Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act)
Date: 2022-11-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Digital Services, European Commission
Subjects: European Interoperability Framework, administrative cooperation, cross-border cooperation, data processing, digital transformation, electronic government, exchange of information, information system, public sector, public service

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 18.11.2022  COM(2022) 720 final 2022/0379 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act) {SEC(2022) 720 final} - {SWD(2022) 720 final} - {SWD(2022) 721 final} - {SWD(2022) 722 final}  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

This  explanatory  memorandum  accompanies  the  proposal  for  a  Regulation laying  down 
measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (‘the Interoperable 
Europe Act’). 

The digital transformation of public administrations is among the top priorities of the decade, 
and  Member  States  are  investing  intensely  in  the  digitisation  of  their  public  administration. 
However,  while  more  and  more  services  provided by  the  EU  public  sector  become  digital, 
their level of interoperability is still insufficient. 

Interoperability allows organisations to interact towards mutually beneficial goals. It involves 
the  sharing  of  information  and  knowledge  between  organisations  through  the  business 
processes they support, by means of exchanging data between their network and information 
systems. Interoperability ensures that data can be exchanged seamlessly. 

In  times  when  processes  are  automated  and  digital  technologies  become  part  of  public 
administrations,  it  is  crucial  that  public  administrations  remain  capable  of  communicating 
with each other. Interoperability is an important element to reach such a goal. This cannot be 
ensured  solely  by  technical  means.  It  needs  agreements  and  established  processes  between 
different  organisations,  aligned  data  descriptions,  laws  that  allow  for  those  data  exchanges 
and structured long-term cooperation. A high level of interoperability of public sector digital 
services is essential for the digital single market. 

The  COVID-19  pandemic  experience  has  shown  that  interoperable  solutions  help to  ensure 
that Union citizens can exercise their right to free movement laid down in the Treaties. Public 
sector interoperability also has an important  impact  on the right  to  free  movement  of goods 
and  services  laid down  in  the  Treaties,  as  burdensome  administrative  procedures  can  create 
significant obstacles, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’). 

Interoperability is also a crucial factor in the mitigation of the increasing cybersecurity risks 
faced  by  the  Union  and  the  Member  States.  Today  the  public  administrations  are  regular 
targets of cyberattacks. 

Interoperability is  therefore  not  only  a  technical  issue  but  requires  action  in  several  fields. 
These include: 

• 

• 

• 

ensuring  that  the  legal  frameworks  under  which  different  organisations  operate  do 
not  obstruct  the  delivery  of  seamless  public  services  between  and  within  Member 
States (legal interoperability); 

effective  coordination  between  different  public  sector  bodies  at  all  levels  of 
government in providing public services (organisational interoperability); and 

ensuring that the format and meaning of exchanged data and information is preserved 
and understood in any exchanges between parties (semantic interoperability). 

Optimal public sector interoperability presupposes a high level of interoperability that enables 
more efficient and secure exchange of data to provide seamless public services. A low level of 
interoperability leads to citizens and businesses facing unnecessary administrative burden and 
increased  costs  for  public  administrations.  Strengthening  public  sector  interoperability 
provides  significant  opportunities  for  innovation,  better  planning  ahead  (e.g.  in  crisis 
situations)  and  improved  technological  sovereignty  of the  EU.  The  ideal  degree  of 

EN 

1 

  EN 

interoperability  should  set  a  clear  and  stable  environment  for  the  development  of  diverse 
interoperable solutions. 

Regulating  cross-border 
developing and completing all the existing facets of the Digital Single Market. 

is  a  fundamental  prerequisite  for  further 

interoperability 

The specific objectives of this initiative are: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

to  ensure  a  consistent,  human-centric  EU  approach  to  interoperability  from 
policymaking to policy implementation; 

to  establish  an  interoperability  governance  structure  designed  to  enable  public 
administrations from all levels and sectors, as well as private stakeholders, to work 
together  –  with  a  clear  mandate  to  agree  on  shared  interoperability  solutions  (e.g. 
frameworks, open specifications, open standards, applications, or guidelines); 

to co-create an ecosystem of interoperability solutions for the EU’s public sector, so 
that  public  administrations  at  all  levels  in  the  EU  and  other  stakeholders  can 
contribute to and re-use such solutions, innovate together and create public value. 

Member  States  themselves  have  asked  for  a  coherent,  synergetic,  needs-driven  and 
cooperative  approach  to  the  topic  of  policy  implementation  with  a  view  to  the  growing 
regulatory environment in the field. Examples include the Single Digital Gateway (established 
by Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council1, installing the 
once-only-technical system through which Member States will exchange important evidences 
in  the  future);  and  the  evolving  legal  framework  around  Digital  Identity2,  which  sets-up  a 
framework  for  the  purposes  of  the  interoperability  of  national  electronic  identification 
schemes  or  the  upcoming  data  spaces3.  The  once-only-technical  system  is  the  first  cross-
sector data space between public services based on a full set of specific interoperability rules. 

As  interoperability  in  the  EU  public  sector  is  about  various  entities  cooperating  to  pursue 
a unified objective, a common approach to interoperability can only be implemented within a 
dynamic  yet  homogenous  framework,  in  absolute  respect  of  subsidiarity,  and  through  a 
consolidated multi-level governance. 

The  experience  of  Member  States  has  shown  that,  when  a  legal  basis  for  interoperability 
frameworks  is  provided,  those  frameworks  evolve  into  a  consistent  and  coherent  point  of 
reference  that  places  interoperability  at  the  forefront  of  policy  considerations.  For  example, 
the  Proposal  for  a  European  Interoperability  Framework  for  Smart  Cities  and  Communities 
(EIF4SCC4)  seeks  to  provide  guidance  on  a  local  and  regional  approach  to  interoperability, 
complementing the overall one of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF). 

The  proposal  includes  a  clear  governance  model  supported  by  Member  States  and  EU 
institutions,  while  providing  opportunities  for  stakeholders  to  express  their  viewpoints  and 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Regulation  (EU)  2018/1724  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  2  October  2018 
establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance 
and problem-solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 
1–38). 
See Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EU) 
No  910/2014  as  regards  establishing  a  framework  for  a  European  Digital  Identity  (COM(2021)  281 
final). 
Horizontal rules  for the data  spaces are proposed  with the  Proposal for a Regulation of  the European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  harmonised  rules  on  fair  access  to  and  use  of  data  (Data  Act) 
(COM(2022) 68 final) and the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council 
on European data governance (Data Governance Act) (COM(2020) 767 final). 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f69284c4-eacb-11eb-93a8-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en 

EN 

2 

  EN 

                                                 
concerns  through  seamless  processes  that  ultimately  contribute  to  common  interoperability 
solutions. An  effective  interoperability  policy  would  bring  together key  initiatives  within  an 
innovative  collaborative  architecture  and  would  be  open,  secure,  and  inclusive,  and  support 
the implementation of the outcomes. 

