Common Position (EC) No 12/2004 of 18 December 2003 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on interoperable delivery of pan-European eGovernment services to public administrations, businesses and citizens (IDABC)
Date: 2003-12-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, European citizenship, electronic government, provision of services, public administration, type of business

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COMMON POSITION (EC) No 12/2004

adopted by the Council on 18 December 2003

with a view to adopting Decision No . . ./2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of . . . on interoperable delivery of pan-European eGovernment services to public administrations,
businesses and citizens (IDABC)

(2004/C 66 E/03)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF
THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular the first paragraph of Article
156 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee,

Having regard to the Opinion of
Regions (1),

the Committee of

the

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

In accordance with Article 154 of the Treaty, to help
achieve the objectives referred to in Articles 14 and 158
thereof and to enable citizens of the Union, economic
operators and regional and local communities to derive
full benefit
from the setting-up of an area without
internal frontiers, the Community contributes to the estab-
lishment and development of trans-European networks.

Facilitating the mobility of businesses and citizens across
European borders contributes directly to removing the
obstacles
to the free movement of goods, persons,
services and capital as well as to the free establishment
of nationals of a Member State in the territory of another
Member State.

In accordance with Article 157 of
the
Community and the Member States are to ensure that
the conditions necessary for the competitiveness of the
Community's industry exist.

the Treaty,

(4) By

No

Decisions

1719/1999/EC (3)

and
No 1720/1999/EC (4) the European Parliament and the
Council adopted a series of actions, horizontal measures
and guidelines including the identification of projects of
common interest, with regard to trans-European networks
for the electronic interchange of data between adminis-

(1) OJ C . . .
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 18 November 2003 (OJ C
25 E, 29.1.2004), Council Common Position of 18 December 2003
and Position of the European Parliament of . . . (not yet published in
the Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 203, 3.8.1999, p. 1. Decision as amended by Decision

No 2046/2002/EC (OJ L 316, 20.11.2002, p. 4).

(4) OJ L 203, 3.8.1999, p. 9. Decision as amended by Decision

No 2045/2002/EC (OJ L 316, 20.11.2002, p. 1).

(IDA). As

expire on
trations
31 December 2004,
is necessary to provide for a
framework for the follow-up of the IDA programme as
set up by those Decisions.

those Decisions will
it

(5) The IDABC programme will build on the successes of the
preceding IDA programmes, which have improved the
effectiveness of cross-border cooperation between public
administrations.

(6)

In establishing and implementing the IDABC programme,
which is the follow-up to previous IDA programmes, due
account should be taken of the achievements of those
programmes.

(7) Work completed under the IDABC programme is likely to
form the basis for further work. This, combined with the
the
require
fast pace of
programme to be adaptable to future developments.

change, will

technological

(8) The European Council, meeting in Lisbon in March 2000,
adopted conclusions aimed at preparing the transition of
the European Union by 2010 to the world's most
competitive, dynamic, and knowledge-based economy,
capable of sustainable economic growth with more and
better jobs and greater social cohesion.

that

electronic

(9) The European Council, meeting in Brussels in March
2003, drew attention to the importance of connecting
Europe and so strengthening the internal market and
a
underlined
powerful engine for growth, competitiveness and jobs in
the European Union and that action should be taken to
consolidate
to the
achievement of the Lisbon goals. To this end, the devel-
opment and establishment of pan-European eGovernment
Services and the underlying telematic networks should be
supported and promoted.

strength and to contribute

communications

this

are

(10) The elimination of obstacles to electronic communications
between public administrations at all levels and with busi-
nesses as well as with citizens contributes to improving
the European business environment, lowering the adminis-
It may also
trative burden and reducing red tape.
encourage businesses and citizens of the European Union
to reap the benefits of the information society and to
interact electronically with public administrations.

(11) Enhanced delivery of eGovernment services enables busi-
nesses and citizens to interact with public administrations
without special Information Technology (IT) skills or prior
knowledge of
functional organisation of a
public administration.

the internal

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and other

(12) The deployment of trans-European telematic networks to
interchange information between public administrations,
Community institutions
such as
European agencies, services and organisations devoted to
should not be
furthering the Community's
considered as the end, but as the means to achieve inter-
operable information and interactive eGovernment services
at the pan-European level, building on and extending to
citizens and businesses the benefits resulting from the
cooperation between public administrations across Europe.

interests,

entities,

to carry out a study,

(13) The Commission undertakes and will update, as appro-
priate, comprehensive consultations involving all stake-
involving all
holders in order
relevant sectors, focusing on the needs of and benefits
for citizens and businesses, with a view to preparing a
list of necessary and beneficial pan-European eGovernment
services that could be implemented within the whole
duration of this Decision.

services

requires

(14) Pan-European eGovernment services permit public admin-
istrations, businesses and citizens to interact better with
public administrations across borders. The delivery of
these
efficient,
the
effective and interoperable information and communi-
cation systems between public administrations as well as
office
interoperable
processes in order
to exchange in a secure manner,
understand and process public sector information across
Europe.

availability of

administrative

front

back

and

(20) Actions

level

at Community

the
should stimulate
successful development of eGovernment services at
the
pan-European level and the associated measures required
at all appropriate levels,
the
linguistic diversity of the Community.

taking due account of

(21) While the participation of all Member States in actions in
support of pan-European eGovernment services provided
by public administrations to businesses and citizens should
be encouraged, actions comprising several Member States
can be initiated and Member States not participating
should be encouraged to join at a later stage.

