# C_2023172EN.01000601.xml

| 15.5.2023 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 172/6 |
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15.5.2023

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/6

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COMMISSION NOTICE

Guidelines for the implementation of the single digital gateway Regulation 2023-2024 work programme

(2023/C 172/02)

Introduction

Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 establishing a single digital gateway aims at facilitating online access to the information, administrative procedures and assistance services that citizens and businesses need to move within the Union and to trade, establish themselves and expand their businesses in another Member State.

Article 31(1) of the Regulation foresees the adoption of an annual work programme that shall specify actions to facilitate the implementation of the Regulation. A first work programme covering the period from July 2019 to December 2020 was published on 31 July 2019 in the Official Journal (OJ C 257, 31.7.2019, p. 1). A second work programme covering the period from January 2021 to December 2022 was published on 1 March 2021 in the Official Journal (OJ C 71, 1.3.2021, p. 47).

The Single Digital Gateway (SDG), known and promoted under its brand name ‘Your Europe’ is a major contribution to the digital transition (in line with the objectives of the EU Digital Decade), a critical tool for the Single Market and a priority of the Commission as it contributes to the competitiveness of the EU and its businesses, especially SMEs (1).

It also contributes decisively to three objectives: (i) reduce any additional administrative burden on citizens and businesses that exercise or want to exercise their internal market rights; (ii) eliminate discrimination and (iii) ensure the functioning of the internal market with regard to the provision of information, of procedures and of problem-solving services. The COVID crisis has highlighted even more the need for more-digitalised and user-friendly public administrations.

This third work programme sets out the timing of further actions aimed at implementing the SDG requirements with legal deadlines in 2023 and 2024 and at maintaining and improving those SDG services already launched. In view of the convergence of several actions relating to the December 2023 deadline, this third work programme covers the period from January 2023 until December 2024. Actions will focus on:

| — | preparations for meeting the 2023 deadline regarding the digitalisation and cross-border accessibility of procedures and the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS); |
| --- | --- |

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preparations for meeting the 2023 deadline regarding the digitalisation and cross-border accessibility of procedures and the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS);

| — | securing after-launch support mechanisms for the successful implementation of the OOTS; |
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securing after-launch support mechanisms for the successful implementation of the OOTS;

| — | Promotion of the SDG and OOTS, including promoting the (re)use of OOTS and its building blocks in the context of the EU Data Strategy; |
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Promotion of the SDG and OOTS, including promoting the (re)use of OOTS and its building blocks in the context of the EU Data Strategy;

| — | monitoring and quality enhancement of the SDG. |
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—

monitoring and quality enhancement of the SDG.

On 13 October 2022, this work programme was discussed with the gateway coordination group, as set out by Article 31(2) of the Regulation. Implementation of the work programme will be monitored and reviewed annually both via the gateway coordination group online collaboration platform and during meetings of the gateway coordination group.

National coordinators are invited to produce a national work programme assessing progress made and outlining actions to address the remaining gaps. They are invited to review their national work programme once a year and to share it with the Commission and the coordination group.

For the purposes of this Commission notice, the following definitions apply:

| — | ‘competent authority’ means any Member State authority or body established at national, regional or local level with specific responsibilities relating to the information, procedures, assistance and problem-solving services covered by the SDG Regulation (SDGR); |
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‘competent authority’ means any Member State authority or body established at national, regional or local level with specific responsibilities relating to the information, procedures, assistance and problem-solving services covered by the SDG Regulation (SDGR);

| — | ‘national coordinators’ are the representatives appointed by Member States as foreseen by Article 28 of the SDGR. |
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‘national coordinators’ are the representatives appointed by Member States as foreseen by Article 28 of the SDGR.

1.   Information and service quality

Objective 1.1: Ensuring completeness and quality of information

Reference: Articles 4 and 5 of the Regulation on access to information, Article 9 on quality of information on rights, obligations and rules, Article 10 on quality of information on procedures and Article 12 on translation

Background

The SDG must provide citizens and businesses with information that is comprehensive enough to allow them to exercise their rights derived from Union and national law in full compliance with applicable rules and obligations.