This  proposal  provides for the development  of a European  Interoperability Framework. The 
EIF stresses  the importance of considering all different levels of interoperability  – technical, 
semantic, organisational and legal – as well as taking an integrated governance approach. The 
EIF  was  first  formulated  in  2004.  Its  latest  version  was  published  as  Annex  2  to  the 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  –  European 
Implementation  Strategy  COM/2017/0134  final.  The 
Interoperability  Framework  – 
implementation  of 
the  National 
Interoperability Framework Observatory. 

the  EIF on Member  State 

is  monitored  by 

level 

In  addition,  this  proposal  creates  the  premises  to  develop  the  necessary  knowledge  around 
interoperability  and 
solutions,  especially  among  non-IT  experts. 
Communication  and  cooperation  are  essential  elements  for  interoperability.  Therefore,  it  is 
important  to  have  a  one-stop-shop  to  support  trusted  exchange  of  information  –  the 
Interoperable Europe portal. 

respective 

the 

Regulating cross-border interoperability in the public sector should focus on safeguarding the 
public interest in user-centric and open solutions. Open source supports the implementation of 
interoperability  solutions.  Open  source  enables  users  to  actively  assess  and  inspect  the 
interoperability  and security of the solutions,  users are thus  autonomous and independent  in 
managing  its  own  infrastructures  without  external  constraints.  Furthermore,  it  mitigates 
cybersecurity risks and lock-in effects that can be addressed by using a coordinated approach 
between  Member  States.  It  also  ensures  the  best  return  on  investment  for  public  money, 
making it possible to build on and improve existing solutions instead of starting from scratch. 
Deploying open source strategies has positive spillover effects on the efficiency of innovation 
and on the Union5. Open source and open standards together are enablers of interoperability. 
In  this  context,  the  question  of  appropriate  licences  is  of particular  importance.  The  current 
version  of the  European  Union  Public  Licence  (EUPL),  a standard  open  source  licence 
(version 1.2), was adopted by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/863. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The  policy  area  of  public  sector  interoperability  is  not  currently  covered  by  binding 
overarching  EU  policy  provisions.  However,  the  non-binding  European  Interoperability 
Framework  has  been  part  of  EU  interoperability  policy  since  2010.  Its  latest  version  was 
adopted by the Commission in a Communication in 20176. Implementation of the framework 
was  and  continues  to  be  supported  by  a  series  of  funding  instruments,  like  the  ISA2 
programme  and,  today,  the  Digital  Europe  Programme7. The  need  for stronger  action  in  the 

5 

6 

7 

It  is  estimated  that  companies  located  in  the  EU  invested  EUR  1  billion  in  open  source  software 
(numbers  gathered  for  2018),  and  this  contributed  EUR  65  to  95  billion  to  the  European  Economy. 
European  Commission,  Directorate-General  for  Communications  Networks,  Content  and  Technology, 
Blind,  K.,  Pätsch,  S.,  Muto,  S.,  et  al.,  The  impact  of  open  source  software  and  hardware  on 
technological  independence,  competitiveness  and  innovation  in  the  EU  economy:  final  study  report, 
Publications Office, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2759/430161 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  -  European  Interoperability 
Framework – Implementation Strategy (COM(2017) 134 final). 
Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing 
the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240. (OJ L 166, 11.5.2021, p. 1). 

EN 

3 

  EN 

                                                 
recognised  and  concrete  action  was  announced 

field was 
in  several Commission 
communications,  among  them  the  Communication  ‘Shaping  Europe’s  Digital  Future’8,  ‘A 
European Strategy for Data’9, ‘Identifying and addressing barriers to the Single Market’10 and 
‘Digitalisation of justice in the European Union A toolbox of opportunities’11. This proposal 
also  implements  the  political  mandate  provided  by  the  European  Council  that  called  for  an 
the 
empowering 
Commission work  programme  for  2022  (REFIT  annex)13.  To  ensure  consistency  with  the 
approach taken in the past, this proposal builds on the evaluations of the non-binding policy 
framework the EIF14 and the ISA2 programme15. 

initiative was included 

framework12. This 

interoperability 

in 

In  addition,  there  are  fast-moving  developments  in  the  broader  policy  area  of  digital  public 
services. Examples  include  the  Single  Digital  Gateway  Regulation16,  the  Open  data 
Directive17  and  the  Data  Governance  Act18 while  new  legislative  proposals  are  being 
discussed by the Union legislator, e.g. a Regulation for a European Digital Identity19 and the 
Data Act20. As these initiatives already touch on different aspects of the digital economy and 
interoperability,  the  proposed  Interoperable  Europe  Act  aims  to  facilitate  the  interoperable 
implementation of certain parts of those policies, which are relevant from the aspect of public 
services,  by  setting  up  an  ongoing  structured  cooperation  around  public  sector  cross-border 
interoperability. 

Although some of these  policy initiatives do have provisions that are relevant  for providing 
public  services  (e.g.  the  rules  on  re-use  of  protected  publicly  held  data  set  out  in  the  Data 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions  - Shaping Europe’s digital future 
(COM(2020) 67 final). 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  -  A  European  strategy  for  data, 
19.02.2020 (COM(2020) 66 final). 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  -  Identifying  and  addressing 
barriers to the Single Market (COM(2020) 93 final). 
Commission  Communication  on  the  Digitalisation  of  justice  in  the  European  Union  -  A  toolbox  of 
opportunities (COM (2020) 710 final). 
Communication from the General Secretariat of the  Council to the Delegations on the Conclusions of 
the Special meeting of the European Council (1 and 2 October 2020) (EUCO 13/20). 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  -  Commission  work  programme 
2022 Making Europe stronger together (COM(2021) 645 final). 
The details of the evaluation process and results together with the supporting evidence are available in 
Commission staff working document (SWD(2022) 720 final). 
Commission  Staff  Document  -  Final  evaluation  of  the  ISA²  programme  (SWD(2021)  965  final), 
accompanying the document Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council 
- Results of the final evaluation of the ISA² programme (COM(2021) 965 final). 
Regulation  (EU)  2018/1724  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  2  October  2018 
establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance 
and  problem-solving  services  and  amending  Regulation  (EU)  No  1024/2012  (Text  with  EEA 
relevance.) (PE/41/2018/REV/2). 
Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data 
and the re-use of public sector information (PE/28/2019/REV/1). 
Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on European 
data  governance 
(Data  Governance  Act) 
(PE/85/2021/REV/1). 
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 
910/2014 as regards establishing a framework for a European Digital Identity (COM(2021) 281 final). 
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on harmonised rules on fair 
access to and use of data (Data Act) (COM(2022) 68 final). 

amending  Regulation 

(EU)  2018/1724 

and 

EN 

4 

  EN 

                                                 
Governance Act), they do not  set  up a comprehensive framework for the interoperability of 
network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services in the 
Union. The Member States and EU institutions, agencies and bodies, as providers of network 
and  information  systems  for  public  services, will  agree  on  interoperability  solutions  via  a 
dedicated  governance  body  (the  ‘Interoperable  Europe  Board’).  This agreed  consensus  can 
speed  up  and  support  implementation,  especially  of  other  digital  policies  –  ensuring 
interoperability between the various implementation measures. Furthermore, an ‘Interoperable 
Europe  Community’  will  ensure  the  coordination  and  cooperation  between  relevant 
stakeholders in the field of cross-border and cross-sector interoperability. The ‘Interoperable 
Europe Portal’ will provide a single point of entry for information related to interoperability 
of relevant network and information systems, and the ‘Interoperable Europe Agenda’ will lay 
down  a  strategic  EU-wide  agenda  of  suggestions  for  further  improvements,  including 
coordinated support measures. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

It  is  necessary  to  establish  a  link  between all  specifications  for  public  sector  network 
and information  systems  that  are  mandatory  to  use  due  to  Union  legal  provisions.  It  is  not 
always  easy  for  implementing  authorities  to  find  the  requirements  in  the  most  recent  and 
machine-readable  format.  A  single  point  of  entry  and  clear  rules  on  the  metadata  of  such 
information  should  help  public  sector  bodies  to  have  their  digital  service  infrastructures 
comply  with  the  existing  and  future  rules.  This  is  another  important  factor  on  how  the 
proposal  will  help  to  integrate  policies  across  different  EU sectors  and  foster  their  coherent 
implementation. 

In fact, due to the crosscutting nature of interoperability, this proposal also aims to facilitate 
the  digital  implementation  of  sectoral  policies. The  proposal  is  designed  to  avoid  binding 
interoperability  requirements  conflicting  with  sectoral  policies  that  set  requirements  for 
network  and  information  systems  for  public  services,  or  vice  versa.  Instead,  the 
interoperability  assessment  aims  to  foster  the  take-up  of  interoperable  solutions  in  future 
policy  developments,  and  to  improve  consistency  with  the  proposed  policy  and  with  other 
policies, specifically their general digital implementation. 