(22) Cross-fertilisation with relevant national, regional and local
initiatives and delivery of eGovernment services within the
Member States should be ensured.

(23) The Action Plan for eEurope 2005, endorsed by the
in
European Council meeting in Seville in June 2002,
particular the chapter on eGovernment, underlines the
importance of the IDA programme in fostering the estab-
lishment of pan-European eGovernment
in
support of cross-border activities thus complementing
regarding
and providing a framework for
eGovernment at all appropriate levels.

initiatives

services

(15) For the delivery of pan-European eGovernment Services it
is necessary to take into account the provisions of,
in
particular, Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection
of individuals with regard to the processing of personal
data and on the free movement of such data (1).

(16) It is important that, in the context of the national efforts
in support of eGovernment, due consideration be given to
the priorities of the European Union.

specifications

(17) It is essential to maximise the use of standards or publicly
available
for
or
information exchange and service integration to ensure
seamless
increasing the
benefits of pan-European eGovernment services and the
underlying trans-European telematic networks.

interoperability

and thereby

specifications

open

(18) The establishment of pan-European eGovernment services
and the underlying telematic networks of which the
Community is a user or a beneficiary is incumbent on
both the Community and the Member States.

(24) In order

to make efficient use of

the Community's
financial resources,
it is necessary to share the cost of
pan-European eGovernment services and the underlying
telematic networks between the Member States and the
Community on an equitable basis.

(25) Productivity, responsiveness and flexibility in the estab-
lishment and operation of pan-European eGovernment
services and the underlying telematic networks can best
be achieved by embracing a market-oriented approach
and thus selecting suppliers on a competitive basis in a
multi-vendor
ensuring, whenever
the operational and financial sustainability
appropriate,
of measures.

environment, while

(26) Pan-European eGovernment services should be developed
in the context of specific projects of common interest and
specific horizontal measures. Other horizontal measures
should be put
the interoperable
in place to support
delivery of these services by establishing or enhancing
infrastructure services.

(19) It is essential to ensure close cooperation between the
Member States and the Community and, where relevant,
the Community institutions and stakeholders.

(1) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. Directive as amended by Regulation

(EC) No 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(27) The IDABC programme should consequently also be open
the European
to participation by the
Economic Area and the candidate countries, and coop-
eration with other third countries should be encouraged.
International entities may take part in the implementation
of projects of common interest and horizontal measures at
their own costs.

countries of

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(28) In order to ensure the sound management of the financial
resources of the European Union and to avoid needless
proliferation of equipment,
investigations
and diversity of approach,
it should be possible to use
services developed under the IDA programme or the
IDABC programme in the framework of
the common
foreign and security policy and police and judicial coop-
eration in criminal matters,
in accordance with Titles V
and VI of the Treaty on European Union.

repetition of

(29) Since

of

the

objective

establishing

pan-European
eGovernment services cannot be sufficiently achieved by
the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the
the action, be better achieved at
scale and effects of
Community level, the Community may adopt measures,
in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set
out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the
principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article,
this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in
order to achieve that objective.

(30) The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedures
implementing powers
the exercise of
conferred on the Commission (1).

for

a

financial

framework constituting

(31) This Decision lays down, for the entire duration of the
programme,
the
prime reference, within the meaning of point 33 of the
Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the
European Parliament,
the Council and Commission on
budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary
procedure (2),
the budgetary authority during the
annual budgetary procedure,

for

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Scope

for

for

the period 2005-2009, a
This Decision establishes,
Programme
Interoperable Delivery of pan-European
eGovernment Services to European Public Administrations,
Community institutions and other entities and to European
Businesses and Citizens (hereinafter the ‘IDABC programme’).

Article 2

Objective

1.
The objective of the IDABC programme is to identify,
support and promote the development and establishment of
pan-European eGovernment services and the underlying inter-
operable telematic networks supporting the Member States and
the Community in the implementation, within their respective
areas of competence, of Community policies and activities,
achieving substantial benefits for public administrations, busi-
nesses and citizens.

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(2) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1. Agreement as amended by Decision
2003/429/EC of the European Parliament and the Council (OJ L
147, 14.6.2003, p. 25).

2.