The Regulation provides in Annex I a list of areas in which the Commission and Member States had to ensure that all information relevant for citizens and businesses was provided online by 12 December 2020. Municipalities had until 12 December 2022 to meet this obligation. EU-wide rights and obligations are explained on Your Europe itself. Information on national implementation and rules provided by Member State authorities for some of the topics identified in Annex I has been gradually removed from Your Europe and replaced by (i) links to pages on national websites notified by Member States and (ii) the Your Europe search facility.

The Commission also offers translation services to Member States to fulfil their obligations under Article 12 of the Regulation.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1.1.1 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Check completeness, translation and quality and address problems of:






  — | Information covered by Annex I and Annex II. |

When

What

Who

1.1.1

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Check completeness, translation and quality and address problems of:

—

Information covered by Annex I and Annex II.

| — | Information provided at municipal level. |
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—

Information provided at municipal level.

| — | Notification of webpages to EC. |
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—

Notification of webpages to EC.

When ensuring completeness and quality of information, Member States should also take into account EU policy priorities.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

1.1.2

Q2 of every year

Review of Commission guidance on implementation of Annex I.

Commission

National coordinators

1.1.3

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Improvement of the Your Europe portal to be more user friendly.

Commission

National coordinators

1.1.4

Q4 2024

Investigate the aggregation and publication of information on product requirements and taxation (including necessary IT developments).

Commission

National coordinators

1.1.5

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Translation of the information to fulfil the obligations under Article 12 of the Regulation.

Commission

National coordinators

1.1.6

End of Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 of every year

Your Europe use report (users, Member States, accessed information and procedures).

Commission

1.1.7

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Build bridges between the SDGR and new legislative initiatives by including the information governed by new proposals in the scope of Annex I (for example, information on citizens’ rights under the European Health Data Space and information on freight transport rules).

Commission

Objective 1.2: Avoiding duplication

Reference: Recitals 17 and 55, Articles 19.6 and 30 of the Regulation

Background

The Regulation calls on Member States and the Commission to provide single sources for each information item required for the SDG, and to avoid partial or full duplication whenever possible. This is to avoid confusion among users confronted with different portals containing similar – but not completely identical – information on the same topic. Aiming for single information sources also makes updates easier and reduces the risk of presenting contradictory information.

Only information exclusively targeting citizens and businesses and explaining their applicable rights and obligations is eligible for the SDG. It should not be mixed with other content, such as information on policy in the making, which is aimed at audiences such as experts and civil servants.

The Commission is applying this principle to its own web presence and is working to integrate and host all EU-level information informing citizens and businesses about their Single Market rights and obligations on Your Europe. This is a long-term, complex exercise. The only exceptions will be the cases where separate EU law mandates the creation of a particular website. Content describing policies and processes, on the other hand, is to be hosted on the Commission’s corporate website and the individual websites of the responsible Directorates-General.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1.2.1 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Improve information at EU-level:






  — | Integrate all EU-level information on Your Europe. |

When

What

Who

1.2.1

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Improve information at EU-level:

—

Integrate all EU-level information on Your Europe.

| — | Develop an integrated approach between Your Europe and other EU portals to ensure smooth navigation and to avoid duplication. |
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Develop an integrated approach between Your Europe and other EU portals to ensure smooth navigation and to avoid duplication.

| — | Make a clear separation between information on applicable rules, presented on Your Europe, and information on policy, covered on the Commission’s corporate website and DG websites. |
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Make a clear separation between information on applicable rules, presented on Your Europe, and information on policy, covered on the Commission’s corporate website and DG websites.