Interoperability  of  network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage 
public  services  is  also  important  to  reach  the  public  sector  related  targets  set  out  in  the 
Commission  Communication  ‘2030 Digital  Compass:  the  European  way  for  the  Digital 
Decade’21.  While  public  services  delivered  100% online  could  potentially  also be  achieved 
with  non-interoperable  solutions,  the  use  of  interoperable  solutions  will  help  public 
administrations to achieve the target more effectively and efficiently. The same is true for the 
sectorial  targets,  for  example  in  the  domain  of  health.  The  data  collected  under  this 
Regulation can also contribute to relevant monitoring. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  legal  basis  for  this  proposal  is  Article  172  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European Union (TFEU). 

In accordance with Article 170 TFEU, to help achieve the objectives referred to in Articles 26 
and 174 TFEU, and to  enable people in  the EU,  economic operators and  regional and local 

21 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  2030  Digital  Compass:  the 
European way for the Digital Decade (COM/2021/118 final). 

EN 

5 

  EN 

                                                 
communities to derive the full benefits of the setting-up of an area without internal borders, 
the  EU  should  help  to  create  and  develop  trans-European  networks,  notably  in  the  area  of 
telecommunications.  Within  the  framework  of  a  system  of  open  and  competitive  markets, 
action  by  the  European  Union  will  aim  to  support  and  encourage  the  interconnection  and 
cross-border interoperability of national networks and improve access to such networks. 

Pursuant  to  Article  171(1)  TFEU,  the  Union  shall  establish  guidelines,  identify  projects  of 
common interest, and implement any measures necessary to ensure the interoperability of the 
trans-European networks. Pursuant to Article 171(2) ‘Member States shall, in liaison with the 
Commission, coordinate among themselves the policies pursued at national level which may 
have a significant impact’ on the objective of the establishment of trans-European networks, 
and  the  Commission  ‘may,  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Member  States,  take  any  useful 
initiative to promote such coordination’. 

This  proposal  intends  to  develop a  coherent,  human-centric  approach  to  cross-border 
interoperability  of  network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage 
public  services  from  policymaking  to  policy  implementation,  accompanied  by  a  clear 
governance  to  streamline  shared  interoperability  frameworks,  solutions,  guidelines  and 
specifications in the context of provision of digital public services across EU borders. 

EU action to improve public sector interoperability – by setting up a governance structure to 
steer  the  development  of  cross-border  interoperability  of  network  and  information  systems 
used  to  provide  or  manage  public  services in  the  EU  public  sector  –  would  help  to  further 
integrate the single market, as it removes obstacles to the circulation of information within the 
EU and fosters economic, social and territorial cohesion. TFEU gives the EU the competence 
to  lay  down  appropriate  provisions  to  establish  and  develop trans-European  networks  in  the 
areas of telecommunications infrastructures (Article 170 TFEU) for this purpose. 

Since 1994, the EU has used this legal base and its predecessor to create funding programmes 
to  support  the  development  and  dissemination  of  interoperability  solutions  for  public 
administrations and businesses and setting up cross-border digital services infrastructures22. It 
has  been  confirmed  by  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Union  that  the  EU  measures 
contributing to the ‘telematic interchange of data between administrations in the Community 
(IDA)’ fell  within  the  ambit  of  the  trans-European  networks  for  telecommunication  under 
Article 129 of the EC Treaty23. 

22 

23 

The  latest  being  the  Decision  (EU)  2015/2240  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council 
establishing  a  programme  on  interoperability  solutions  and  common  frameworks  for  European  public 
administrations,  businesses  and  citizens  (ISA2  programme)  as  a  means  for  modernising  the  public 
sector and Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 
establishing the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240. 
Case  C-22/96,  European  Parliament  v.  Council  of  the  European  Union,  ECLI:EU:C:1998:258.  The 
Court  ruled  that:  ‘[...]  [C]ertain  aspects  of  the  contested  decision  concern  the  interoperability  of 
networks  within  the  meaning  of  the  second  indent  of  Article  129c(1).  First,  [...]  the  preamble  to  that 
decision emphasises the need to ensure the interoperability of national telematic systems. Second, [...] 
the  contested decision provides that the  special procedure laid down by  Article 4 is applicable to the 
‘adoption  of  common  rules  and  procedures  for  bringing  about  technical  and  administrative 
interoperability’.  Moreover,  according  to  Article  5(1),  the  types  of  action  which  the  Community 
contribution  may  encompass  include,  in  particular,  measures  relating  to  interoperability.  Indeed, 
interoperability is specified as one of the framework conditions laid down in Article5(2). Although the 
establishment  and  development  of 
telecommunications  networks  between 
trans-European 
administrations entail, in themselves, the interconnection and interoperability of national networks as 
well  as  access  to  such  networks,  the  content  of  the  contested  decision  shows  that  it  covers  measures 
falling specifically within the second indent of Article 129c(1).’ (paragraphs 35-36). 

EN 

6 

  EN 

                                                 
Article 172 is therefore the appropriate legal basis for the EU action to promote cross-border 
interoperability of network and information systems. 

In  order  to  help  set  up  and  develop  the  trans-European  networks  in  relation  to  the  digital 
public  services  provided  by  public  sector  bodies,  a  new  system  of  coordination  at  EU  level 
with clear roles and mandates has to be created.  

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence) 

According to the principle of subsidiarity laid down in Article 5(3) of the TEU, action at EU 
level  should  be  taken  only  when  the  aims  envisaged  cannot  be  achieved  sufficiently  by 
Member  States  alone  and  can  therefore,  by  reason  of  the  scale  or  effects  of  the  proposed 
action,  be  better  achieved  by  the  EU.  Furthermore,  there  is  a  need  to  match  the  nature  and 
intensity of a given measure to the problem identified. 

Measures  supporting  cross-border  public  sector  interoperability  across  the  EU  cannot  be 
achieved  by  a  Member  State  acting  alone  and  require  coordination  at  EU  level.  The 
development of EU-wide structured cooperation to support public sector interoperability is by 
its nature a task to be undertaken at EU level. 

• 

Proportionality 

In  accordance  with  the  principle  of  proportionality  set  out  in  Article  5(4)  of  the  Treaty  on 
European Union, the measures in this proposal do not go beyond what is necessary in order to 
achieve  the  objectives  of  the  Treaties  (developing  and  completing  the  Digital  Single 
Market). The  proposal  addresses  the  existing  barriers  to  interoperable  public  services  in  the 
EU. It sets out a legal framework for sharing and reusing open recommended interoperability 
solutions  and  government  technology  (‘GovTech’)  in  general  to  better  support  the 
interconnection  of  the  relevant  infrastructures.  The  proposal  also  sets  out  a  framework  for 
cooperation which enables the relevant public entities and the different sectors to coordinate 
their  actions  at  EU  level.  It  builds  on  existing  solutions  that  were developed  and  partly 
implemented in different public entities and sectors in recent years, such as the EIF. 

In the shorter term, this proposal will lead to costs to be borne by the Commission in setting 
up  the  mechanism  for  structured  cooperation  among  administrations  in  the  EU  and  the 
Member  States.  In  the  longer  term,  the  Commission  will  incur  costs  for  facilitating 
interoperability governance and developing guidance and common solutions. Member States 
will  incur  costs  as  well,  related  to  developing  and  implementing  common  interoperability 
solutions, based on the guidance and tools facilitated by cooperation mechanism. These costs 
would  be  offset  over  the  longer  term  by  the  benefits  generated  through  the  improved 
cooperation  and  the  development,  implementation  and  reuse  of  common  interoperability 
measures for public services, thus reducing duplication of effort and unnecessary burdens. 

In  order  to  minimise  the  burden  around  regulatory  reporting,  the  monitoring  will  build as 
much  as  possible  on  existing data reporting  channels  and  infrastructure,  and  on  automated 
data retrieval. 

As to businesses and members of the public, the proposal is likely to lead to a reduction in the 
costs of interacting with public administrations as well as in the costs of doing business in the 
EU.  

