COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Better governance of the Single Market through greater administrative cooperation: A strategy for expanding and developing  the Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’)  Text with EEA relevance
Date: 2011-02-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrative cooperation, data processing, information system, single market

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION  

Brussels, 21.2.2011 
COM(2011) 75 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Better governance of the Single Market through greater administrative cooperation: 
A strategy for expanding and developing  
the Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) 

Text with EEA relevance 

SEC(2011) 206 final 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Better governance of the Single Market through greater administrative cooperation: A 
strategy for expanding and developing the Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’)  
Text with EEA relevance. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Single Market Act ........................................................................................................ 3 

Empowering administrative cooperation in the Single Market.................................... 3 

Unlocking the full potential of IMI.............................................................................. 4 

A strategy for further expansion .................................................................................. 5 

Basic principles of IMI................................................................................................. 5 

Criteria for expansion................................................................................................... 7 

Potential new functions ................................................................................................ 7 

Potential new policy areas............................................................................................ 8 

Synergies with existing IT tools/systems..................................................................... 8 

Using existing functions for new purposes .................................................................. 9 

Challenges of expansion ............................................................................................ 10 

Guaranteeing personal data protection....................................................................... 10 

Facilitating flexible expansion ................................................................................... 11 

Securing adequate resources ...................................................................................... 11 

Keeping it simple ....................................................................................................... 12 

Involving all stakeholders .......................................................................................... 13 

Ensuring a high level of system performance and security........................................ 15 

Conclusions / Next steps ............................................................................................ 15 

Administrative cooperation check.............................................................................. 15 

Proposal for a legislative instrument for IMI............................................................. 16 

Scope and timetable of planned expansion ................................................................ 16 

Further IT development.............................................................................................. 16 

1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.3. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

2.5. 

2.6. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

3.6. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1. 

Single Market Act 

European citizens and businesses benefit every day from the opportunities offered by 
the  Single  Market.  To  ensure  that  the  market  functions  smoothly,  Member  State 
administrations  need  to  work  closely  together  by  providing  mutual  assistance  and 
exchanging information. The benefits of the single market will not materialise unless 
EU  law  is  correctly  applied  and  the  rights  it  creates  are  upheld.  Administrative 
cooperation  between  Member  States  is  essential  to  create  a  truly  borderless  Single 
Market. 

In  its  Communication  "Towards  a  Single  Market  Act"  which  was  adopted  on  27 
October  20101  the  Commission  announced,  as  one  of  50  proposals,  its  ambition  to 
achieve  a  ‘face-to-face’  electronic  network  for  European  administrations  by  setting 
out  a  strategy  for  extending  the  Internal  Market  Information  (IMI)  system. 
Developing  IMI  is  one  of  the  keys  to  promoting  better  governance  of  the  Single 
Market since it facilitates efficient and day-to-day cross-border cooperation between 
national public authorities at all levels of government. 

1.2. 

Empowering administrative cooperation in the Single Market 

The  2004  EU  enlargement  introduced  ten  new  Member  States,  nine  new  official 
languages and an exponential increase in the number of bilateral relationships to be 
managed.  It  became  evident  that  administrative  cooperation  could  only  work  if 
information  system.2  The  European 
supported  by  a  modern,  multilingual 
Commission,  in  partnership  with  Member  States,  developed  the  Internal  Market 
Information  system  to  support  administrations  in  fulfilling  their  mutual  assistance 
obligations. 

IMI  was  launched  in  February  2008  to  support  the  revised  Directive  on  the 
Recognition of Professional Qualifications (2005/36/EC) and since December 2009, 
Member  States  are  legally  obliged  to  use  IMI  to  fulfil  the  information  exchange 
obligations  of  the  Services  Directive  (2006/123/EC)  and  Commission  decision 
2009/739/EC  of  2  October  2009  setting  out  the  practical  arrangements  for  the 
exchange of information by electronic means between Member States under Chapter 
VI of the Services Directive. IMI currently has more than 5 700 registered competent 
authorities and 11 000 registered users. 

IMI is a secure, reusable, multilingual, online electronic application developed by the 
Commission  in  partnership  with  the  Member  States.  IMI  allows  national,  regional 
and local authorities throughout the 30 EEA Member States to communicate quickly 

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Commission  Communication  –  Towards  a  Single  Market  Act  for  a  highly  competitive  social  market 
economy  –  50  proposals  for  improving  our  work,  business  and  exchanges  with  one  another. 
COM(2010)608, 27.10.2010. 
At the Internal Market Advisory Committee (IMAC) meeting of Member States Director-Generals on 
18 November 2003, the following operational conclusion was adopted: ‘The Chairman noted that it was 
agreed  that  there  was  a  need  to  develop  an  information  system  to  improve  the  exchange  and 
management  of  internal  market  information,  given  that  such  a  system  is  required  to  support  the 
enhanced cooperation that will be necessary in an enlarged Single Market.’. 