Commission

1.2.2

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Work to reduce and avoid duplication:

| — | Update measures to reduce and avoid duplication. |
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—

Update measures to reduce and avoid duplication.

| — | Monitor the integrated approach at national level to avoid duplication of information between various national portals. |
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—

Monitor the integrated approach at national level to avoid duplication of information between various national portals.

| — | Monitor duplications across Commission and Member State websites and investigate possible solutions for a better distribution of content. |
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Monitor duplications across Commission and Member State websites and investigate possible solutions for a better distribution of content.

| — | Exchange best practices. |
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Exchange best practices.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.   IT development, digitalisation of procedures, data collection

Objective 2.1: Digitalising procedures

Reference: Article 6 of the Regulation on procedures to be offered fully online.

Background

The SDG must offer users easy access to national administrative procedures. For this purpose, the Regulation requires all Member States to ensure that users can access and complete any of the procedures listed in Annex II fully online. This means that the user should be able to take all steps electronically, from any EU country, region and territory and regardless of whether users experience any sort of difficulty or disability, and through an online service. The Regulation also provides a non-exhaustive list of specific criteria that need to be met.

In 2022, the Commission updated an explanatory note issued in 2020 on Annex II procedures.

The ultimate deadline for digitalising procedures is December 2023. Nevertheless, Member States should already intensify their work on this project and look for opportunities to implement the requirements well before the deadline as part of their ongoing e-government programmes, as some began to do already since the beginning of the Covid crisis.

EU programmes will help Member States achieve this goal, for instance Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, Cohesion policy programmes 2021-2027, and the Technical Support Instrument (2) (TSI) Programme. Competent authorities are invited to contact their national coordinators responsible for the financial programmes in their Member State.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2.1.1 | Q2 2023 | Address gaps and share information on progress and best practices towards the digitalisation of Annex II procedures. | Competent authorities
  National coordinators |
| 2.1.2 | Q2 of every year | Review of explanatory paper on implementation of Annex II and all its amendments. | Commission
  National coordinators |
| 2.1.3 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Activities to increase awareness of existing funding programmes. | Commission
  National coordinators |
| 2.1.4 | Q1-Q4 2023 | Repository of procedures requiring physical presence (6.4). | Commission
  National coordinators |
| 2.1.5 | Q4 2023 | All Annex II procedures to be fully online. | National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.1.6 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Build bridges between the SDGR and new legislative initiatives by bringing the administrative procedures governed by new proposals within the scope of Annex II. | Commission |

When

What

Who

2.1.1

Q2 2023

Address gaps and share information on progress and best practices towards the digitalisation of Annex II procedures.

Competent authorities

National coordinators

2.1.2

Q2 of every year

Review of explanatory paper on implementation of Annex II and all its amendments.

Commission

National coordinators

2.1.3

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Activities to increase awareness of existing funding programmes.

Commission

National coordinators

2.1.4

Q1-Q4 2023

Repository of procedures requiring physical presence (6.4).

Commission

National coordinators

2.1.5

Q4 2023

All Annex II procedures to be fully online.

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.1.6

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Build bridges between the SDGR and new legislative initiatives by bringing the administrative procedures governed by new proposals within the scope of Annex II.

Commission

Objective 2.2: Ensuring access of cross-border users to online procedures

Reference: Article 13 of the Regulation on cross-border access to online procedures.

Background:

Under the Regulation, procedures that are already online must also be fully accessible for cross-border users. That means that if a procedure is available for a national of a specific Member State, it must also be accessible, in all its steps, to users from other Member States and to users from the same Member State living in another Member State or who have previously lived, worked, studied or done business in another Member State.

Member States may use alternative technical solutions for cross-border users where necessary, but in those situations, extra care should be taken to ensure that the procedure leads to the same outcome and is not more burdensome than the procedure offered to users present in their Member States of origin.

While the Interoperable Europe Act may not yet be in force by this deadline, in view of the large investments, Member States may wish to carry out so-called interoperability assessments, to evaluate the impact of changes in their IT systems on cross-border interoperability in the EU. Also, the Commission encourages Member States to follow the European Interoperability Framework’s principles and recommendations in order to ensure no barriers are created for cross-border digital public services.