• 

Choice of the instrument 

A Regulation is considered to be the most appropriate legal instrument to set out a framework 
for  public  sector  cross-border  interoperability  in  the  EU.  The  direct  applicability  of  a 
Regulation  in  accordance  with  Article  288  TFEU  will provide  greater  legal  certainty  by 

EN 

7 

  EN 

introducing  a  harmonised  set  of  core  rules, contributing  to  the  functioning  of  the  Single 
Market. The Regulation will also create a structured cooperation mechanism. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

The impact assessment accompanying this proposal draws on – among others – the evaluation 
of  the  European  Interoperability  Framework  (EIF)24,  conducted  back-to-back  and  published 
with  this  proposal.  The  evaluation’s  key  finding  is that  cross-border  interoperability  can  be 
achieved more efficiently and effectively with EU measures than with national or sub-national 
action alone. Some EIF recommendations are already conceptually implemented in Member 
States.  The  costs  of  drawing  up  national  interoperability  frameworks  aligned  with  the  EIF 
were expected to be relatively low. However, the current EIF does not sufficiently support the 
practical implementation of interoperable European digital public services. A new mechanism 
is needed to make it more actionable. The impact assessment particularly highlights the need 
for:  (i)  improved  governance  of  interoperability  in  the  EU;  (ii)  more  common,  potentially 
binding  rules;  and  (iii)  more  alignment  of,  in  particular,  EU  policies  and  EU  funding 
programmes with the EIF. 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

The  consultation  process  and  its  main  conclusions  on  which  this proposal is  based,  are 
summarised  in  Annex  2  of  the  impact  assessment  accompanying  the proposal for  an 
Interoperable Europe Act. Consultation activities included an open public and targeted online 
consultation,  workshops  with  various  categories  of  relevant  stakeholders,  and  expert  groups 
set up by the Commission. 

Respondents  considered  the  precise  objectives  outlined  in  the  impact  assessment  to  be 
meaningful for the most part, specifying that many of these objectives are interconnected and 
cannot be accomplished individually. 

Stakeholders  identified  several  additional  goals,  such  as:  (i)  developing  and  promoting 
particular  standards  and  guidelines  that  could  steer  public  administrations  towards 
interoperability-by-design;  (ii)  moving  towards  proactive  and  self-sovereign  services;  (iii) 
increasing  transparency  by  applying  the  ‘once-only’  principle;  (iv)  a  framework  that 
centralises  users’  information;  and  (v)  highlighting  the  value  of  interoperability  for  civil 
rights, digital involvement for all, diversity and democratising public knowledge. 

The majority of stakeholders explicitly mentioned the need for agreed and open standards and 
specifications.  Some  of  them  additionally  emphasised  the  need  for  more  coordinated 
involvement  of  the  public  sector  in  standardisation  organisations. Most  stakeholders  had 
similar  views  on  incentivising  the  sharing  of  design  costs  around  user-friendly,  trusted  and 
secure solutions (including between public and private stakeholders) and on fostering an EU-
wide  sharing  and  reuse  of  mature,  reusable,  open  source  interoperable  solutions  for  public 
administrations. They  also  mentioned  that  such  solutions  should  be  accompanied  by  clear 
guidance on the use of open standards and open source (including clear definitions), and that 
it  is  necessary  to  cover  technical  assistance at  all  levels  (including  relevant  training 
resources). 

In  addition,  stakeholders  called  for  interoperability  policy  to  be  made  more  practical  and 
consistent with other EU policies by bringing forward the idea of reference implementations. 

24 

SWD(2022) 720 final. 

EN 

8 

  EN 

                                                 
These  implementations accompany  policy  proposals  with non-binding  ‘gold  standards’  on 
how interoperable implementation across administrative level could work and show how the 
proposals can be implemented. 

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

The proposal was co-designed with the Expert Group on interoperability of European public 
services. As part of this process the Expert Group issued policy recommendations for the next 
European interoperability policy in October 202125. 

Several studies were carried out to support the work on the initiative. These included the: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Study supporting the evaluation of the implementation of the EIF26; 

Study supporting the final evaluation of the programme on interoperability solutions 
for European public administrations, businesses and citizens (ISA2)27; 

JRC Technical Report – Quantifying the Benefits of Location Interoperability in the 
European Union28. 

Impact assessment 

The  Impact  Assessment  accompanying  this proposal was  examined  by  the  Regulatory 
Scrutiny Board on 19 January 2022. The Board gave a positive opinion with reservations. The 
comments were addressed by the Commission in the final version of the Impact Assessment 
(details are provided in its Annex 1). 

The impact assessment compares three options, in addition to the baseline of not acting.  

Option 1 seeks gradual continuous development of the EIF.  

Option  2  maintains  the  current  voluntary  framework. It proposes  legislative  action  that 
concentrates  on  constructing  a  structural  cooperation  mechanism  with  a  flexible mandate  to 
ensure  continuous  development  and  maintenance  of  agreed  common  interoperability 
solutions,  as  well  as  to  determine  common  experimentation  and  focused  policy  support 
initiatives. 

Similar to option 2, option 3 proposes legislative action, but the action proposed is more far-
reaching.  It  focuses  on  enshrining  directly  applicable  European  interoperability  minimum 
requirements in law, which would be revised by implementing decisions. 

According  to  the  assessment  of  expected  impacts,  option  1  and  the  baseline will  not 
effectively  address  the  shortcomings  revealed  by  the  EIF  evaluation.  Due  to insufficient 
cooperation  incentives, both  will  not  fulfil  the  political  and  operational  expectations  of  the 
stakeholders, especially the Member States. Option 3 is equally less likely to garner political 
support, due to its broad scope and high level of sensitivity to subsidiarity (e.g., as regards EU 
and  Member  States  legacy  systems).  Although  enshrining  directly  applicable  minimum 
interoperability  requirements  into  EU  law  is  expected  to  be  efficient,  it  will  be  a  lengthy 

25 

26 

27 

28 

Register  of  Commission  expert  groups  and  other  similar  entities.  (2021,  October  18).  European 
Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-
groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=3714 
CEPS  (2021):  Study  supporting  the  evaluation  of  the  implementation  of  the  EIF,  European 
Commission. DOI: 10.2799/58201. 
 CEPS (2021): Study supporting the final evaluation of the programme on interoperability solutions for 
European  public  administrations,  businesses  and  citizens  (ISA²),  European  Commission.  DOI: 
10.2799/94683. 
Ulrich,  P.,  Duch  Brown,  N.,  Minghini,  M.,  Kotsev,  A.,  Hernandez  Quiros,  L.,  Boguslawski,  R.,  & 
Pignatelly,  F.  (2021).  Quantifying  the  Benefits  of  Location  Interoperability  in  the  European  Union. 
European Commission. 

EN 

9 

  EN 

                                                 
procedure,  and  will  require  significant  implementation  costs  and  efforts.  Therefore, it  is 
presumed  to  be  less  impactful  in  guaranteeing  a  flexible  and  responsive  reaction  to  rapidly 
changing technological and policy requirements. 

The impact assessment identified option 2 as the preferred scenario. The decision to create a 
structured  cooperation  mechanism  is  expected  to  provide  Member  States the  stability  and 
(legal)  predictability  they  need,  while  also  allowing  for  the  required  flexibility  to  continue 
developing  shared  interoperability  solutions  in  response  to  changing  policy  needs. Option  2 
also  focuses  on  developing  participatory  processes.  These processes  are  more  relevant  to 
accelerated technological progress.  They  are  also  less intrusive with  regard to the impact  on 
legacy systems, as they do not directly specify (minimum) compatibility requirements in law 
(as option 3 would). To date, option 3 is less likely to gain political support, due to its broad 
scope and high level of sensitivity to subsidiarity (notably as regards EU and Member States 
legacy  systems).  Therefore,  option  2  is  presumed  to  be  less  impactful  in  guaranteeing  a 
flexible  and  responsive  reaction  to  rapidly  changing  technological  and  policy  requirements. 
Option 2 can also gradually lead to option 3 over time. 