The programme aims also to:

(a) enable the efficient, effective and secure interchange of
information between public administrations at all appro-
priate levels, as well as between such administrations and
the Community institutions or other entities as appropriate;

(b) extend the benefits of the interchange of information as
in order to facilitate the delivery of
specified under (a)
services to businesses and citizens taking into account
their needs;

(c) support

the Community decision-making process and
facilitate communication between the Community insti-
tutions by developing the related strategic framework at
the pan-European level;

(d) achieve interoperability, both within and across different
policy areas and, where appropriate, with businesses and
citizens, notably on the basis of a European Interoperability
Framework;

(e) contribute to the efforts of Member State public adminis-
trations and the Community in terms of
streamlined
operations, prompter implementation, security, efficiency,
transparency, service culture and responsiveness;

(f) promote the spread of good practice and encourage the
innovative telematic solutions in public

development of
administrations.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions
shall apply:

(a)

‘Telematic network’ means a comprehensive data-communi-
cation system, comprising the physical
infrastructure and
connections as well as the related services and application
layers, thus enabling the interchange of information elec-
tronically between and within public administrations as
well as between public administrations and businesses
and citizens;

(b) ‘Pan-European eGovernment services’ means cross-border
public sector information and interactive services, either
sectoral or horizontal,
cross-sectoral nature,
provided by European public administrations to European
businesses,
public
their
administrations,
associations, and citizens,
including their associations, by
means of interoperable trans-European telematic networks;

including

i.e. of

(c)

‘Project of common interest’ means a project in the policy
areas
identified in Annex I, which is undertaken or
continued under this Decision, and which concerns the
establishment
pan-European
enhancement
eGovernment services;

or

of

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C 66 E/25

(d) ‘Infrastructure services’ means services provided to meet
generic requirements, comprising technology and software
solutions, including a European interoperability framework,
Infrastructure
security, middleware and network services.
pan-European
services
eGovernment services;

underpin

delivery

the

of

(e)

‘Horizontal measure’ means an action as identified in
Annex II, which is undertaken or continued under this
Decision,
establishment or
enhancement of horizontal pan-European eGovernment
services,
infrastructure services or strategic and support
activities;

and which concerns

the

(f)

‘Interoperability’ means the ability of
information and
the
communication technology (ICT)
business processes they support to exchange data and to
enable information and knowledge to be shared.

systems and of

Article 4

Projects of common interest

In order to achieve the objectives laid down in Article 2, the
in cooperation with the Member States,
Community shall,
specified in the
implement projects of common interest
rolling work programme referred to in Article 8(1),
in
accordance with the principles laid down in Articles 6 and 7.

In order to be able to identify the horizontal measures to
3.
be undertaken, the Community shall establish a description of
horizontal pan-European eGovernment
and infrastructure
include aspects such as the
services. The description shall
related responsibilities
necessary management, organisation,
and cost-sharing as well as a strategy to be used in the devel-
opment and implementation of the horizontal pan-European
eGovernment and infrastructure services. The strategy shall be
based on an assessment of project
requirements. The
description shall be reviewed on a yearly basis.

Article 6

Implementation principles

1.
In implementing projects of common interest and hori-
zontal measures, the principles set out in paragraphs 2 to 10
shall apply.

This Decision is the legal basis for the implementation of

2.
horizontal measures.

3.
The implementation of a project shall require a sectoral
legal basis. For the purposes of this Decision, a project shall be
this requirement when it supports the
considered to fulfil
delivery of pan-European eGovernment
to public
administrations, to businesses or to citizens in the framework
of the implementation of a sectoral legal basis or any other
relevant legal basis.

services

Projects of common interest shall, whenever possible, make use
the horizontal pan-European eGovernment and infra-
of
structure services and contribute to the further development
of these services.

This paragraph shall not apply to projects of common interest
that support the delivery of eGovernment services between
Community institutions and European Agencies.

Article 5

Horizontal measures

In order to achieve the objectives laid down in Article 2,
1.
the Community shall, in cooperation with the Member States,
in support of projects of common interest, undertake hori-
zontal measures as identified in Annex II and specified in the
rolling work programme referred to in Article 8(1),
in
accordance with the principles laid down in Articles 6 and 7.

4.
Participation of the largest possible number of Member
States in a project in support of pan-European eGovernment
services provided by public administrations to businesses,
including their associations, or by public administrations to
citizens, including their associations, shall be encouraged.

5.
Projects of common interest and horizontal measures
shall encompass all actions necessary for the establishment or
enhancement of pan-European eGovernment services.

services

administrations

2.
Horizontal measures shall provide, maintain and promote
in the
for public
infrastructure
Community on the basis of a maintenance and access policy
defined in the framework of the IDABC programme. They shall
also provide the management of horizontal pan-European
establish strategic and
eGovernment
support activities
to promote pan-European eGovernment
services, perform strategic analysis of related developments in
the Community
the
States,
management of
the programme and the spread of good
practice.

services as well as

and Member

ensure

and

Projects of common interest and horizontal measures
6.
shall
include, whenever appropriate, a preparatory phase.
They shall comprise a feasibility phase, a development and
validation phase, and an implementation phase to be imple-
mented in accordance with Article 7.

