COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a single digital gateway to provide information, procedures, assistance and problem solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012
Date: 2017-05-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EU national, access to information, administrative cooperation, administrative formalities, cross-frontier data flow, exchange of information, information system, service, single market, type of business

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 2.5.2017  SWD(2017) 214 final   Compliance Package COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the document Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a single digital gateway to provide information, procedures, assistance and problem solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012   {COM(2017) 256 final} {SWD(2017) 211 final} {SWD(2017) 212 final} {SWD(2017) 213 final}  
 
 
Executive Summary Sheet 

Impact  assessment  on  the  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on 
establishing  a  single  digital  gateway  to  provide  information,  procedures,  assistance  and 
problem solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012. 

Why? What is the problem being addressed?  

A. Need for action 

It is time consuming and costly for EU citizens and businesses to exercise their Single Market 
rights. Information, procedures and assistance services needed to operate cross-border are often 
not online, not well known, of insufficient quality or not accessible to cross-border EU users.  

What is this initiative expected to achieve?  

The single digital gateway (SDG) aims to improve online availability, quality and findability of 
information  and  assistance  services  on  EU  rights  and  national  rules  concerning  the  operation 
and movement in the EU. It will require Member States (MS) to offer key national procedures 
fully online and make all online procedures fully accessible for cross-border EU users. 

What is the value added of action at the EU level?  

National rules in the Single Market are not fully harmonised rules, It is essential that users can 
easily find out what the rules in any MS are. It is also essential that the procedures do not create 
unnecessary extra regulatory burden for other EU users. These objectives require action at EU 
level. 

B. Solutions 

What  legislative  and  non-legislative  policy  options  have  been  considered?  Is  there  a 
preferred choice or not? Why?  

The evaluation of the existing information and assistance services shows that the current mix of 
legally  and  non-legally  binding  instruments  is  not  efficient.    A  Regulation  based  on  Articles 
21(2),  48  and  114  of  the  Treaty  is  the  most  suitable  instrument  to  achieve  the  goals  of  this 
initiative. 

Options  for  the  SDG  range  from  strong  national  coordination  (option  1)  to  full  EU 
harmonisation (option 3). The preferred option is option 2: An EU coordinated approach where 
information,  procedures  and  assistance  services  are  findable  via  an  EU  search  facility.  MS 
manage  the  content.  This  is  complemented  by  clear  and  enforceable  quality  criteria  and  key 
procedures available online. 

Who supports which option?  

The initiative is widely supported by businesses, citizens and public authorities. European and 
national  business  associations  have  expressed  strong  support.  Many  MS  have  endorsed  the 
initiative,  including  in  a  joint  letter  signed  by  17  Ministers  in  September  2015.  The  EP  and 
businesses favour the more ambitious option 3. The REFIT platform called for a solution in line 
with option 1. MS would prefer options based on existing portals, such as in options 1 and 2. 

C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)?  

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The preferred option will reduce transaction costs for searching information, assistance services 
and  completing  key  procedures,  especially  for  SMEs  without  in-house  legal  counsel  or 
dedicated resources. This will help the Single Market function better and create new business 
opportunities.  As  the  services  included  are  already  required  by  EU  law  or  paid  for  by  EU 
budgets,  introducing  minimum  quality  criteria  will  both  improve  the  users’  experience  and 
generate more added value. 

Having core procedures online and fully cross-border-transactional will reduce discrimination 
between  nationals  and  other  EU  citizens.  Lower  barriers  to  mobility  will  help  improve 
educational and professional opportunities and social cohesion. 

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)?  

The main costs will be IT development to support the SDG, human resources for coordination 
and  quality  assurance,  promotion  and  translation.    For  Member  States  the  initial  costs  for 
setting up the SDG and putting all core procedures fully online are estimated on average to be 
EUR  5.8  million.  The  Commission's  costs  will be  between EUR  4.3  and  4.8  million.  Annual 
running costs are estimated at roughly EUR 212 000 per Member State and EUR 2.2 million 
for the Commission. 

How will businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises be affected?  

The  SDG  will  reduce  transaction  costs  for  providing  services  or  selling  goods  in  other  MS, 
especially for  SMEs. As an indication, for businesses  it could  reduce  costs by EUR 11 to  55 
billion  annually.  This  estimation  only  takes  into  account  9  business  procedures,  and  9 
information topics that businesses typically research when expanding across borders. 

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations?  

Costs  will  be  largely  offset  by  savings  in  administrative  costs  since  online  procedures  are 
generally more efficient than offline ones. The development of the SDG will have significant 
costs for MS which are less advanced in digitalising procedures. The ESIF is one of the funding 
sources that can be used for the initial investment if in line with the priorities of the National 
Operational Programmes. 

Will there be other significant impacts?  

The SDG could also improve regulatory simplification, leading to increased ownership of the 
Single Market by European businesses and citizens. 

When will the policy be reviewed?  

D. Follow up 

A user feedback tool will monitor compliance with the objectives. It will give direct input to 
improve the services concerned. Input will be analysed every two years by the Commission and 
the MS. A full evaluation will be carried out 4 years after entry into force of the Regulation. 

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