Special attention should be paid to obstacles for cross-border users, such as form fields that require national phone numbers, national prefixes for phone numbers or national postal codes, payment of fees that can only be done through systems that are not (widely) available for cross-border users, the lack of detailed explanations in a language understood by cross-border users, the lack of options for submitting electronic evidence from authorities located in another Member State and the lack of acceptance of electronic means of identification issued in other Member States.

In certain areas (e.g., Services Directive, Professional Qualifications Directive, Public Procurement Directives), non-discriminatory access to procedures for cross-border users is already a legal requirement, in addition to the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

In 2020, the Commission provided an explanatory note on cross-border accessibility of procedures.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2.2.1 | Q2 2023 | Address remaining barriers (including translation with support Commission Translation Service) and share information on progress towards full cross-border accessibility of online procedures. | National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.2.2 | Q4 2023 | Online procedures accessible for cross-border users in a non-discriminatory way. | National coordinators
  Competent authorities |

When

What

Who

2.2.1

Q2 2023

Address remaining barriers (including translation with support Commission Translation Service) and share information on progress towards full cross-border accessibility of online procedures.

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.2.2

Q4 2023

Online procedures accessible for cross-border users in a non-discriminatory way.

National coordinators

Competent authorities

Objective 2.3: Contributing to the development of the EU level IT tools and ensuring interoperability between EC and national IT tools

Reference: Article 21 of the Regulation on responsibilities for the ICT applications supporting the gateway

Background

As set out by the Regulation, the functioning of the SDG is made possible by technical tools that include: a search facility and a common ‘assistance finder’ guiding end-users towards information, procedures and assistance services; a user feedback tool on quality of services; a user feedback tool on obstacles in the Single Market; a tool to collect statistics of use; and a dashboard as the interface for public authorities and the Commission.

In July 2020, the Commission adopted an implementing act on user feedback and statistics (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1121) and ensured availability of all the related tools by the end of 2020. National authorities had to ensure compliance with the implementing act, provide information necessary for the functioning of the tools and link to some of them from their national websites. Guidelines, technical documentation and support were provided for the integration of national services with the SDG platform.

The implementing act and guidelines should be reviewed in the light of the requirement to have fully digital procedures put online across EU by the end of 2023.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2.3.1 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Amend SDG implementing regulation on the collection and sharing of user statistics and feedback to improve it and cover statistics relating to online procedures. | Commission |
| 2.3.2 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Monitor:






  1. | The collection of feedback and statistics of all services. |

When

What

Who

2.3.1

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Amend SDG implementing regulation on the collection and sharing of user statistics and feedback to improve it and cover statistics relating to online procedures.

Commission

2.3.2

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Monitor:

1.

The collection of feedback and statistics of all services.

| 2. | The addition, on national pages that are part of the gateway, of links to:






  — | The common user feedback tool on pages which do not have a national feedback tool. |
| --- | --- | --- |

2.

The addition, on national pages that are part of the gateway, of links to:

—

The common user feedback tool on pages which do not have a national feedback tool.

| — | The assistance service finder. |
| --- | --- |

—

The assistance service finder.

| — | The Single Market Obstacle (SMO) tool. |
| --- | --- |

—

The Single Market Obstacle (SMO) tool.

Commission

National coordinators

2.3.3

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

| — | Maintain and further develop the SDG common IT tools with a focus on task automation and developing the remaining legal requirements including the update and further development of the SMO tool. |
| --- | --- |

—

Maintain and further develop the SDG common IT tools with a focus on task automation and developing the remaining legal requirements including the update and further development of the SMO tool.

| — | Maintain and further improve the links repository in order to allow Member States to notify the necessary data and, whenever possible, to automate the process. |
| --- | --- |

—

Maintain and further improve the links repository in order to allow Member States to notify the necessary data and, whenever possible, to automate the process.

| — | Maintain and further develop the search facility to facilitate business and citizens access to EU and national information. |
| --- | --- |

—

Maintain and further develop the search facility to facilitate business and citizens access to EU and national information.

| — | Maintain and further develop the Your Europe content management system to ensure it will be able to realise the SDG project’s potential. |
| --- | --- |

—

Maintain and further develop the Your Europe content management system to ensure it will be able to realise the SDG project’s potential.