This paragraph shall not apply to strategic and support
activities as defined in Part C of Annex II.

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activities,

in particular

Results achieved by other

relevant Community and
7.
Member States'
the Community
research and technological development programmes and
other Community programmes, such as eTEN (1), eContent (2),
eInclusion (3), eLearning (4) and Modinis (5) shall be taken into
account, whenever appropriate, in the definition of projects of
common interest and horizontal measures in order to avoid
duplication and to speed up the development of eGovernment
services. Projects in the planning or the development phase
shall also be taken into account.

8.
Projects of common interest or horizontal measures shall
be technically specified with reference to European standards
or publicly available specifications or open specifications for
information exchange and service integration and shall comply
with the infrastructure services, as appropriate,
in order to
ensure interoperability and accessibility between national and
Community systems within and across administrative sectors
and with businesses and citizens.

9.
Projects of common interest and horizontal measures
shall, where appropriate, take due account of the European
interoperability
and
promoted by the IDABC programme.

provided, maintained

framework

A post-implementation review of

10.
each project of
common interest or horizontal measure shall be carried out
within one year following the end of
the implementation
phase.

A review shall include a cost-benefit analysis.

In the case of projects of common interest the review shall be
carried out
in
conformity with the rules governing the sectoral policy and
presented to the relevant sectoral committee.

in coordination with the Member States

Conclusions and recommendations resulting from the review of
projects of common interest
shall be presented to the
committee referred to in Article 11(1) for information.

In the case of horizontal measures the review shall be carried
out within the framework of the committee referred to in
Article 11(1).

competent
measure.

to follow the implementation of

the project or

3.
The feasibility phase shall lead to the establishment of a
global implementation plan, which shall cover the development
and implementation phases and comprise the information
contained in the preparatory report as well as:

(a) a description of planned organisational development and,
re-engineering of working
the

appropriate,

whenever
procedures;

(b) objectives,
approach;

functionalities,

participants

and

technical

(c) measures to facilitate multilingual communication;

(d) measures to ensure security and protection of data;

(e)

the assignment of roles to the Community and to the
Member States;

benefits,

(f) a breakdown of the expected costs and a description of the
expected
for
criteria
implementation
measuring those benefits beyond the
phase and a detailed analysis of return on investment as
well as milestones to be reached;

assessment

including

(g) a schema which defines an equitable sharing between the
Community and the Member States and, whenever appro-
priate, other entities, of the operational and maintenance
costs of the pan-European eGovernment and infrastructure
services on conclusion of the implementation phase.

During the development and validation phase,

the
4.
solution proposed may,
tested,
evaluated and monitored on a small scale, and the results
implementation plan
shall be used to adjust
accordingly.

if relevant, be constructed,

the global

Article 7

Additional principles

5.
During the implementation phase, the fully functional
services concerned shall be established in accordance with
the global implementation plan.

In addition to the principles set out in Article 6, the

1.
principles set out in paragraphs 2 to 8 shall apply.

The preparatory phase shall lead to the establishment of a
2.
scope and
preparatory report comprising the objectives,
rationale of
the project of common interest or horizontal
measure and in particular the anticipated costs and benefits,
as well as the achievement of the necessary commitment and
understanding among the participants through appropriate
committee
consultation,

including an indication of

the

(1) OJ L 183, 11.7.1997, p. 12.
(2) OJ L 14, 18.1.2001, p. 32.
(3) OJ L . . .
(4) OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 9.
(5) OJ L 336, 23.12.2003, p. 1.

The preparatory report and the global

6.
implementation
plan shall be established by making use of methodologies
prepared as a support activity in the framework of
the
IDABC programme.

The initiation and implementation of a project of
7.
common interest, the definition of its phases and the estab-
lishment of preparatory reports and global
implementation
plans shall be carried out and controlled by the Commission
acting in accordance with the relevant sectoral committee
procedure.

no

sectoral

Where
the
Community and the Member States shall set up groups of
experts to examine all relevant issues.

committee

procedure

applies,

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The conclusions resulting from sectoral committees and, where
applicable, from groups of experts shall be reported by the
Commission to the committee referred to in Article 11(1).

The

8.
initiation and implementation of a horizontal
measure, the definition of its phases and the establishment of
preparatory reports and global implementation plans shall be
carried out and controlled by the Commission acting in
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

Article 8

Implementation procedure

a

shall

establish

The Commission

1.
rolling work
programme for the whole duration of this Decision for the
implementation of projects of common interest and horizontal
measures. The Commission shall approve the work programme
and, at least once a year, any modification thereof, taking into
account, as the case may be, the budget breakdown per project
of common interest and horizontal measure.

