the uploading of supporting documents via a mobile application, and checking the authenticity of a document bearing an electronic signature using a QR code.

The development of efficient eAdministration is in line with the desire of Dan Kersch, Minister for the Civil Service and Administrative Reform, to offer people and businesses a straightforward, clear and predictable framework for their relations with the administrations. The ‘Einfach Lëtzebuerg’ programme, adopted by the Council of Government on 11 March 2016, includes provision for a selective and strategic re-examination of existing legislation, which is currently the main hindrance to the development of digital procedures. More broadly, the initiative aims to achieve greater transparency and more consultation, and more digitisation of administrative procedures – aims that MyGuichet.lu helps to achieve a bit more every day.