Commission

2.3.4

Q1-Q4 2023

Development of common IT tools to support digitalisation of procedures including the tools related to the amendment of the SDG Implementing regulation on collection and sharing of user statistics and the common repository of procedural steps that require physical presence (Article 6.4).

Commission

National coordinators

2.3.5

Q1-Q4 2023

Implement workflow in IMI for administrative cooperation (Article 15).

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

Objective 2.4: Once-only

Reference: Article 14 of the Regulation

Background

The Commission will, in cooperation with Member States, establish a technical system for exchanging evidence for the online procedures listed in Annex II to the Regulation and for the procedures provided for in the Services Directive (3), the Professional Qualifications Directive (4) and two public procurements Directives (2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU).

The Regulation requires the Commission to review the application of the Regulation by 12 December 2022 and once every two years thereafter. It requires the Commission to evaluate, in particular, the scope of Article 14, taking into account technological, market and legal developments concerning the exchange of evidence between competent authorities.

In 2019 and 2021, the Commission developed an architecture for the system, and worked with Member States through several work packages on technical and operational solutions to ensure interoperability between the envisaged common parts of the system and the national elements. The Commission also conducted studies and pilots to support this work.

In 2022, the Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation C(2022) 5628 for setting out the technical and operational specifications of the technical system necessary for the cross-border automated exchange of evidence and application of the ‘once-only’ principle (the so-called Once-Only Technical System, or ‘OOTS’). It was discussed with Member States across several committee meetings under the examination procedure (5). The Commission also published detailed Technical Design Documents to further support Member States in the implementation of the OOTS. In addition, the Commission launched working groups (sub-groups to the SDG coordination group and OOTS and EUDI Wallet Synergies and Interoperability Contact Group) to work together in close cooperation with Member States on dedicated topics helping to prepare for the launch of the Once-Only Technical System by December 2023 across EU.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2.4.1 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | OOTS Development:
  Develop and deploy the first production version of the OOTS, OOTS Common Services and ensure onboarding of procedures which determines:






  — | The data to be entered by Member States in the Common Services: evidence mapping and data services, |

When

What

Who

2.4.1

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

OOTS Development:

Develop and deploy the first production version of the OOTS, OOTS Common Services and ensure onboarding of procedures which determines:

—

The data to be entered by Member States in the Common Services: evidence mapping and data services,

| — | The procedure portals and authentic sources to be on boarded. |
| --- | --- |

—

The procedure portals and authentic sources to be on boarded.

Develop and adapt the national side of the technical system including the necessary operational arrangements.

Produce operation, raising awareness and training material for system users.

Review of the deliverables produced by the working groups (sub-groups to the SDG coordination group and EUDI Wallet Synergies and Interoperability Contact Group).

Use WIKI and OOTSHUB collaborative spaces to share all the project and development progress and details.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.4.2

Q1-Q4 2024

OOTS Production:

Operate the Common Services in production and consider a possible migration of the OOTS Common Services to a European Cloud provider. Invest in the further development of the OOTS Common Services (including synergies with Your Europe).

Continue the OOTS testing services and organise at least four large testing events (Projectathons).

Provide support services to the onboarding of the eGov Portals and Authentic Data Sources of Member States and implement agreed synergies with EUDI.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.4.3

Q2 of every year

OOTS and SDG future roadmap:

Future development roadmap discussion and design, including the possibility to connect the Commission or other European bodies to the OOTS, improvement of user journey, access of citizen and businesses to all their administrative documents, EU Wallet and OOTS connection or others.