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and  easily  with  their  counterparts  across  borders.  IMI  helps  its  users  to  (i)  find  the 
right authority to contact in another country, (ii) communicate with them using pre-
translated sets of standard questions and answers and (iii) follow the progress of the 
information  request  through  a  tracking  mechanism.  IMI  is  designed  as  a  flexible 
system  that  can  easily  be  customised  to  support  different  areas  of  Single  Market 
legislation  which  contain  administrative  cooperation  provisions  (see  section  I  of 
accompanying Commission staff working document for further information). 

The  idea  behind  IMI  is  to  replace  the  very  high  number  of  bilateral  relationships 
linking EU Member States with a single interface, the IMI network. 

One of the key advantages of IMI is to successfully overcome the main obstacles to 
cooperation, such as uncertainty about whom to contact, language barriers, different 
administrative  and  working  cultures  and  a  lack  of  established  procedures  for 
cooperation.  Because  of  the  involvement  of  Member  States  in  devising  the  system, 
IMI offers uniform working methods agreed by every EU country. 

IMI  is  also  flexible  with  regard  to  its  organisational  set-up  in  each  Member  State. 
The decentralised structure of the IMI network requires each participating country to 
nominate  a  national  IMI  coordinator  (NIMIC)  to  manage  overall  IMI  project 
coordination. Member States are free to appoint further coordinators at regional level 
or for individual legislative areas within IMI. 

1.3. 

Unlocking the full potential of IMI 

There is still considerable potential to be exploited in the two areas covered by IMI 
(Services  and  Professional  Qualifications).  More  information  about  the  ongoing 
effort  in  this  field  of  activity  can  be  found  in  the  IMI  Annual  Report3.  This 
Communication focuses on how IMI can help transform cross-border administrative 
cooperation in the internal market in a decisive manner and bring it up to speed with 
the requirements of the 21st century and expectations of EU citizens and businesses. 
In particular, this potential lies in the possibility to (1) add new policy areas to IMI, 
(2)  develop  new  functions,  (3)  link  IMI  with  other  IT  systems  and  (4)  use  existing 
IMI functions for new purposes. In this way, IMI can become a flexible toolkit at the 
service of administrative cooperation, contributing to the improved governance of the 
Internal Market. Where, in a particular legislative area, no information system exists 
to  support  administrative  cooperation,  reusing  IMI  instead  of  developing  a  new 
purpose-built system has a number of advantages: 

(a) More cost efficient 

Greater efficiency in delivering public services is a key priority as pressure grows to 
reduce  public  expenditure  and  fiscal  deficits.  Customising  a  reusable  system  is 
clearly less expensive than developing an electronic information exchange tool from 
scratch  (see  section  II  of  accompanying  Commission  staff  working  document  for 
further  information).  A  single  network  also  delivers  economies  of  scale  through 
shared maintenance, user support, training and promotion. 

(b) More user friendly 

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(see IMI Annual Report at http://ec.europa.eu/imi-net) 

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Reusing IMI also generates many advantages for competent authorities. Authorities 
that have competence in several internal market policy areas are not presented with a 
proliferation of information systems. They have to learn to use only one new IT tool, 
they need to keep their contact details updated in only one place, and they can track 
and  monitor  all  of  their  information  exchanges  with  authorities  abroad  through  a 
single portal. The more of their daily work that can be handled through IMI, the more 
useful  IMI  becomes  to  them,  as  infrequent  use  of  any  system  means  forgotten 
usernames and passwords and uncertainty about how exactly it should be used. 

(c) Faster, more predictable solutions 

Developing  a  bespoke  information  system  in  response  to  an  administrative 
cooperation  need  is  generally  a  lengthy  and  unpredictable  process.  Delays  and 
unexpected  setbacks  are  quite  common  in  IT  development.  Reusing  an  existing 
system will provide a speedier solution with more predictability because it is based 
on tried and tested technology. 

(d) Safer ground 

IMI  offers  an  online  environment  whose  security  and  data  protection  safeguards, 
including  purpose  limitation  and  access  controls,  have  proven  reliable  in  practice. 
Valuable  practical  experience  has  also  been  gathered  in  organising  the  roll-out  of 
modules  to  the  end  user,  including  organisational  set-up,  registration,  training  and 
user support, both by the Commission and by Member States. 

(e) Low threshold for pilot projects 

A  final  and  important  advantage  of  a  ready-made  system  is  that  it  provides  the 
possibility to test the operational feasibility of a proposed solution without needing to 
invest time and resources in a prototype which may later be discarded. Even in areas 
where  stakeholders  agree  on  the  need  for  an  IT  tool,  the  threshold  for  launching  a 
‘proof  of  concept’  pilot  is  relatively  low.  A  pilot  could  be  set  up  without  IT 
development costs, reusing existing functionality within the system. 

2. 