The procedure referred to in Article 11(2) shall apply in respect
of
the rolling work
the approval by the Commission of
programme and any modifications thereof.

2.
For each project of common interest and for each hori-
zontal measure, the work programme referred to in the first
paragraph shall, where appropriate, include:

(a) a description of the objectives, scope, rationale, potential

beneficiaries, functionalities and technical approach;

(b) a breakdown of past expenditure and milestones reached,
as well as the costs and benefits anticipated and the mile-
stones to be reached;

(c) a

specification

the
eGovernment and infrastructure services to be used.

horizontal

of

pan-European

Article 9

Budgetary provisions

1. Without prejudice to Article 8, the procedure referred to
in Article 11(2) shall apply in respect of the approval by the
Commission of the budget per project of common interest or
horizontal measure, as necessary,
to the
applicable budget rules, the rolling work programme and any
modifications thereof, in accordance with Article 8(1).

to cover, subject

2.
Funds shall be released on the basis of the reaching of
specific milestones in accordance with the procedure applicable
to the relevant sectoral committee for projects of common
interest and to the committee referred to in Article 11(1) for
horizontal measures. For the initiation of the preparatory phase
the milestone shall be the inclusion of the project of common
interest or horizontal measure to be undertaken in the rolling
work programme. For the initiation of the feasibility phase the

milestone shall be the preparatory report. For the initiation of
the subsequent development and validation phase the milestone
shall be the global
implementation plan. Milestones to be
reached during the development and validation phase as well
as the implementation phase shall be included in the rolling
work programme in accordance with Article 8.

3.
The procedure referred to in Article 11(2) shall also apply
in respect of proposals for any budgetary increase of more than
EUR 100 000 per project of common interest or horizontal
measure within a year.

for

The programme shall be implemented on the basis of the
4.
rules of public procurement. The technical specifications of the
calls
in excess of
EUR 500 000, be defined in coordination with the Member
States in the framework of the relevant sectoral committee or
the committee referred to in Article 11(1).

for contract values

tender

shall,

Article 10

Community financial contribution

1.
In the implementation of projects of common interest
and horizontal measures, the Community shall bear costs in
proportion to its interest.

2.
The financial contribution of the Community for each
project of common interest or horizontal measure shall be
determined in accordance with paragraphs 3 to 7.

3.
For a project of common interest or a horizontal measure
to receive a financial contribution from the Community,
concrete plans for financing the maintenance and operational
costs of the post-implementation phase shall be required, with
a clear assignment of roles to the Community and to the
Member States or to other entities.

4.
In the preparatory and feasibility phases, the Community
contribution may cover the full cost of the necessary studies.

5.
In the development and validation phase and in the
implementation phase, the Community shall bear the cost of
those tasks which are assigned to it in the global implemen-
tation plan of that project of common interest or horizontal
measure.

6.
Community funding of a project of common interest or a
horizontal measure concerning the delivery and maintenance
in principle, cease after a
of
maximum period of
the
preparatory phase.

infrastructure services shall,

four years

from the

start of

7.
The financial resources provided for under this Decision
shall not be assigned to projects of common interest and hori-
zontal measures or phases of projects of common interest and
horizontal measures which benefit
from other sources of
Community funding.

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By . . . (*), mechanisms to ensure the financial and oper-
8.
ational
services, whenever
infrastructure
appropriate, shall be defined and agreed in accordance with
the procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

sustainability of

Article 11

Committee

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee called
1.
the Pan-European eGovernment Services Committee (PEGSCO).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and
7 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard
to Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

3.

The PEGSCO shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 12

Annual report

The Commission shall report annually to the PEGSCO on the
implementation of this Decision.

Article 13

Evaluation

1.
The Commission shall, in coordination with the Member
States, carry out a final evaluation of the implementation of
this Decision at the end of the programme.

2. Moreover, the Commission shall, in coordination with the
Member States, carry out an evaluation of the implementation
of this Decision by mid-2006 at the latest. This evaluation shall
also assess,
inter alia, the effectiveness and efficiency of the
IDABC activities as well as include a qualitative and quanti-
tative evaluation of performance against the work programme.
In the context of this evaluation the Commission shall report
on the consistency of the amount for 2007-2009 with the
financial perspective. If applicable, the Commission shall take
the necessary steps within the budgetary procedures
for
2007-2009 to ensure the consistency of the annual appro-
priations with the financial perspective.

The evaluations shall establish the progress and current
3.
status of
the projects of common interest and horizontal
measures identified in Annexes I and II respectively and in
particular how the
intended pan-European eGovernment
services are developed, implemented and used.