A  unified  EU  cross-border  interoperability  governance  is  envisaged  to  foster  bottom-up 
collaboration and top-down ownership among key stakeholders in Member States, resulting in 
a shared interoperability ecosystem. This facilitates early-stage engagement in policy design 
and  identification  of  (co-)investment  needs  and  improves  policy  implementation.  For  these 
reasons, option 2 is not a threat but an enabler for subsidiarity, reinforcing resilience of public 
administrations and digital sovereignty.  

Finally, the measures proposed in option 2 are likely to have limited but positive impacts on 
the achievement of EU climate and energy goals. Greater cross-border interoperability could 
save  the  burden  by,  for  example,  facilitating  carbon  emissions  reporting,  reducing  paper 
usage,  and  limiting  physical  travel  required  from  users  of  public  services  when  completing 
administrative procedures. 

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

The  policy  measures  proposed  under  the  preferred  option  address  the  objectives  of 
simplification and a reduced administrative burden, in line with the Commission’s regulatory 
fitness  and  performance  programme  (REFIT)29.  Its  potential  for  reducing  the  administrative 
burden  in  the  policy  field  has  been  recognised  by  the  Fit  for  Future  Platform,  which  has 
included it in its annual work programme for 202230.  

The purpose of this  initiative is  to  reduce administrative burden not  only  in  the  policy field 
but also across sectors and administrative levels. Through enhanced interoperability, it aims to 
reduce administrative and compliance costs for public administrations. Members of the public 
will  benefit  from  the  reduced  administrative  burden,  and  they  will  be  able  to  fully  rely  on 
digital  public  services and  the  facility  to  securely  exchange  data  with  the  same  legal  value 
cross border. Businesses – especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – will also 
benefit from savings in compliance costs. 

29 

30 

EN 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  -  EU  Regulatory  Fitness 
(COM(2012) 746 final). 
2022  Annual  Work  Programme  Fit 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/2022_annual_work_programme_-
_fit_for_future_platform_en.pdf 

(n.d.).  European  Commission, 

for  Future  Platform. 

10 

  EN 

                                                 
• 

Fundamental rights 

This proposal respects fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular 
by the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR)31. 

The proposal is particularly relevant for the right to good administration, as defined in Article 
41 CFR. This article declares that good administration is a fundamental right by proclaiming 
that every individual has the right to have their affairs managed in a certain way by the EU’s 
institutions  and  bodies  or  by  Member  States  that  apply  EU  law. The  right to  good 
administration  emphasises  the  importance  of  transparency  in  an  increasingly  digital  age. 
Initiatives to support the digitalisation of public services can be regarded as facilitators of the 
right  to  good administration,  as they  have the ability to  facilitate  essential considerations of 
good  administration,  such  as  neutrality,  impartiality,  and  a  predictive  capacity  to  resolve 
various  matters32.  No  further  action  on  the  EIF  and  related  principles  could  entail  negative 
consequences,  such  as  for  Article  8  CFR,  the  right  to  protection  of  personal  data,  or  as  for 
Article  22,  CFR,  the  right  to  linguistic  diversity.  Where  personal  data  are  processed  in 
regulatory sandboxes, the proposal includes appropriate data protection safeguards to ensure 
the rights of data subjects are protected. 

In terms of the right to freely move within the EU, research on SMEs demonstrates that non-
interoperable administrative procedures undermine European SMEs’ ability to do business in 
other EU countries, as well as to function flexibly and unreservedly in the Single Market33. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

This proposal sets out a number of obligations for the Commission, in particular, to create the 
mechanism  for  structured  cooperation  among  administrations  in  the  EU  and  the  Member 
States,  to  support  this  interoperability  governance  and  to  develop  guidance  and  common 
solutions. In its 2021 and 2022 work programmes, the Digital Europe programme has already 
been supporting the related Commission activities with an initial contribution of almost EUR 
50 million. 

The  Regulation  establishes  an  instrument  for  the  coordination  of  public  investments  in 
It  should  deliver  a 
interoperability  solutions: 
comprehensive  overview  of  funding  possibilities  and  funding  commitments  in  the  field, 
integrating  where  appropriate the  related  Union programmes,  such  as  the Digital  Europe 
programme, the European Regional Development Fund, the Recovery and resilience facilities, 
the Technical Support Instrument, the Horizon Europe programme and other programmes. 

Interoperable  Europe  Agenda. 

the 

Fulfilling the Commission’s obligations set out in this legal proposal will require around EUR 
130  million  between  2023  and  2027  and  will  be  funded  directly  from  the  Digital  Europe 
programme. The contributions from the Digital Europe programme as of 2023 are subject to 
the  availability  of  the  appropriations  provided  for  in  the  draft  general  budget  of  the  Union, 
following the adoption of that budget by the budgetary authority, and will be considered in the 
context  of  the  preparation  of  the  respective  work  programmes.  Ultimate  allocations  will  be 
subject to the prioritisation for funding in the context of the underpinning adoption procedure 
and  agreement  of  the  respective  Programme  Committee.  The  Commission’s  administrative 

31 

32 

33 

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, European Union of 26 October 2012 (2012/C 
326/02). 
Matusiak,  J.,  &  Princ,  M.  (2018).  eGovernment  as  an  element  of  the  right  to  good  administration. 
Central and Eastern European eDem and eGov Days, 331, 29–39. https://doi.org/10.24989/ocg.v331.3 
SWD(2020) 54 final, Identifying and addressing barriers to the Single Market. 

EN 

11 

  EN 

                                                 
costs are estimated at approximately EUR 2.822 million, including costs for human resources 
and other administrative expenditure. 

The legislative financial statement attached to this proposal sets out the budgetary, human and 
administrative resource implications. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Once adopted, the impacts of the Regulation will be monitored and evaluated in accordance 
with  the  Better  Regulation  Guidelines.  The  indicators  will  build  as  much  as  possible  on 
existing monitoring data and prefer automated data retrieval over questionnaires. Monitoring 
data and evaluation reports will be publicly available and will provide details on the effective 
application and enforcement of this Regulation.  

As many stakeholders suggested to introduce even stronger measures, the question of further 
strengthening the policy will be addressed in future evaluations. 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Chapter  1  (General  provisions) lays  out  the  subject  matter  of  the  Regulation,  namely  to 
establish  a  European  network  for  cross-border  interoperability  of  network  and  information 
systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage  public  services  in  the  Union  and  to  support 
interlinkages  between existing  national  public  services.  It  also  sets  out  the  definitions  used 
across  the  various  instruments.  To  foster  a  coherent  EU  approach  to  cross-border 
interoperability  and  to  support  the  three  main  pillars  of  the  proposal  (interoperability 
solutions,  policy  implementation  support  projects  and  governance  framework)  the  Chapter 
sets  out  two  general  obligations  for  public  sector  bodies: to perform  interoperability 
assessments and to support the sharing of interoperability solutions within the public sector. 
(Articles 1-4) 

Chapter  2  (Interoperability  solutions) regulates  the  establishment  of  interoperability 
solutions  by  reference  to:  (1)  The  European  Interoperability  Framework  (EIF)  and  its 
interoperability  frameworks,  (2)  Interoperable  Europe  specifications  and 
specialised 
applications  that  are  recommended  by  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board.  Their  use  across 
sectors  and  administrative  levels,  while  not  being  mandatory,  is  promoted  through  the 
mechanisms set out in Chapter 1 and Chapter 3. (Articles 5-8) 

Chapter 3 (Support measures) sets out measures designed to support public sector bodies in 
the implementation of the Regulation. The rules governing policy implementation support set 
out a process on how EU-wide policy projects carried out under the Regulation can support 
interoperable and digital EU policy implementation across the EU public sector. This chapter 
also  sets  out  innovation  measures  to  promote  the  development  and  uptake  of  innovative 
interoperability  solutions  in  cross-border  contexts. To  support  testing  environments  for 
innovative  interoperability  solutions,  the  Commission  can  authorise  the  set-up  of regulatory 
sandboxes. The sandboxes should not only contribute to new technological solutions but also 
to regulatory learning. A peer-review system and provisions on training enhance two further 
important interoperability enablers: skills and knowledge exchange. (Articles 9-14) 