A STRATEGY FOR FURTHER EXPANSION 

While the benefits of expanding IMI to further policy areas are evident, it is essential 
that any future growth should take place in a controlled and sustainable manner. It is 
timely therefore to review the strategic objectives of IMI and to examine the actions 
needed to achieve these aims. 

2.1. 

Basic principles of IMI 

The following key principles of IMI should be taken into account before the system 
is further developed. 

(a) Reusability 

The aim of IMI is to help Member States meet their mutual assistance obligations in 
an efficient and effective manner at minimum resource cost and without building a 
separate information system to support each individual legal instrument. Where the 

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same authorities are responsible for multiple areas of internal market legislation, they 
should  not  be  presented  with  a  proliferation  of  different  administrative  cooperation 
IT systems. 

(b) Organisational flexibility 

IMI  is  designed  to  be  easy  to  adapt  to  an  existing  organisation.  It  provides  the 
flexibility  to  adapt  to  the  diverse  administrative  structures  and  cultures  in  Europe. 
Users do not require any prior knowledge of the administrative hierarchies in other 
Member States in order to exchange information. 

(c) Simple agreed procedures 

IMI  reduces  the  administrative  burden  and  makes  it  possible  to  implement  policies 
that  would  otherwise  be  suffocated  by  the  complexity  of  different  national 
administrative procedures. This is  achieved by agreeing simple standard workflows 
for cooperation. 

(d) Multilingualism 

Multilingualism  is  an  essential  element  of  the  IMI  service  which  is  provided  in  22 
official EU languages. In addition to the pre-translated question/answer sets, which 
are  derived  from  legislative  provisions,  users  can  provide  additional  free  text 
information,  comments  and  attached  documents.  To  help  users  understand  this 
information,  IMI  provides  an  online  link  to  the  Commission’s  machine  translation 
tool, ECMT4. The replacement of ECMT, currently under development, will expand 
the language pairs available today. IMI is involved in its development from the early 
stages as a test user service. 

(e) User friendliness 

IMI is designed to be user-friendly, intuitive and easy to use with minimal training 
(following the approach of airline reservation and online shopping systems). Current 
IT development aims to improve user friendliness based on user feedback. 

(f) Data protection  

IMI follows the ‘privacy by design’ approach, whereby privacy and data protection 
compliance are designed into the system right from the start rather than bolted on as 
an afterthought. As a result, IMI guarantees a high level of technical and procedural 
data protection.  

(g) No IT costs for users 

Working with IMI should only require a PC with internet access. There is no need to 
install specific software or hardware. 

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Following  the  judgment  of  the  General  Court  of  the  European  Union  in  case  number  T-19/07  on  16 
December 2010, the use of ECMT has been suspended. 

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2.2. 

Criteria for expansion 

The  outcome  of  the  ongoing  public  debate  regarding  the  Single  Market  Act  in 
conjunction with the Europe 2020 strategy goals, and the conclusion of the European 
semester  based  on  the  Annual  Growth  Survey5,  will  help  to  determine  the  priority 
areas for expansion.  

From a technical point of view, there is no limit to the number of new areas that can 
be added to IMI, new functions that can be developed and links added to existing IT 
to  expansion.  Further 
tools.  However, 
development has to be planned and the conceptual coherence of the system needs to 
be  preserved.  Therefore,  the  following  criteria  could  serve  to  select  and  prioritise 
expansion areas: 

there  are  organisational  constraints 

(1)  The  new  user  group  should  preferably  be  linked  to  or  partly  overlap  with 
existing user groups so that expansion contributes to offering a multi-purpose 
tool for part of the user community; 

(2)  Priority should be given to adding areas that can use existing functions and that 

do not require any additional IT development; 

(3) 

If  adding  a  new  legal  area  or  supporting  new  tasks  within  existing  areas 
requires  the  development  of  new  functions,  this  should  be  done  in  a  generic 
way  so  that  the  new  module  can  be  adapted  easily  for  other  user  groups  (no 
single-purpose developments); 

(4)  The  costs  of  any  further  development  needed  should  be  justified  by  the 
expected added value of using IMI for the new or existing user groups and for 
the implementation of EU law and the benefits to citizens and businesses; 

(5)  New  areas  and  functions  or  links  to  other  tools  should  not  increase  the 

complexity of the system for its users. 

If  there  is  a  demand  for  using  IMI  for  policy  areas  and  purposes  that  are  not 
compatible  with  these  criteria  and  where  no  synergies  with  existing  user 
communities  can  be  expected,  the  option  to  make  the  software  available  to  be 
developed separately from IMI should be examined. 

2.3. 

Potential new functions 

IMI provides a range of different functions for its users, namely: 

(1) 

(2) 

a  one-to-one  workflow  for  secure  communication  between  two  competent 
authorities on individual cases that may include personal data; 

an  alert  mechanism  that  allows  competent  authorities  to  warn  other  Member 
States  of  a  serious  risk  caused  by  an  economic  operator  to  the  proper  and 
secure functioning of the Single Market; 

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COM(2011)11 of 12 January 2011 

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(3) 

an  authority  management  module  that  enables  Member  States  to  register 
competent  authorities  as  IMI  users,  assign  roles  to  them  in  a  manner 
compatible  with  their  national  administrative  structures  and  update  authority 
data; 

(4) 

a  searchable  multilingual  directory  of  national  registers  with  information 
maintained by Member States on content, access conditions and contact details 
and providing direct links to those available online (as of February 2011). 