The evaluations shall also examine, in the light of the expen-
diture incurred by the Community, the benefits yielded by the
pan-European eGovernment and infrastructure services to the
Community for the advancement of common policies and
institutional cooperation as far as public administrations, busi-
nesses and citizens are concerned and identify areas
for
synergies with other
potential
Community
pan-European
area
eGovernment and infrastructure services.

improvement
activities

and verify
the
in

of

(*) Two years after the date of entry into force of this Decision.

The Commission shall forward the results of its quanti-
4.
tative and qualitative evaluations to the European Parliament
and the Council together with any appropriate proposals for
the amendment of this Decision. The results shall be forwarded
before presentation of the draft general budget of the European
Union for the years 2007 and 2010 respectively.

Article 14

International cooperation

1.
The IDABC programme may be opened, within the
framework of their respective agreements with the Community,
to participation by the countries of the European Economic
Area and the candidate countries.

2.
Cooperation with other third countries, in implementing
projects of common interest and horizontal measures, shall be
encouraged, notably with public administrations in Mediter-
ranean countries, the Balkans and eastern European countries.
Particular attention shall also be given to international coop-
eration in support of development and economic cooperation.
Related costs shall not be covered by the IDABC programme.

3.
International organisations or other international entities
may take part in the implementation of projects of common
interest and horizontal measures at their own cost.

Article 15

Other networks

1. With regard to the establishment or enhancement of
other networks which are not projects of common interest
‘other
(hereinafter
or horizontal measures
networks’), Member States and the Community shall,
in
accordance with the relevant provisions of the Community
legislation governing the implementation of those networks,
ensure compliance with paragraphs 2 to 5.

referred to as

Subject

2.
to paragraph 3, horizontal pan-European
eGovernment and infrastructure services provided by the
Community within the framework of this Decision may be
used by other networks.

3.
Each of the other networks shall be technically specified
with reference to European standards or publicly available
specifications or open specifications for information exchange
and service integration, as appropriate, in order to ensure inter-
operability between national and Community systems within
and across administrative sectors and with businesses and
citizens.

4.
By 31 October 2005, and at yearly intervals thereafter,
the Commission shall forward to the PEGSCO a report on the
implementation of paragraphs 1 to 5.
the
Commission shall specify any relevant user requirements or
any other reason that prevents other networks from making
use of the services under paragraph 2, and discuss the possi-
bility of upgrading these services in order to extend their use.

In that report,

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Official Journal of the European Union

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services

The horizontal pan-European eGovernment and infra-
5.
structure
Community
developed within
framework under the IDA or the IDABC programme may be
used by the Council with regard to the establishment or
enhancement of activities in the framework of the common
foreign and security policy and police and judicial cooperation
in criminal matters in accordance with Titles V and VI of the
Treaty on European Union respectively.

the

The use of such services shall be decided upon and financed in
accordance with Titles V and VI of that Treaty.

Article 16

Financial framework

1.
The financial framework for the implementation of the
Community action under this Decision for the period from
1 January 2005 to 31 December 2009 is hereby set at
EUR 148,7 million, of which EUR 59,1 million is for the
period until 31 December 2006.

For the period following 31 December 2006, the amount shall
be deemed to be confirmed if it is consistent for this phase

with the
commencing in 2007.

financial perspective

in force

for

the period

2.
The annual appropriations for the period from 2005 to
2009 shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the
limit of the financial perspective.

Article 17

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2005 until 31 December 2009.

Done . . .

For the European Parliament

For the Council

The President

The President

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ANNEX I

POLICY AREAS FOR PROJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST

Projects of common interest under the IDABC programme are those established notably in the following areas:

A. IN GENERAL

1. Community policies and activities (in accordance with section B),

information exchange (in
international cooperation (in accordance with section D) as well as other

interinstitutional

accordance with section C),
networks (in accordance with section E).

2. Functioning of the European Agencies and bodies and in support of the legal framework arising from the creation

of the European Agencies.

3. Policies related to the free movement of persons, notably in support of the delivery of equal services to citizens

and businesses in the various Member States.

4. Actions which, within the framework of Community policies and activities and in unforseen circumstances, are

urgently required to support the action of the Community and the Member States.

B. COMMUNITY POLICIES AND ACTIVITIES

1. Economic and monetary policy.

2. Consolidation of the ‘acquis communautaire’ following the enlargement of the European Union.

3. Regional and cohesion policies, notably to facilitate the collection, management, and dissemination of
information concerning the implementation of regional and cohesion policies at the level of central and
regional public administration.

4. Community funding, notably to create an interface with existing Commission databases in order to facilitate the

access of European organisations, and particularly SMEs, to Community sources of funding.

5. Statistics, notably regarding the collection and dissemination of statistical information, as well as statistics in
support of eGovernment, in order to evaluate interoperability between systems and their efficiency as a measure
of success.