Commission

National coordinators

2.4.4

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

OOTS Implementing Regulation:

To the extent that the evaluation of the SDGR leads to new insights and to the extent that new elements become available, amend the implementing act setting out the technical and operational specifications of the technical system to fill the gaps of the first version of the implementing act (for example on powers and mandates).

Commission

2.4.5

Q1-Q4 2023

Report:

Discuss input for the draft report (on the review of Article 14) provided by the Commission and submit an assessment report on the review of Article 14 of the SDGR to the European Parliament and to the Council.

Commission

National coordinators

2.4.6

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Ensure connections and interoperability between the OOTS, systems and platforms established in the context of other legislative initiatives.

Commission

Objective 2.5: Reporting on the functioning of the gateway and the single market

Reference: Articles 26, 27 and 36 of the Regulation

Background

The SMO tool is a user-friendly online environment foreseen by the Regulation to signal and give feedback anonymously on any obstacles encountered by citizens and businesses in exercising their internal market rights. The Regulation also foresees that Member States and the Commission analyse and investigate the problems raised by users through the SMO tool and address them, wherever possible, by appropriate means.

For example, once the Interoperability Act (6) enters into force and the Interoperable Europe Board is set up, issues identified with regard to cross-border interoperability as well as possible interoperability solutions, should be notified to the Board that may propose to set up policy implementation support projects to develop missing interoperability solutions.

The Regulation also lays down that the Commission publishes online summary of the problems which have emerged from reports provided by users of the gateway through the SMO tool as well as highlighted by collected user feedback and statistics.

In addition, the Regulation requires the Commission to review the application of the Regulation by 12 December 2022 and once every two years thereafter. It requires the Commission to draft a report assessing the functioning of the gateway and the internal market on the basis of the collected statistics, user feedback and reports on the Single Market obstacles.

The Regulation foresees several tools which will help the Commission collect relevant information related to the digitalisation of public services in the EU. The summary overviews of problems and the biennial reports will support the Commission in taking informed decisions in the field of the internal market, together with other tools (i.e. statistical report based on selected indicators published on an upgraded Single Market Scoreboard; the Annual Performance Report on the Single Market). They will also help Member States identify and address in the appropriate way the problems reported.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2.5.1 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Follow-up on the feedback and statistics, enlarge the number of assistance services feeding their case data into the SMO tool and publish summary, after discussion with the coordination group. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.5.2 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Monitor the SDG building on the e-Government benchmark. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.5.3 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Carry out active research among (potential) users of the SDG to identify priority areas for development. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.5.4 | Q2-Q4 2024 | Discuss input to be provided for the draft report provided by the Commission and submit it to Parliament and Council. | Commission
  National coordinators |

When

What

Who

2.5.1

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Follow-up on the feedback and statistics, enlarge the number of assistance services feeding their case data into the SMO tool and publish summary, after discussion with the coordination group.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.5.2

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Monitor the SDG building on the e-Government benchmark.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.5.3

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Carry out active research among (potential) users of the SDG to identify priority areas for development.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.5.4

Q2-Q4 2024

Discuss input to be provided for the draft report provided by the Commission and submit it to Parliament and Council.

Commission

National coordinators

3.   Assistance services

Objective 3.1: Ensuring availability of information about assistance services and their quality

Reference: Articles 7, 11 and 16 of the Regulation

Background

The SDG, via the assistance service finder launched in 2020, offers users easy access to a broad range of assistance services, informs them about what they can expect from the services and guides them towards the most appropriate one.

In addition to the assistance services listed in Annex III, others have voluntarily joined the SDG since its launch: Europe Direct, the European Consumer Centres, the Intellectual Property Rights Help Desk and SOLVIT.

The Commission supported assistance services in this process by providing a checklist and an assessment of the state of play.