Further  examination  of  a  wide  range  of  other  legal  areas  with  administrative 
cooperation  needs  has  shown  that,  in  order  to  offer  a  comprehensive  package  of 
services within IMI, there will be a need for: 

(1)  A  generic  workflow  to  support  notification  procedures  (examples  include 
Services, Intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement; Electronic commerce, 
UCITS6; 

(2)  A  searchable  database  of  information  exchanged  that  does  not  include 

confidential or personal data; 

(3)  A technical means7 which, when necessary, can be used by existing networks 
for  administrative  cooperation  between  Member  States,  to  allow  citizens, 
enterprises and organisations to interact with the competent authorities in order 
to supply information and retrieve data;  

(4)  A content syndication system that enables multiple use of part of the data, such 
as the contact details of competent authorities, by other systems and websites 
(for example, Your Europe). 

For  more  information  please  refer  to  section  III  of  the  Commission  staff  working 
document which accompanies this Communication. 

2.4. 

Potential new policy areas 

The  Commission  services  have  recently  examined  a  number  of  policy  areas  where 
IMI  appears  to  be  a  viable  solution  for  improving  the  implementation  of  internal 
market  legislation.  Member  States  have  also  proposed  a  list  of  policy  areas  which 
they believe could benefit from the use of IMI as an information exchange tool (see 
section IV of the accompanying Commission Staff Working document). This list is 
indicative  and  provisional,  further  examination  being  needed  to  determine  whether 
and how IMI could help improve cross-border cooperation in these areas. 

2.5. 

Synergies with existing IT tools/systems 

Another  avenue  to  be  explored  is  the  potential  of  IMI  to  complement  the 
functionality offered by existing IT systems and vice versa. A useful first step would 

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Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities 
Such  a  means  of  interaction  will  avoid  duplication  with  existing  e-Government  portals  such  as  the 
Points of Single Contact of the Services Directive (PSCs), and e-government projects such as SPOCS 
(Simple  Procedures  Online  for  Cross-border  Services),  PEPPOL  (Pan-European  Public  Procurement 
Online), instead seeking to reuse existing tools and establish synergies where possible. 

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be  to  work  towards  a  common  authentication  system  for  a  wide  range  of  tools 
currently  being  used  by  public  administrations  across  the  EU.  This  would  greatly 
facilitate life for IMI users as they could access different Commission systems with 
the same username and password. The European Commission Authentication System 
(ECAS)  is  one  such  tool  and  is  already  used  by  a  growing  number  of  IT  services 
including the European e-Justice portal and CIRCABC8 

On a different level, synergies can be achieved by linking up with existing systems 
that  are  used  by  the  same  user  groups,  for  instance  the  Regulated  Professions 
Database  in  which  Member  States  include  lists  of  professions  that  are  regulated  at 
national  level  and  contact  details  of  competent  authorities.  This  creates  a  partial 
overlap with IMI and duplication of work, for which a solution should be found. 

An  example  of  an  area  where  complementary  solutions  should  be  considered  is 
company  law,  where  methods  for  improved  cooperation  between  business  registers 
in Europe have to be developed, based on existing work already done in the context 
of the European Business Register and BRITE9 projects. Similarly, there would seem 
to  be  scope  for  a  link  between  IMI  and  the  e-Certis10  database,  which  includes 
templates of national certificates that are used for cross-border public procurement. 

The  possibility  to  complement  IMI  with  the  Trusted  Exchange  Platform  project 
(eTrustExchange  initiative  from  the  ISA  Work  Programme)  is  another  area  which 
should be investigated. IMI currently supports the exchange of data and information 
between  end-users.  In  addition  to  these  features,  eTrustExchange  could  provide 
Member  States  with  the  possibility  to  exchange  information  securely  between 
existing systems and IMI. 

2.6. 

Using existing functions for new purposes 

Listening  to  public  authorities  at  all  levels  regarding  their  experiences  in 
implementing  EU  law  could  be  an  important  source  of  feedback  for  improving  the 
ease  of  implementing  EU  law.  The  current  list  of  more  than  5 700  competent 
authorities in IMI and their e-mail addresses, in combination with the IPM11 on-line 
survey generator could be used as a tool to obtain input to impact assessments and 
policy evaluation, in agreement and close cooperation with the Member States. 

IMI  users  have  expressed  interest  in  conducting  a  general  exchange  of  information 
which would not be based  on a particular legislative instrument, but  would contain 
questions  of  a  general  or  horizontal  nature;  for  example  regarding  administrative 
procedures in another Member State. 

