News item | 04-03-2024 | 5:40 PM
The European Council today approved the Interoperable Europe Act.
This European regulation aims to improve cooperation and digital exchange between government organizations throughout the EU. Interoperability contributes to trust in the digital world and is an important value in the ‘Value-driven Digitalization Work Agenda’. For example, the government’s commitment to the Interoperable Europe Act ensures that citizens and companies can be served more easily and quickly in the future when requesting services. This includes applying for benefits, registering a birth or starting a business, regardless of which EU country they are in.
The regulation does this, among other things, by encouraging the sharing and reuse of existing software solutions, agreeing on standards and sharing good examples between member states. This prevents the wheel from being reinvented in every EU member state. By requiring analyzes for new legislation and regulations, interoperability problems are found earlier in the process, before legal texts are final. During the legislative process, the government has mainly advocated the practical implementation of the regulation.
Use services in multiple EU countries
At the moment, it is often difficult for citizens and companies to use government services in other EU countries. This is because the systems and procedures of the different Member States cannot automatically communicate with each other. This leads to frustration, delays and extra costs. A good example is a system that automatically shares a copy of a diploma with a government organization in another country to demonstrate that someone has a diploma. Where it currently has to be downloaded by a citizen and then scanned and forwarded to another government organization. Interoperable cross-border systems should be able to exchange that information automatically.
Benefits for citizens and entrepreneurs
In particular, citizens and entrepreneurs who live, work and do business across the borders of their own Member State will eventually notice that they will save time.
For example, because it is no longer necessary to provide the same information multiple times to different government organizations from different countries. Apart from saving time and increasing ease of use, it is expected that better interoperability between the government organizations of EU member states, specifically for entrepreneurs, will result in savings of between €5.7 and €19.2 billion per year.
Crucial for trust
Digital government services that work well together are crucial for citizens’ trust in government. Moreover, it contributes to a strong European Digital Market. In addition to economic benefits and efficiency, this collaboration ensures that the services better meet user expectations. The government will continue to pay attention to important guarantees regarding transparency, privacy and verifiability.
European Council agrees to regulation
The regulation is expected to enter into force at the end of March 2024, after which government organizations throughout the European Union will start implementing it. They have until early 2025 to do this.