6. Publication of official documents and management of official information services.

7. Agricultural and fisheries sectors, notably regarding support for the management of agricultural markets and
structures, more efficient financial management, exchange of farm accounts data between national agencies and
the Commission, and the fight against fraud.

8. Industry and services sectors, notably concerning the exchange of information between public administrations in
charge of business competitiveness issues, and between such public administrations and industry federations.

9. Competition policy, notably through the implementation of

improved electronic data exchange with the

national public administrations in order to facilitate information and consultation procedures.

10. Education, culture and audio-visual sector, notably for the exchange of information concerning content issues on
open networks and to promote the development and free circulation of new audio-visual and information
services.

11. Transport sector, notably for the support of the exchange of data concerning drivers, vehicles, ships and

transport operators.

12. Tourism, environment, consumer protection and public health, and public procurement.

13. Research policy,

information
concerning the implementation of coordinated research policies at the level of national public administrations.

in particular to facilitate the collection, management and dissemination of

14. Contributions to the objectives of the eEurope initiative and the related action plan, in particular the chapter on

eGovernment and security, aimed at benefiting businesses and citizens.

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15. Immigration policy, notably through the implementation of improved electronic data exchange with the national

public administrations in order to facilitate information and consultation procedures.

16. Cooperation between judicial authorities.

17. Information systems allowing the participation of national parliaments and civil society in the legislative process.

18. Follow-up of the implementation of Community legislation in the Member States and exchange of information

between Member States and Community institutions.

C.

INTERINSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE

Interinstitutional exchange of information, notably:

1. In support of the Community decision-making process and Parliamentary questions.

2. For the setting-up of the necessary telematic links between the Commission, European Parliament, the Council
(including the site of the European Union Presidency-in-office, the Permanent Representation of the Member
States and cooperating national ministries) and other Community institutions.

3. To facilitate multilingualism in interinstitutional

translation workflow
management and translation support tools, the development and sharing of multilingual resources, and the
organisation of common access to such resources.

information exchanges, means of

4. For document sharing between European Agencies and bodies and the Community institutions.

D. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Extension of projects of common interest to third countries,
organisations, with particular attention to initiatives for development and economic cooperation.

including candidate countries, and international

E. OTHER NETWORKS

The projects of common interest which were previously funded by the IDA programme and which now have their
own Community funding nevertheless fall within the group ‘other networks’ referred to in Article 14 of this
Decision.

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ANNEX II

HORIZONTAL MEASURES

Horizontal measures under the IDABC programme are notably:

A. HORIZONTAL PAN-EUROPEAN eGOVERNMENT SERVICES

Horizontal measures undertaken to initiate, enable and manage the provision of horizontal pan-European
eGovernment services, including organisational and coordination aspects, such as:

(a) a portal to provide access to pan-European, multilingual online information and interactive services to businesses

and citizens;

(b) a single point of access to e.g. legal online information services in Member States;

(c) an interactive application for collecting stakeholders' opinions and experience on issues of public interest and on

the functioning of Community policies.

B.

INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES

Horizontal measures undertaken to provide and maintain technology and software solutions as services providing
specific ICT-related functionalities, from communications to defined standards. Technology and software solutions
comprise network services, middleware, security and guidelines, such as:

(a)

a secure and reliable communication platform for the interchange of data between public administrations;

(b) a secure and reliable system for the management of dataflows inter-linked with different workflows;

(c)

a common toolkit for the management of multilingual collaborating websites and portals;

(d) platform accreditation with a view to handling classified information;

(e)

establishment and implementation of an authentication policy for networks and projects of common interest;

(f)

security studies and risk analysis in support of networks or other infrastructure services;

(g) mechanisms to establish trust between certification authorities to allow for the use of electronic certificates in

pan-European eGovernment services;

(h)

identification, authorisation, authentication and non-repudiation services for projects of common interest;

(i)

(j)

a common framework for sharing and interchanging information and knowledge between European public
administrations and with businesses and citizens, including architecture guidelines;

specification of XML vocabularies, schemae and related XML deliverables to support the interchange of data in
networks;

(k)

functional and non-functional model requirements for the management of electronic records in public adminis-
trations;

(l)

a metadata framework for public sector information in pan-European applications;

(m) comparison of open exchange standards with a view to establishing a policy on open formats;

(n) common specifications and infrastructure services facilitating electronic procurement across Europe;

(o) machine translation systems and other multilingual tools, including dictionaries, thesaurus and classification

systems in support of multilingualism;

(p) applications to support cooperative work between public administrations;

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(q) applications to support multi-channel access to services;

(r) open source software-based tools and actions to facilitate the exchange of experiences between, and the take-up

of solutions by, public administrations.

C. STRATEGIC AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

1. Strategic activities in support of the assessment and promotion of pan-European eGovernment services, such as:

(a) analysis of eGovernment and Information Management (IM) strategies across Europe;

(b) organisation of awareness-raising events involving the stakeholders concerned;

(c) promotion of the establishment of pan-European eGovernment services with special attention to services to

businesses and citizens.