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CIRCABC  (‘Communication  and  Information  Resource  Centre  for  Administrations,  Businesses  and 
Citizens’)  is  used  to  create  collaborative  workspaces  where  communities  of  users  can  work  together 
over the web and share information and resources. 
Business Register Interoperability Throughout Europe 
eCERTIS  is  a  European  Commission  information  system  that  helps  users  to  identify  the  different 
certificates and attestations frequently requested in procurement procedures across the EEA 
IPM  (Interactive  Policy  Making)  allows  both  Member  State  administrations  and  EU  institutions  to 
better  understand  the  needs  of  citizens  and  enterprises.  This  system  was  put  in  place  to  facilitate  the 
stakeholders’ consultation process by the use of easy-to-use and straightforward online questionnaires, 
making it easier both for respondents to participate and for policy makers to analyse the results. 

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The  information  exchange  capabilities  of  IMI  were  developed  for  cross-border 
communication  but  are  also  used  for  communication  between  national  public 
authorities as part of a wider cross-border exchange. There are no technical obstacles 
to  using  IMI  for  communication  between  national  authorities  and  some  Member 
States  have  expressed  an  interest  in  using  IMI  for  this  purpose  on  a  wider  scale. 
Purely national use of IMI would have to be addressed in a legal instrument as the 
different roles and responsibilities of the Commission and the Member States need to 
be clear and transparent. 

3. 

CHALLENGES OF EXPANSION 

3.1. 

Guaranteeing personal data protection 

IMI  is  the  first  EU  project  that  aims  to  create  a  general  reusable  framework  for 
exchanging information between national administrations by means of an IT system. 
Much of the information currently exchanged includes personal data. IMI follows a 
‘privacy  by  design’  approach  whereby  privacy  and  data  protection  compliance  are 
designed  into  the  system  from  the  outset.,  including  a  strict  application  of  the 
purpose  limitation  principle  and  appropriate  access  controls.  Data  protection 
considerations  are  also  part  of  the  daily  use  of  the  system  and  are  included  in  the 
training  materials.  As  a  result,  IMI  guarantees  a  high  level  of  technical  and 
procedural  data  protection  and  IMI  users  are  well  acquainted  with  general  data 
protection  principles.  The  IMI  website  has  a  section  dedicated  to  Data  Protection 
where all relevant information is made available to readers. 

Beyond  practical  data  protection  measures,  there  is  a  remaining  concern  about  the 
legal  basis  for  the  operation  of  IMI,  as  expressed  by  the  European  Data  Protection 
Supervisor  (EDPS).  Within  the  current  approach,  the  purpose  and  the  scope  of 
information  to  be  exchanged  between  authorities  are  set  out  in  the  Professional 
Qualifications  and  Services  Directives  and  the  specific  rules  to  ensure  full 
compliance with EU data protection law are included in two Commission decisions 
and  a  recommendation12.  To  avoid  any  obstacles  to  expanding  IMI  caused  by  data 
protection  concerns,  the  Commission  intends  to  submit  a  proposal  for  a  European 
Parliament  and  Council  Regulation  in  the  first  half  of  2011.  This  horizontal  legal 
instrument,  to  be  adopted  by  Council  and  the  European  Parliament,  will  create  a 
comprehensive data protection framework, providing a higher level of legal certainty 
especially in view of further expansion, in line with the suggestions of the EDPS.13 

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European  Commission  Decision  of  12.12.2007  concerning  the  implementation  of  IMI  as  regards  the 
protection  of  personal  data.  Decision  N°2008/49/EC,  OJ  L  13,  16.01.2008,  p.  18.  Commission 
Recommendation  on  data  protection  guidelines  for  the  Internal  Market  Information  System  (IMI), 
Recommendation n°C (2009) 2041, 26.3.2009. European Commission Decision of 2.10.2009 setting out 
practical  arrangements  for  the  exchange  of  information  by  electronic  means  between  Member  States 
under Chapter VI of Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on services 
in the internal market , Decision N° C(2009) 7493 (OJ L 263, 7.10.2009, p. 32)  
Most  recently  in  a  letter  of 27.07.2010  in response  to  the  Commission  report  on  the  situation of  data 
protection in the IMI system (COM(2010)170) (see data protection section at http://ec.europa.eu/imi-net 
for both texts) 

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3.2. 

Facilitating flexible expansion 

The  Commission  has  examined  how  IMI  could  be  used  to  improve  the 
implementation of existing Internal Market legislation. While many directives would 
certainly  benefit  from  reinforced  administrative  cooperation,  the  absence  of  a 
sufficiently specific legal basis for exchanging information between Member States 
in existing legislation is a considerable potential barrier to the use of IMI. Opening 
up directives just to include a reference to the use of IMI for their implementation is 
not an option. 