Where necessary to meet the needs of the users, national coordinators may also propose to the Commission to opt-in private or semi-private assistance services if they fulfil the quality requirements of the gateway.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3.1.1 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Monitor the information provided on assistance services and their quality with the help of collected user feedback and statistics, and follow-up | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 3.1.2 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Work towards bringing additional assistance and problem-solving services within the scope of Annex I. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |

When

What

Who

3.1.1

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Monitor the information provided on assistance services and their quality with the help of collected user feedback and statistics, and follow-up

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

3.1.2

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Work towards bringing additional assistance and problem-solving services within the scope of Annex I.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

4.   Promotion

Objective 4.1: Promoting the gateway

Reference: Articles 22 and 23 of the Regulation on promotion, name, logo and quality label

Background

The launch of the SDG, on 12 December 2020, marked the start of the use of the Your Europe logo on all EU and national SDG pages.

In 2020, a communication plan to advertise the SDG was prepared. It foresaw the roll-out of a campaign at both EU and national levels in 2021, and the coordination of activities to promote ‘Your Europe’ and the websites that are part of the SDG. The campaign included digital roadshows with online information sessions across Europe in national languages.

In 2022, the campaign was assessed and following conclusions were drawn: The digital roadshow was successful in reaching out to citizens and businesses. The key to success was that national coordinators worked very closely together with the SDG team, the contractor and with influencers. Future campaigns can build on this good cooperation between the national coordinators and the Commission. We measured the impact of influencers and the YouTube campaign (ex-ante and post evaluation), which showed very good results in terms of outreach and branding and should be repeated.

The other outreach activities like Google search ads and social media performed also well and will always be part of future campaigns.

The main objectives of the promotion activities for the 2023-24 period are the following:

| — | To improve further public awareness about EU rights and obligations in the EU’s single market; |
| --- | --- |

—

To improve further public awareness about EU rights and obligations in the EU’s single market;

| — | To inform Europeans about EU and national rights and rules within the single market and to get them actively involved in claiming those rights and reporting any problems they encounter; |
| --- | --- |

—

To inform Europeans about EU and national rights and rules within the single market and to get them actively involved in claiming those rights and reporting any problems they encounter;

| — | To promote Your Europe as a brand among citizens and businesses, especially SMEs and potential entrepreneurs (across EU); |
| --- | --- |

—

To promote Your Europe as a brand among citizens and businesses, especially SMEs and potential entrepreneurs (across EU);

| — | To increase findability of Your Europe and national information (including rights AND obligations); |
| --- | --- |

—

To increase findability of Your Europe and national information (including rights AND obligations);

| — | To encourage users to send feedback on public services; |
| --- | --- |

—

To encourage users to send feedback on public services;

| — | To demonstrate how Your Europe is a value added for businesses and citizens. |
| --- | --- |

—

To demonstrate how Your Europe is a value added for businesses and citizens.

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 4.1.1 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Run promotion activities including SDG, Your Europe portal, AS, SMO tool, digitalised procedures and OOTS for citizens, SMEs and administrations and evaluate the success of the promotion activities. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 4.1.2 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Yearly review the communication plan and implement the revised communication plan. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 4.1.3 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Monitor the performance of the search engine of Your Europe and continue providing the best possible outcome of the national websites via the search of Your Europe to the wider public. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 4.1.4 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | Promote the OOTS in the context of EU Data Strategy and provide information brochures or factsheet for competent authorities, whereby the connections between OOTS, IMI; EUCARIS etc. can be worked out. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |

When

What

Who

4.1.1

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Run promotion activities including SDG, Your Europe portal, AS, SMO tool, digitalised procedures and OOTS for citizens, SMEs and administrations and evaluate the success of the promotion activities.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

4.1.2

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Yearly review the communication plan and implement the revised communication plan.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

4.1.3

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Monitor the performance of the search engine of Your Europe and continue providing the best possible outcome of the national websites via the search of Your Europe to the wider public.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

