The European Council and the European Parliament have reached a common position on the Interoperable Act. This means the Interoperable Europe Act proposal can be finally transformed into EU law by both institutions.
The Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, gladly welcomed the provisional agreement, stating: "With the swift conclusion of the negotiations on the Interoperable Europe Act, in less than one year after the Commission proposal, the Council and European Parliament demonstrate their eagerness to boost the digital transformation of public services. This brings direct benefits to people and business in the EU. The agreement reached today is an essential step towards better digital public services, less administrative burden and cost-savings for all involved."
The goal of the Interoperable Europe Act is to strengthen cross-border interoperability of trans-European digital public services for citizens and businesses within the EU. To realise this aim, the Act lays down measures to fundamentally enhance public sector interoperability across the Union and to accelerate the digital transformation of Europe's public sector.
It establishes a cooperation framework for public administrations across the EU to support cross-border exchange of data and in which interoperable and re-usable digital solutions can be agreed upon. These measures will remove administrative burdens, including legal, organisational, semantic and technical obstacles, and will ensure the seamless delivery of key public services across borders that are available online to all persons in the EU without discrimination.
Ensuring seamless access to cross-border public services will improve the quality of life of millions of EU citizens, especially those who wish to work, study or retire in another Member State. According to European Commission’s figures, 150 million EU citizens lived in a border region and 2 million people commute between Member States in 2017.
The Act has been proposed by the Commission in making an important step towards completing the Digital Single Market. Member States have increasingly stressed the need to strengthen European interoperability cooperation in the EU, among others, with the ministerial declarations signed in 2017 in Tallinn and in 2020 in Berlin. Also citizens participating in the Conference on the Future of Europe called for facilitating cross-border interoperability.
The transcription of the final text of the Act is still in production and will be published later. The new Regulation will only enter into force after a certain period following the formal adoption. The Commission is already preparing the ground to ensure a smooth and timely implementation of the Act.
Interested to learn more? Click below to discover:
Press Release European Commission
Press Release EU Council
The Interoperable Europe Act Commission proposal
The Commission Communication
Q & A
The Impact assessment report
Commission Staff Working Document: The European Interoperability Framework for Smart Cities and Communities (EIF4SCC)
The Evaluation of the EIF
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