The  horizontal  legal  instrument  mentioned  above  should  address  this  problem  by 
creating  a  general  legal  basis  for  using  IMI  for  administrative  cooperation  to 
implement EU internal market legislation. All general aspects should be covered by 
the main body of the legal instrument, while the details concerning the specific legal 
areas to be included could be set out in annexes. 

3.3. 

Securing adequate resources 

(a) Financing 

Expenditure  for  IMI  covers  development  and  improvement  of  the  system,  hosting 
IMI  in  the  Commission  Data  Centre,  maintenance,  system  administration,  second-
line  support,  training,  communication  and  awareness  raising  (see  section  II  of  the 
accompanying Commission staff working document for further information) 

The  initial  development  cost  of  IMI  was  funded  by  the  IDABC  (Interoperable 
Delivery  of  Pan-European  e-Government  Services  to  Public  Administrations, 
Business and Citizens) programme, until it came to an end in 2009. Until July 2010, 
the  Commission  bore  the  costs  associated  with  maintenance,  second-line  support, 
system administration, hosting, training, communication and awareness raising. 

the 

ISA 

(Interoperability  Solutions 

for  European  Public 
In  July  2010, 
Administrations)  programme  (2010-2015)14  agreed  to  finance  IMI,  funding  the 
operation and improvement of the application in 2010. It is anticipated that the ISA 
programme  will  continue  to  provide  funding  for  IMI  until  2012,  however  this  is 
subject  to  annual  review  of  the  overall  programme  priorities  and  available  budget. 
The Commission continues to bear the cost of hosting, training, communication and 
awareness raising. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  use  of  the  system  is  obligatory  for  the  Services  Directive, 
financing  aspects  will  need  to  be  clarified,  in  full  compliance  with  the  current 
financial  programming  and  the  forthcoming  proposal  for  the  next  multiannual 
financial framework. 

(b) Commission resources 

The  Commission  has  established  a  dedicated  team  responsible  for  overseeing  the 
development  and  support  of  the  IMI  network.  The  services  provided  include  a 
helpdesk  for  National  IMI  Coordinators,  maintenance  of  the  IMI  database  of 

14 

Decision No 922/2009/EC, OJ L 260; 3.10.2009, p.20. 

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question  sets,  translation  management,  provision  of  electronic  self-training  material 
for  IMI  end-users,  management  of  the  IMI  website,  organisation  of  training, 
awareness  and  networking  events,  production  of  promotional  material,  liaison  with 
the units responsible for operational implementation of legislation and managing the 
legal and data protection aspects of IMI. 

In addition, the Commission provides human resources for hosting, maintaining and 
developing IMI. The provision and maintenance of a fully multilingual information 
system also has resource implications for the Commission’s translation services. 

(c) National resources 

The principal responsibility for the implementation and smooth running of IMI lies 
with the Member States, who need to invest in ensuring that the network functions 
effectively. 

Expanding  IMI  should  take  place  gradually  to  avoid  overloading  Member  State 
administrations. In planning the approach to expansion, the following factors should 
be considered: 

•  Expansion  should  take  place  in  a  carefully  planned,  step-by-step  manner  so  that 
Member  States  have  adequate  time  to  ensure  that  all  required  steps  have  been 
identified and the necessary resources are in place to achieve the aims; 

•  Member  States  should  review  their  current  national  IMI  organisation  to  ensure 
that it is fit for purpose in an expanded IMI network with a substantial and diverse 
pool of end-users; 

•  The  role  of  National  IMI  Coordinator  (NIMIC)  becomes  more  vital  as  IMI 
expands to support further policy areas and should be seen as fundamental to the 
smooth  running  of  the  internal  market  at  national  level.  Feedback  from  IMI 
coordinators suggests that the role of NIMIC is not seen as critical in all Member 
States, with reported problems including inadequate resourcing, high turnover of 
personnel  and  insufficient  political  support  for  the  role  and  its  responsibilities. 
The horizontal legal instrument described above should look at strengthening the 
role of the National IMI Coordinator. 

3.4. 

Keeping it simple 

Experience  with  IMI  development  so  far  has  shown  that  there  is  always  a  risk  of 
over-complicating IT solutions in a bid to satisfy the combined requirements, real or 
imagined, of all stakeholders. This does not necessarily lead to a user-friendly tool. It 
is  better  to  start  with  a  relatively  simple  application  and  adapt  it  if  necessary  once 
sufficient experience is gained. 

Moreover,  one  of  the  strengths  of  IMI  is  that  it  breaks  the  process  of  cooperation 
down  into  simple,  manageable,  transparent  steps  in  a  workflow.  Expanding  IMI  to 
new  areas,  adding  new  functions  or  creating  links  with  other  tools  should  not 
increase the complexity for users. Navigation should remain simple and intuitive. 

Before  encoding  procedures  into  software,  the  procedures  should  be  examined  to 
ensure that they are as streamlined as possible. The process should seek to uncover 

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and  eliminate  bottlenecks  and  to  increase  efficiency  wherever  possible  to  avoid 
ending  up  with  overly  complicated  IT  modules  that  can  only  be  used  for  a  single 
purpose. 