4.1.4

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

Promote the OOTS in the context of EU Data Strategy and provide information brochures or factsheet for competent authorities, whereby the connections between OOTS, IMI; EUCARIS etc. can be worked out.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

5.   Transversal

How and when?

| | When | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 5.1 | Q4 2024 | Adopt a Work Programme for 2025-2026. | Commission |
| 5.2 | Q1 2023-Q4 2024 | SDG and OOTS Monitoring and automatic reporting system development:
  Development of automatic monitoring and reporting system to measure the progress and digitalization level of European Administrations based on the existing data in the SDG and OOTS system. | Commission
  National coordinators |

When

What

Who

5.1

Q4 2024

Adopt a Work Programme for 2025-2026.

Commission

5.2

Q1 2023-Q4 2024

SDG and OOTS Monitoring and automatic reporting system development:

Development of automatic monitoring and reporting system to measure the progress and digitalization level of European Administrations based on the existing data in the SDG and OOTS system.

Commission

National coordinators

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(1)  As pointed out in the Commission Communication ‘The Single Market at 30’, COM(2023) 162 final, 16 March 2023, and the Commission Communication ‘Long-term competitiveness of the EU: looking beyond 2030’, COM(2023) 168 final, 16 March 2023.

(2)  The Technical Support Instrument is providing tailor-made technical expertise to Member States in order to design, develop and implement reforms, including on the digital transition agenda of national governments.

(3)  Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market (OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36).

(4)  Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications (OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22).

(5)  Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).

(6)  Interoperable Europe Act Proposal (europa.eu).

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ANNEX

Main highlights for 2023-2024

In 2023 and 2024, Competent Authorities, National Coordinators and the Commission will maintain efforts to guarantee the completeness, accessibility and quality of information covered by Annex I and II as well as to reduce and avoid duplication. Improving the user journey as well as promoting Your Europe and ensuring that the Your Europe portal is as user-friendly as possible will also remain ongoing. The Commission will also build bridges between the SDGR and new legislative initiatives by including the information and administrative procedures governed by new proposals within the scope of Annex I and Annex II respectively.

Furthermore, the main highlights of this work programme include:

| | What | Who |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2023 |
| 2.1.4 | Repository of procedures requiring physical presence (6.4). | Commission
  National coordinators |
| 2.1.5 | All Annex II procedures to be fully online. | National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.2.2 | Online procedures accessible for cross-border users in a non-discriminatory way. | National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.3.5 | Implement workflow in IMI for administrative cooperation (Article 15). | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.4.1 | Develop and deploy the first production version of the OOTS and OOTS Common Services and onboard procedures, procedure portals and authentic sources. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2024 |
| 1.1.3 | Improvement of the Your Europe portal to be more user friendly. | Commission
  National coordinators |
| 2.4.2 | Implement agreed synergies with EUDI. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 2.5.1 | Enlarge the number of assistance services providing feedback to the SMO tool. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |
| 3.1.2 | Work towards bringing additional assistance and problem-solving services within the scope of Annex I. | Commission
  National coordinators
  Competent authorities |

What

Who

2023

2.1.4

Repository of procedures requiring physical presence (6.4).

Commission

National coordinators

2.1.5

All Annex II procedures to be fully online.

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.2.2

Online procedures accessible for cross-border users in a non-discriminatory way.

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.3.5

Implement workflow in IMI for administrative cooperation (Article 15).

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.4.1

Develop and deploy the first production version of the OOTS and OOTS Common Services and onboard procedures, procedure portals and authentic sources.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2024

1.1.3

Improvement of the Your Europe portal to be more user friendly.

Commission

National coordinators

2.4.2

Implement agreed synergies with EUDI.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

2.5.1

Enlarge the number of assistance services providing feedback to the SMO tool.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

3.1.2

Work towards bringing additional assistance and problem-solving services within the scope of Annex I.

Commission

National coordinators

Competent authorities

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