Chapter 4 (Governance) sets out a multi-level governance framework. In the ‘Interoperable 
Europe Board’, Member States and representatives from the Commission, the Committee of 
the  Regions  and  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  set  the  strategic  goals  and 
agree on concrete measures that can ensure the cross-border interoperability of their network 
and information system providing or managing digital public services. The Board is supported 

EN 

12 

  EN 

by a community (the ‘Interoperable Europe Community’) that will enable the involvement of 
a  broader  set  of  stakeholders  and  that  is  involved  in  the  operational  tasks  linked  to  the 
implementation of the Regulation. (Articles 15-18) 

Chapter  5  (Planning,  monitoring  and  evaluation) sets  out an 
integrated  planning 
mechanism  (the  ‘Interoperable  Europe  Agenda’).  While  the  Regulation  does  not  envisage 
a funding mechanism, it establishes a new dimension of planning across different EU funding 
programmes and relevant national initiatives to increase synergies of digitalisation measures 
in  the  public  sector.  The  Chapter  further  sets  out  the  rules  on monitoring  and  evaluation. 
(Article 19-20) 

Chapter 6 (Final provisions) sets out the costs connected to this proposal and the date of its 
entry into force. (Articles 21-22) 

EN 

13 

  EN 

2022/0379 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

laying down measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union 
(Interoperable Europe Act) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 172 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee34, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions35, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

It  is  necessary  to  strengthen  the  development  of  cross-border  interoperability  of 
network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services 
in  the  Union,  to  allow  public  administrations  in  the  Union  to  cooperate  and  make 
public  services  function  across  borders.  The  existing  informal  cooperation  should  be 
replaced  with  a  clear 
to  enable interoperability  across 
framework 
different administrative  levels  and  sectors  and  to  ensure  seamless  cross-border  data 
flows  for truly  European  digital  services.  Public  sector  interoperability  has  an 
important impact on the right to free movement of goods and services laid down in the 
Treaties,  as  burdensome  administrative  procedures  can  create  significant  obstacles, 
especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’). 

legal 

interconnections  needed  for  a 

(2)  Member  States  and  the  Union  have  been  working  for  more  than  two  decades  to 
support the modernisation of administrations through digital transformation and foster 
the  deep 
truly  European  digital  space.  The 
communication from  the Commission  ‘2030 Digital  Compass: the European way  for 
the  Digital  Decade’  (COM(2021)  118)  underlines  the  need  to  speed  up  the 
digitalisation of public services by 2030, including by ensuring interoperability across 
all  levels  of  government  and  across  public  services.  Furthermore,  the  COVID-19 
pandemic increased the speed of digitalisation, pushing public administrations to adapt 
to the online paradigm, including for cross-border digital public services, as well as for 
the smarter and greener use of technologies in accordance with the climate and energy 
targets  set  in  the  European  Green  Deal  and  the  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1119  of  the 

34 
35 

OJ C [...], [...], p. [...] 
OJ C [...], [...], p. [...] 

EN 

14 

  EN 

                                                 
(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council36.  This  Regulation  aims  to  significantly 
contribute  to  these  Union  goals  by  creating  a  structured  cooperation  framework  on 
cross-border interoperability amongst Member States and the Commission to support 
the setup of digital public services. 

The  new  governance  structure  should  have  a  legal  mandate  to  drive  the  further 
development  of  the  European  Interoperability  Framework  and  other  common 
interoperability  solutions,  such  as  specifications  and  applications.  Furthermore,  this 
Regulation  should  establish a  clear  and  easily  recognisable 
label  for  some 
interoperability  solutions.  The  creation  of  a vibrant  community  around  open 
government technology solutions should be fostered. 

It is in the interest of a coherent approach to public sector interoperability throughout 
the Union, of supporting the principle of good administration and the free movement 
of personal and non-personal data within the Union, to align the rules as far as possible 
for  all  public  sectors  that  are  controllers  or  providers of  network  and  information 
systems  used  to  facilitate  or  manage  public  services.  This  objective  includes  the 
Commission and other institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union, as well as public 
sector  bodies  in  the  Member  States  across  all  levels  of  administration:  national, 
regional  and  local.  Agencies  are  playing  an  important  role  in  collecting  regulatory 
reporting data from Member States. Therefore, the interoperability of this data - should 
also be in scope of this Regulation. 

Cross-border interoperability is not solely enabled via centralised Member State digital 
infrastructures,  but  also  through a decentralised approach. This entails  data exchange 
between  local  administrations  in  different  Member  States  without  necessarily  going 
through national nodes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop common solutions across 
all  administrative  levels,  particularly  for  specifications  and  applications.  Needs  for 
cross-border digital interactions are increasing, which requires solutions that can fulfil 
these  needs.  With  this  Regulation,  the  intention  is  to  facilitate  and  encourage  the 
exchange between all levels of administration. 

Interoperability  facilitates  successful  implementation  of  policies,  in  particular  those 
with a strong public sector connection, such as justice and home affairs, taxation and 
customs, transport, health, agriculture, as well as in business and industry regulation. 
However,  a single  sector  interoperability  perspective  is  associated  with  the  risk  that 
the  adoption  of  different  or  incompatible  solutions  at  national  or  sectoral  levels  will 
give rise to new electronic barriers that impede the proper functioning of the  internal 
market  and the associated freedoms of movement.  Furthermore, it risks  undermining 
the  openness  and  competitiveness  of  markets  and  the  delivery  of  services  of  general 
interest  to  businesses  and  citizens.  Therefore,  this  Regulation  should  also  facilitate, 
encourage and apply to cross-sector interoperability. 

In  order  to  eliminate  fragmentation  in  the  interoperability  landscape  in  the  Union,  a 
common  understanding  of  interoperability  in  the  Union  and  a  holistic  approach  to 
interoperability solutions should be promoted. A structured cooperation should support 
measures  promoting  digital-ready  and  interoperable  by  default  policy  set-up. 
Furthermore,  it  should  promote  the  efficient  management  and  use  of  digital  service 
infrastructures  and  their  respective  components  by  public  sector  bodies  and 

36 

Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing 
the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 
2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1). 

EN 

15 

  EN 

                                                 
(8) 

(9) 

institutions,  bodies  and  agencies  of  the  Union  that  permit  the  establishment  and 
operation of sustainable and efficient cross-border public services. 

To  set  up  cross-border  interoperable  public  services,  it  is  important  to  focus  on  the 
interoperability aspect as early as possible in the policymaking process. Therefore, the 
public organisation that intends to set up a new or to modify an existing network and 
information  system  that  is  likely  result  in  high  impacts  on  the  cross-border 
interoperability,  should  carry  out  an  interoperability  assessment.  This  assessment  is 
necessary to understand the magnitude of impact of the planned action and to propose 
measures  to  reap  up  the  benefits  and  address  potential  costs.  The  interoperability 
assessment  should  be  mandatory  in  three  cases,  which  are  in  scope  for  cross-border 
interoperability.  In  other  situations,  the  public  organisations  may  decide  to  carry  out 
the interoperability assessment on a voluntary basis. 

Under some circumstances it may also be reasonable and economical for the subject of 
an interoperability  assessment to  be broader than a single project,  for  example when 
public sector bodies intend to establish a common application or processing platform. 
In those other cases, the assessment should be strongly encouraged to go beyond the 
achievement of the Interoperable Europe objectives towards a full implementation of 
interoperability. 

(10)  The interoperability assessment should evaluate the impacts of the  planned action on 
cross-border interoperability of network and information system, for example, having 
regard to  the origin,  nature, particularity  and scale of those impacts.  The  outcome of 
that  assessment  should  be  taken  into  account  when  determining  the  appropriate 
measures  that  need  to  be  taken  in  order  to  set  up  or  modify  the  network  and 
information system. 