For administrative cooperation to work smoothly, it is necessary to tackle, at an early 
stage  in  the  legislative  process,  the  practical  implications  for  national  regional  and 
local  authorities  in  implementing  new  legislation.  Requirements  for  administrative 
cooperation should be sufficiently clear and operational and the need for an IT tool to 
support  the  process  should  be  analysed.  This  process  could  also  serve  to  share 
lessons  learnt  through  practical  experience  of  administrative  cooperation  and  avoid 
repeating mistakes. The Commission will examine how a systematic ‘administrative 
cooperation check’ can best be included in its internal procedures. 

3.5. 

Involving all stakeholders 

The  IMI  project  has  many  stakeholders  and  with  the  potential  expansion  to  new 
policy areas, it will become more complex to manage. It is essential that the project 
has  a  transparent  and  effective  governance  structure  and  that  all  stakeholders 
understand  the  procedures  and  forums  involved  in  reaching  agreement  on  various 
aspects of the project. 

(a) Daily management of the system 

From  a  project  governance  perspective,  the  Commission  is  the  ‘system  owner’  of 
IMI,  initiating,  procuring,  developing,  operating,  maintaining  and  supervising  the 
budget for IMI, as well as ensuring that the needs of all stakeholders are adequately 
met. 

(b) Policy decisions 

The  IMI  Steering  committee  includes  representatives  of  all  stakeholders  in  the  IMI 
project  (system  owner,  system  supplier,  Internal  Market  Advisory  Committee 
(IMAC) and IMI users). 

The Steering Committee is responsible for: 

•  setting  the  strategic  direction  and  priorities  for  the  project,  taking  into 
consideration  the  priorities  for  improvement  set  by  the  IMAC  IMI  Working 
Group; 

•  high-level monitoring and control; 

•  representing  the  interests  of  the  end  users  and  ensuring  that  all  stakeholders  are 

involved in the planning process. 

End  users  of  IMI  are  represented  in  the  Steering  Committee  by  the  Commission 
policy  units  responsible  for  the  individual  legislative  areas  supported  by  IMI 
(currently regulated professions and services). 

The  Internal  Market  Advisory  committee  is  represented  on  the  IMI  Steering 
Committee by the head of the Policy Development and Single Market Coordination 
Unit in DG MARKT. 

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(c) Advice and guidance from expert stakeholders 

Member State stakeholders are involved in the IMI project through various advisory 
committees and expert groups which provide advice and guidance to the Commission 
on IMI development. 

(1)  General technical, management and policy input 

The  IMAC  IMI  Working  Group  was  set  up  as  a  sub-group  of  the  Internal  Market 
Advisory Committee (IMAC) to advise the Commission on horizontal issues relating 
to IMI development. 

Because  IMI  has  been  designed  as  a  generic  and  reusable  system  encompassing 
potentially  many  diverse  policy  areas,  it  is  important  to  retain  a  horizontal 
perspective  when  considering  future  development  and  expansion  of  the  network. 
Ensuring  that  it  retains  a  strong  coordination  structure  is  equally  important.  The 
IMAC IMI Working Group fulfils this role, representing national users of IMI across 
policy areas. 

In general, all National IMI Coordinators are represented in this working group and 
act on behalf of all of IMI users in their Member State. The group’s responsibilities 
include: 

•  agreeing  simplified  procedures  for  administrative  cooperation  which  form  the 

basis of the IMI software development; 

•  monitoring progress, reporting on stakeholder commitment and results achieved; 

•  providing feedback from the user community along with requests to improve the 

IMI application; 

•  prioritising requests to improve the IMI software. 

(2)  Sector specific input 

Currently  three  sector-specific  expert  groups  have  been  involved  in  legal  issues 
relating  to  the  use  of  IMI  in  their  area,  to  define  the  content  of  the  exchange  of 
information and the competent authorities to be involved in it. These groups are the 
Professional  Qualifications  coordinators  committee,  the  expert  group  on  the 
implementation of the Services Directive and a subgroup of the Expert Committee on 
Posting  of  Workers  which  was  set  up  to  examine  possible  options  for  a  specific 
information  exchange  system  to  reinforce  and  enhance  administrative  cooperation 
under the Posting of Workers Directive. 

(d) Developing the governance structure 

The  structure  as  described  has  served  the  purposes  of  IMI  very  well  until  now  and 
seems flexible enough to allow for further expansion. As IMI is expanded to include 
further  policy  areas,  representatives  of  these  user  groups  will  be  invited  to  join  the 
IMI Steering Committee. 

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New advisory committees and expert groups representing these policy areas will also 
become involved in the project and their input will feed into the work undertaken by 
the IMAC IMI Working Group. 