2. Support activities undertaken in support of programme management aiming at monitoring and improving the

effectiveness and efficiency of the programme, such as:

(a) quality assurance and control to improve the specification of project objectives as well as project execution

and results;

(b) programme evaluation and cost-benefit analysis of specific projects of common interest and horizontal

measures.

3. Support activities undertaken to promote the spread of good practice in the application of information tech-

nologies to public administrations, such as:

(a) reports, websites, conferences and, in general, initiatives addressed to the public;

(b) monitoring, analysis and website dissemination of initiatives and best practice related to eGovernment actions

at Member State, Community and international level;

(c) promotion of the spread of best practice in the use of e.g. open source software by public administrations.

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. On 8 July 2003 the Commission adopted the above-mentioned proposal for a Decision of the
European Parliament and the Council (1). The proposal is based on Article 156(1) of the EC Treaty.

2. The European Parliament delivered its Opinion on 18 November 2003 and the Committee of
Regions adopted its opinion on 20 November 2003. The Economic and Social Committee has
not yet adopted its opinion.

3. In the Council on 20 November 2003, the Commission indicated orally that in accordance with
Article 250, paragraph 2, of the EC Treaty, it amends its initial proposal in conformity with the
European Parliament's amendments.

4. On 18 December 2003 the Council adopted its common position in accordance with Article 251 of

the EC Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this proposal is to provide a follow-up programme to the current IDA II programme.
The objective of the IDABC programme is to identify as well as support and promote the development
and establishment of pan-European eGovernment Services and the underlying interoperable telematic
networks. The new programme will act in support of the implementation of acts of Community
legislation with the delivery of services from public administration to public administration as its
core business, extending to citizens and businesses the benefits resulting from the co-operation
between public administrations across Europe.
in full complementarity with the other
eGovernment related programmes.

is

It

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

The common position shares the overall objective of the Commission's proposal and in general terms,
the proposed means of attaining that objective.

However, the text of the proposal has been reworded in the course of discussion within the Council.
Moreover, some articles were restructured to enhance clarity and strengthen the focus. The main points
of the common position differing from the Commission proposal are the following:

1. The common position restructured the original Article 1 into two articles, the first indicating the
scope of the Decision and the second stating the objective. Moreover, in Article 2 of the Common
the Council amended the objectives in order to focus more on the pan-European
position,
eGovernment services and the needs of the businesses and citizens, all the while recognising the
role of the underlying networks and infrastructure services.

2. The Article 3 of the Commission's proposal has been deleted. The Council considers that the

prioritisation can be done on the basis of Article 2 (Objective) and the two Annexes.

3. As far as the implementation principles in Article 6 of the Common position are concerned, the
Council increased the amount of definition in point 7 in view of avoiding duplication and speeding
up development of eGovernment services.

4. The Council amended Article 8 on the implementation procedure and Article 9 on budgetary
provisions in order to ensure a rolling work programme with adequate flexibility when modifi-
cations are needed during the duration of the programme all the while taking into account the
budget breakdown per project of common interest or horizontal measure.

(1) COM(2004) 13 final — COD 2003/0147.

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5. The name of the management committee referred to in Article 11 has been changed to the
Pan-European eGovernment Services Committee (PEGSCO) to better correspond to the new focus
of the programme. A new Article 12 was formed from the last paragraph of this article for sake of
clarity.

6. The Council has amended Article 13 of the common position on evaluation to take into account the
fact that the IDABC programme extends beyond the current financial perspective and to enable full
benefits to be drawn from the envisaged evaluations of the programme.

7. Article 16 on the financial framework has been amended to better correspond to the text of the
Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline and improvement of budgetary procedure and
to take into account the fact that the IDABC programme extends beyond the current financial
perspective.

8. Annex II has been amended to single out those activities that go beyond the provision of technology
and software solutions. The amended Annex and the associated amendments to the remaining text
aim to ensure that the provision of cross-sectoral pan-European eGovernment services are initiated,
enabled and managed by the Commission.

IV. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AMENDMENTS

European Parliament amendments accepted by the Commission and adopted by the Council

The Council has accepted all of the European Parliament's amendments in principle.

— Amendment 1 has been incorporated as recital 5 of the common position. However, the reference

to a ‘follow-up to the IDA programme’ has been changed to read ‘IDABC programme’.

— Amendment 2 has been incorporated as recital 7 of the common position albeit in a slightly

redrafted wording.

— The Council incorporated amendment 3 slightly modified as recital 30 of its common position.

— Amendment 4 has been incorporated into Article 13 (4) of the common position.

— Amendment 5 has been incorporated into Article 16 of the common position as far as the idea of

flexibility of implementation is concerned.