(11)  The organisation should publish the outcome of the interoperability assessment on its 
website. The publication of the outcome should not compromise intellectual property 
rights  or  trade  secrets,  and  should  be  restricted  where  justified  on  the  grounds  of 
public  order  or  security.  The  provisions  of  Union  law  governing  the  protection  of 
personal data should be observed. 

(12)  Public  sector  bodies  or  institutions,  bodies  or  agencies  of  the  Union  that  search  for 
interoperability solutions should be able to request from other public sector bodies or 
institutions, bodies or agencies of the Union the software code those organisations use, 
together  with the  related documentation.  Sharing  should  become a  default  among 
public  sector  bodies,  and  institutions,  bodies  and  agencies  of  the  Union  while  not 
sharing  would  need a  legal  justification.  In  addition,  public  sector  bodies  or 
to  develop  new 
institutions,  bodies,  or  agencies  of 
interoperability solutions or to further develop existing interoperability solutions. 

the  Union should  seek 

(13)  When  public  administrations  decide  to  share  their  solutions  with  other  public 
administrations or the public, they are acting in the public interest. This is even more 
relevant  for  innovative  technologies:  for  instance,  open  code  makes  algorithms 
transparent  and  allows  for  independent  audits  and  reproducible  building  blocks.  The 
sharing  of  interoperability  solutions  among  public  administration  should  set  the 
conditions  for  the  achievement  of  an  open  ecosystem  of  digital  technologies  for  the 
public sector that can produce multiple benefits. 

(14)  When  monitoring  the  coherence  of  the  interoperability  solutions  and  proposing 
measures  to  ensure  their  compatibility  with  existing  solutions  that  share  a  common 

EN 

16 

  EN 

purpose, the Interoperable Europe Board should take into account the obsolescence of 
solutions. 

(15)  The  European  Interoperability  Framework  (EIF)  should  ensure  coherence  and  be 
recognised as the single point of reference for the Union’s approach to interoperability 
in  the  public  service  sector.  In  addition,  specialised  interoperability  frameworks  can 
address  the  needs  of  specific  sectors,  domains  or  administrative  levels.  Those 
frameworks should further promote the implementation of interoperability solutions. 

(16)  The EIF should be developed by the Interoperability Europe Board, composed, among 
others,  by  one  representative  of  each  Member  State.  The  Member  States,  with  the 
other  members  of  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board,  are  thus  at  the  centre  of  the 
development and implementation of the EIF. The Interoperable Europe Board should 
update the EIF when necessary. 

(17)  The specialised interoperability frameworks issued to complement the EIF should take 
into  account  and  not  prejudice  the  existing  sector-specific  frameworks  developed  at 
the Union level (for example in the health sector). 

(18) 

Interoperability  is  directly  connected  with,  and  dependent  on  the  use  of open 
specifications and standards. Therefore, the Union public sector should be allowed to 
to  promote 
agree  on  cross-cutting  open  specifications  and  other  solutions 
interoperability.  The  new  framework  should  provide  for  a  clear  process  on 
the establishment and promotion of such agreed interoperability solutions in the future. 
This  way,  the  public  sector  will  have a  more  coordinated  voice  to  channel  public 
sector needs and public values into broader discussions. 

(19)  Many interoperability specifications used by the  public sector could  be derived from 
existing  Union  legislation.  Therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  establish  a  link  between all 
specifications for public sector network and information systems that are mandatory to 
use due to Union legal provisions. It is not always easy for implementing authorities to 
find the requirements in the most recent and machine-readable format. A single point 
of entry and clear rules on the metadata of such information should help public sector 
bodies to have their digital service infrastructures comply with the existing and future 
rules. 

(20)  An  Interoperable  Europe  portal  should  be  established  as  a  point  of  reference  for 
interoperability  solutions,  knowledge  and  community.  The  portal  should  be 
established  as  a  link  to  official  sources  but  should  also  be  open  to  input  from  the 
Interoperable Europe Community. 

(21)  The Interoperable Europe portal should make publicly available solutions that follow 
the  EIF  principles  of  openness,  technical  neutrality  and  security.  As  open  source 
enables  users  to  actively  assess  and  inspect  the  interoperability  and  security  of  the 
solutions, 
implementation  of 
interoperability  solutions.  In  this  context,  the  use of  open  source  licences  should  be 
promoted to  enhance  legal  clarity  and  mutual  recognition  of  licences  in  the  Member 
States. 

that  open  source  supports 

is  important 

the 

it 

(22)  At  the  moment,  the  Union’s  public  services  delivered  or  managed  electronically 
depend in many cases on non-Union providers. It is in the Union’s strategic interest to 
ensure  that  it  retains  and  develops  essential  technological  capacities  to  secure  its 
Digital  Single  Market,  and  in  particular  to  ensure  service  delivery,  protect  critical 
network  and  information  systems,  and  to  provide  key  services.  The  Interoperable 
Europe support measures should help public administrations to evolve and be capable 

EN 

17 

  EN 

incorporating  new  challenges  and  new  areas 

of 
in  cross-border  contexts. 
Interoperability  is  a  condition  for  avoiding  technological  lock-in,  enabling  technical 
developments,  and 
the  global 
competitiveness of the Union. 

innovation,  which 

should  boost 

fostering 

(23) 

It is necessary to establish a governance mechanism to facilitate the implementation of 
Union policies in a way that ensures interoperability. This mechanism should focus on 
the interoperable digital implementation of policies once they have been adopted in the 
form  of legal  acts  and should  serve to  develop  interoperability solutions  on a needs-
driven basis. The mechanism should support public sector bodies. Projects to support 
public  sector  bodies  should  be  proposed  by  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board  to  the 
Commission who should decide whether to set up the projects. 

(24)  All  levels  of  government  should  cooperate  with  innovative  organisations,  be  it 
companies  or  non-profit entities,  in  design,  development  and  operation  of  public 
services. Supporting GovTech cooperation between public sector bodies and start-ups 
and  innovative  SMEs,  or  cooperation  mainly  involving  civil  society  organisations 
(‘CivicTech’),  is  an  effective  means  of  supporting  public  sector  innovation  and 
promoting  use  of  interoperability  tools  across  private  and  public  sector  partners. 
Supporting an open GovTech ecosystem in the Union that brings together public and 
private actors across borders and involves different levels of government should allow 
to  develop  innovative  initiatives  aimed  at  the  design  and  deployment  of  GovTech 
interoperability solutions. 

(25) 

(26) 

Identifying shared innovation needs and priorities and focusing common GovTech and 
experimentation efforts across borders would help Union public sector bodies to share 
risks,  lessons  learnt,  and  results  of  innovation  support  projects.  Those  activities  will 
tap in  particular  into  the  Union’s  rich  reservoir  of  technology  start-ups  and  SMEs. 
Successful  GovTech  projects  and  innovation  measures  piloted  by  Interoperable 
Europe innovation measures should help scale up GovTech tools and interoperability 
solutions for reuse. 

for 
Interoperable  Europe  support  measures  could  benefit from safe  spaces 
experimentation, while ensuring responsible innovation and integration of appropriate 
risk  mitigation  measures  and  safeguards.  To  ensure  a  legal  framework  that  is 
innovation-friendly, future-proof and resilient to disruption, it should be made possible 
to  run such projects in regulatory sandboxes.  Regulatory sandboxes should consist  in 
controlled test environments that facilitate the development and testing of innovative 
solutions before such systems are integrated in the network and information systems of 
the  public  sector.  The  objectives  of  the  regulatory  sandboxes  should  be  to  foster 
controlled 
interoperability 
experimentation  and  testing  environment with  a  view to  ensure  alignment  of  the 
solutions with  this  Regulation  and  other  relevant  Union  law  and  Member  States’ 
legislation, to enhance legal certainty for innovators and the competent authorities and 
to increase the understanding of the opportunities, emerging risks and the impacts of 
the  new  solutions. To  ensure  a  uniform  implementation  across  the  Union  and 
economies  of  scale,  it  is  appropriate  to  establish  common  rules  for  the  regulatory 
sandboxes’  implementation.  The  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  may  impose 
administrative  fine  to  Union  institutions  and  bodies  in  the  context  of  regulatory 
sandboxes,  according  to  Article  58(2)(i)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1725  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council. 

solutions by 

establishing 

innovative 

through 

a 

EN 

18 

  EN 

(27) 

(28) 

It is necessary to provide a legal basis for the use of personal data collected for other 
purposes  in  order  to  develop certain  interoperability  solutions in  the  public  interest 
within  the  regulatory  sandbox,  in  accordance  with  Article  6(4)  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Article 6 of Regulation 
(EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Regulation aims 
only at establishing a legal basis for the processing of personal data in the context of 
the regulatory sandbox as such. Any other processing of personal  data falling within 
the scope of this Regulation would require a separate legal basis. 