As  IMI  grows  and  the  number  of  end  users  increases,  it  becomes  even  more 
important  to  ensure  that  the  real  end  users  of  IMI  have  the  opportunity  to  provide 
feedback  and  input  on  the  user-friendliness and further development of the system. 
As  well  as  obtaining  indirect  user  feedback  via  the  National  IMI  Coordinators,  the 
Commission  employs  various  methods  to  engage  directly  with  IMI  users.  These 
currently  include  surveys,  training  sessions,  conferences  and  networking  forums. 
Teleconferences and ‘webinars’ may also be useful in increasing the involvement of 
end users in the ongoing development of IMI. 

3.6. 

Ensuring a high level of system performance and security 

(a) Performance 

As the number of users and volume of data in IMI grows, it is crucial to ensure that 
the  performance  of  the  system  (e.g.  response  times)  remains  satisfactory.  IMI  has 
been designed to be a scalable system with up to 100 000 potential users at maturity, 
however the following precautions are being taken to mitigate the potential risk of an 
adverse impact on performance: 

•  IMI is hosted on a dedicated server in the Commission Data Centre; 

•  Performance of IMI is monitored on a regular basis and performance load tests are 

carried out before new system functionality is introduced; 

•  A  technical  audit  of  IMI  will  take  place  in  2011.  It  will  address  the  system’s 
technical capability to support the number of competent authorities and users (and 
consequent  data  volumes)  planned  for  the  full  maturity  of  the  system  at  an 
acceptable level of performance and reliability. 

(b) Security 

Security is a major aspect of the design, maintenance and daily operation of the IMI 
system. IMI stores and processes personal data and other data that is not intended to 
be publicly available. 

A comprehensive Security Plan for IMI, drawn up in accordance with European and 
international security standards, defines the security requirements for the system and 
how they should be met. This plan will be reviewed annually to ensure that security 
levels are upheld as IMI expands. 

4. 

CONCLUSIONS / NEXT STEPS 

4.1. 

Administrative cooperation check 

A more systematic approach is needed for better governance of the Internal Market 
via  improved  administrative  cooperation.  For  this  purpose,  the  practicalities  of 
implementing new legislation by national, regional and local public authorities need 

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to be considered at a sufficiently early stage in the legislative process. Requirements 
for  administrative  cooperation  should  be  clear  and  practical  and  the  need  for  an  IT 
tool  to  support  the  process  should  be  considered  from  the  outset.  If  an  IT  tool  is 
needed, preference should be given to using or adapting an existing tool, such as IMI 
if appropriate or one of the existing administrative cooperation systems (see section 
V of the accompanying Commission staff working document for further information) 
instead of developing a new single purpose tool from scratch. 

The  Commission  will  examine  how  a  systematic  administrative  cooperation 
check can best be included in its internal procedures by December 2011. 

4.2. 

Proposal for a legislative instrument for IMI 

As referred to in the Commission Communication "Towards a Single Market Act" of 
27  October  2010,  a  general  legal  basis  is  needed  to  provide  a  comprehensive  data 
protection  framework  consolidating  the  specific  rules  and  procedures  regarding  the 
processing of personal data in IMI, establish a framework for flexible and transparent 
expansion  of  IMI  to  other  legal  areas  and  reinforce  the  role  of  the  national  IMI 
coordinator. 

The Commission will submit a proposal for a European Parliament and Council 
Regulation  to  create  a  general  legal  basis  for  IMI  during  the  first  semester  of 
2011. 

4.3. 

Scope and timetable of planned expansion 

In  parallel,  the  Commission  will  further  explore,  together  with  the  Member  States, 
which other policy areas may benefit from IMI (including under existing legislation) 
and  which  additional  functions  will  need  to  be  developed.  The  goal  will  be  to 
establish  a  list  of  policy  areas  for  which  IMI  is  the  appropriate  technical  solution. 
This should also include, in due course, an option to explore synergies and possible 
redundancies  between  existing  IT  tools  in  place  at  EU  level  for  administrative 
cooperation in general. 

The Member States and the Commission will establish a timetable and roadmap 
for  further  development  through  the  existing  governance  structure,  based  on 
the criteria for expansion as set out in this Communication and the priorities to 
be determined in the Single Market Act. A progress report will be included in 
the IMI annual report in February 2012. 

4.4. 

Further IT development 

Further  IT  development  will  be  based  on  the  perspectives  for  expansion  and  will 
focus  on  developing  functions  that  can  be  of  use  to  a  wide  range  of  user  groups. 
Where possible, existing IT tools will be reused to extend the functionality of IMI. 
The  annual  software  development  plans,  to  be  discussed  and  agreed  by  the  IMI 
steering  committee,  will  be  based  on  the  long-term  view  of  developing  a  generic 
administrative cooperation toolkit (see section III of the accompanying Commission 
staff working document for further information). 

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The  Commission  will  carry  out  a  detailed  technical  analysis  to  determine  the 
the  generic 
most  appropriate  architecture, 
administrative  cooperation  toolkit.  A  report  will  be  published  in  December 
2011. 

including  all  elements  of 

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