Ready for the Digital Era? A Comparative Analysis of Hungary and Romania in the Field of Digital Policy

Abstract

The progress concerning the digital transformation of society is characterized by wide differences among different European countries, in terms of the intensity and timeline of the digital transformation. The extent of the digital transformation in Romania and Hungary is below the EU average and thus, both states need to intensify their endeavours. The present study analyses the e-government and digital education policies of the two countries, in terms of main goals, addressed challenges and predicted impacts of the digital transformation. Alongside the specific societal challenges and drawbacks, we found significant approach differences in elaborating public policies such as the coordinated and centralized approach in Hungary versus the fragmented and the more sector oriented Romanian approach. Among the similarities, we noted the optimist view on digitalisation impacts in the analysed documents – while the benefits are widely presented, far less attention was given to the possible negative outcomes.