Optimism for the digitization of Romania
A recent study shows that 59% of Romanians consider digitalization to be beneficial, and 52% believe that it has a positive impact on the quality of life.
Iulia Hau, 26.03.2025, 13:07
A recent study shows that 59% of Romanians consider digitalization to be beneficial, and 52% believe that it has a positive impact on the quality of life. However, Romania continues to rank last in the European Union in almost all areas related to digitalization. For example, if in 2024, 70% of European citizens had used, on average, at least once a government website or application in the previous 12 months, the average in Romania was only 25%. Moreover, in 2023, the European average of the percentage of citizens who had above-average digital skills was 55.6%, while in Romania it remained below 28%. We also rank last in terms of the level of business digitalization, with 72% of the Romanian businesses having a very low level, against a European average of 41%.
Edge Institute is the first Romanian think tank that aims to support the digital transition over the next decade, with the aim of Romania reaching the European average. During the institute’s launch event, it was frequently mentioned that digitalization is not about technology, but about people, because it offers predictability and transparency, giving citizens equal access to information and, above all, to institutions. Victor Guzun is a digital transformation consultant, former ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Estonia and member of the Edge Institute board. Having lived in Estonia, the most digitalized country in the world, for 16 years, Guzun explains why he believes this word has been abused and why the citizen must always be at the center of any digitalization efforts.
Victor Guzun: “Digitalization is about how we can use the available technologies, each of us — the Internet, our phone or our computer — or about the possibility for us to connect with anyone in the world, about how to use all these technologies that are available to everyone, and which are cheap, sometimes costing nothing, in our interest and to make processes simpler, more efficient for everyone. So how do we put machines to work so that we can make our lives as simple as possible? There is probably no consensus on digitalization, it is something for absolutely every citizen. So every citizen of Romania must and can benefit from this digitalization. And why I say that this word digitalization has been abused, in a way, because I think there is a preconception that digitalization is only for a certain category. Or that only someone can benefit or only someone can deal with digitalization, and other people are not part of this equation, which is totally wrong. Digitalization is about people and people must be put at the center of this process. And what is probably missing is that digitalization is only handled by ministries or specialized departments or someone who has some super deep knowledge about the subject, which is again wrong. Because if only ministries deal with digitalization and, what I’m saying is not taken into account, namely the citizen at the center, then those digital solutions that ministries will develop will not meet people’s needs. And consequently, people will not use them, because people, as I said, want to simplify, to streamline processes. Instead of simplifying things, they will actually complicate things.”
Victor Guzun believes the internet should be a social right, from which all citizens can benefit, and that the digitization of a society must go hand in hand with ensuring universal and non-discriminatory access to high-quality internet. Among the benefits enjoyed by a 100% digitized society like Estonia, the expert mentions online voting, through which all citizens can exercise this right regardless of where they are; immediate access to complete medical and pharmaceutical history, which can be essential in emergencies; access to children’s school reports, with graphs showing developments over time; and managing a business 100% online, without the need for face to face contact with any public institution.
And while Estonia offers the option of concluding real estate, marriage or divorce contracts exclusively online, all these procedures can also be carried out in physical format, at the counter, if so desired. Victor Guzun believes that what matters is for citizens to have the chance to choose.
Edge Institute experts are optimistic about Romania’s chances of becoming a digital society. Moreover, they give the example of Ukraine, which developed a quick solution for creating online passports at the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Victor Guzun: “I want to give you just one example. When Russia’s direct military aggression started, as you probably know about seven million Ukrainians left Ukraine, many of them for Romania. Many forgot their passports, their documents at home, because the enemy was advancing very quickly. And then, virtually in a few weeks, this whole concept of legally accepting digital documents, including on the phone, was developed.”
Romania has a chance to make progress in this area, our guest says:
Victor Guzun: “Romania can make a huge leap if all these elements are taken into account, and, once again, that’s what I want Edge to do. It aims to be a facilitator to help public institutions take this leap, if you will. This is possible if we have very good cooperation. We have this ambition, I know that we have worked in an optimistic scenario, but we have good reasons for this. There are arguments why Romania, could do this. Romania has all the necessary elements to grow into a digital society. More coordination and more cooperation are needed. Edge will try to do this with various partners: public partners, private partners, the education system, the healthcare system and many, many other areas.”
Victor Guzun insists that any digitization effort must start from the specific problems and needs that society has, rather than import the solutions identified by other states, such as Estonia. (LS, AMP)