It  is  necessary  to  enhance a  good  understanding  of  interoperability  issues,  especially 
among  public  sector  employees.  Continuous  training  is  key  in  this  respect  and 
cooperation and coordination on the topic should be encouraged. Beyond trainings on 
Interoperable  Europe solutions,  all  initiatives  should,  where  appropriate,  build  on,  or 
be  accompanied  by,  the  sharing  of  experience  and  solutions  and  the  exchange  and 
promotion of best practices. 

(29)  To  create  a  mechanism  facilitating  a  mutual  learning  process  among  public  sector 
bodies  and  sharing  of  best  practices  in  implementing  Interoperable  Europe  solutions 
across  the  Member  States,  it  is  necessary  lay  down  provisions  on  the  peer  review 
process.  Peer  reviews  can  lead  to  valuable  insights  and  recommendations  for  the 
public  sector  body  undergoing  the  review.  In  particular,  they  could  contribute  to 
facilitating  the  transfer  of  technologies,  tools,  measures  and  processes  among  the 
Member  States  involved  in  the  peer  review.  They  create  a  functional  path  for  the 
sharing  of  best  practices  across  Member  States  with  different  levels  of  maturity  in 
interoperability.  In  order  to  ensure  that  the  peer  review  process  is  cost-effective  and 
produces clear and conclusive results, and also to avoid the placement of unnecessary 
burden,  the  Commission  may  adopt  guidelines  on  the  best  set-up  for  such  peer 
reviews, based on the needs that occur and after consulting the  Interoperable Europe 
Board. 

(30)  To develop the general direction of the Interoperable Europe structured cooperation in 
promoting  the  digital  interconnection  and  interoperability  of  public  services  in  the 
to 
Union  and 
that cooperation,  an  Interoperable  Europe  Board  should  be  established.  The 
Interoperable Europe Board should carry out its tasks taking into consideration cross-
border  interoperability  rules  and  solutions  already  implemented  for  existing  network 
and information systems. 

implementation  activities  related 

to  oversee the  strategic  and 

(31)  Certain Union bodies such as the European Data Innovation Board and the European 
Health  Data  Space  Board  have  been  created  and  tasked  to,  among  others,  enhance 
interoperability  at  specific  domain  or  policy  level.  However,  none  of  the  existing 
bodies  is  tasked  to  address  cross-border  interoperability  of  network  and  information 
systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage  public  services  in  the  Union.  The 
Interoperable  Europe  Board  created  by  this  Regulation  should  support  the  Union 
bodies  working  on  policies,  actions  and  solutions  relevant  for  cross-border 
interoperability  of  network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or 
manage public services in the Union, for example on semantic interoperability for data 
spaces  portability  and  reusability.  The  Interoperable  Europe  Board  should  interact 
with  all  relevant  Union  bodies  in  order  to  ensure  alignment  and  synergies  between 
cross-border interoperability actions and sector specific ones. 

(32)  Advancing  public  sector 

involvement  and 
commitment  of  experts, practitioners,  users  and  the  interested  public  across  Member 

interoperability  needs 

the  active 

EN 

19 

  EN 

States,  across  all  levels  of  government  and  involving  international  partners  and  the 
private  sector.  In  order  to  tap  into  their  expertise,  skills  and  creativity,  a  dedicated 
open  forum  (the  ‘Interoperable  Europe  Community’)  should  help  channel  feedback, 
user  and  operational  needs,  identify  areas  for  further  development  and  help  scope 
priorities for EU interoperability  cooperation. The establishment of the  Interoperable 
Europe  Community  should  support  the  coordination  and  cooperation  between  the 
strategic and operational key players for interoperability. 

(33)  The Interoperable Europe Community should be open to all interested parties. Access 
to the Interoperable Europe Community should be made as easy as possible, avoiding 
unnecessary barriers and burdens. The Interoperable Europe Community should bring 
together public and private stakeholders, including citizens, with expertise in the field 
of  cross-border  interoperability,  coming  from  different  backgrounds,  such  as 
academia,  research  and  innovation, education,  standardisation  and  specifications, 
businesses and public administration at all levels. 

(34)  To  ensure  the  rules  laid  down  by  this  Regulation  are  efficiently  implemented,  it  is 
its 
necessary 
implementation. In  many  Member  States,  some  entities  have  already  the  role  of 
developing  interoperability.  Those  entities  could  take  over  the  role  of  competent 
authority in accordance with this Regulation. 

to  designate  national  competent  authorities 

responsible 

for 

(35)  An  Interoperable  Europe  Agenda  should  be  established  as  the  Union’s  main 
instrument  for  the  coordination  of  public  investments  in  interoperability  solutions.  It 
should  deliver  a  comprehensive  overview  of  funding  possibilities  and  funding 
related 
commitments 
Union programmes.  This  should  contribute  to  creating  synergies  and  coordinating 
financial support related to interoperability development and avoiding duplication. 

integrating  where 

appropriate the 

field, 

the 

in 

(36) 

Information  should  be  collected  in  order  to  assess  the  performance  of  this 
Regulation against  the  objectives  it pursues,  and  in  order  give  feedback  for  an 
evaluation of this Regulation in accordance with paragraph 22 of the Interinstitutional 
Agreement  of  13  April  2016  on  Better  Law-Making37.  Therefore,  the  Commission 
should carry out a monitoring and evaluation of this Regulation. The evaluation should 
be based on the five criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and EU 
value  added.  The  evaluation  should  also  be  the  basis  for  impact  assessments  of 
possible further measures. The monitoring should integrate existing data  sources  and 
monitoring processes. 

(37) 

In  order  to  ensure  uniform  conditions  for  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation, 
implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to set out rules and the 
conditions for the establishment and the operation of the regulatory sandboxes. 

(38)  Since  the  objective  of  this  Regulation,  namely  interoperability  within  public 
administrations on a Union-wide scale, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member 
States, but  can rather, by  reason of its  scale and effects,  be better achieved at  Union 
level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity 
as  set  out  in  Article  5  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union.  In  accordance  with  the 
principle of proportionality as set out in the same Article, this Regulation does not go 
beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objectives of the Treaties, especially 
with regards to the strengthening of the Single Market. 

37 

OJ L 123, 12.5. 2016, p 1. 

EN 

20 

  EN 

                                                 
(39)  The application of this Regulation should be deferred to three months after the date of 
its entry into force in order to provide Member States and the institutions, bodies and 
agencies  of  the  Union  with  sufficient  time  to  prepare  for  the  application  of  this 
Regulation. Such time is necessary to establish the Interoperable Europe Board and the 
Interoperable  Europe  Community  and  for  the  designation  of  national  competent 
authorities and interoperability coordinators. 

(40)  The  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  was  consulted  in  accordance  with  Article 
42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council38 
and delivered an opinion on … 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Chapter 1 
General provisions 

Article 1 

Subject matter and scope 

1. 

2. 

This Regulation lays down measures to promote the cross-border interoperability of 
network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage  public 
the  Union  by establishing  common  rules  and a  framework  for 
services 
coordination on  public  sector  interoperability,  with  the  aim  of  fostering  the 
development of interoperable trans-European digital public services infrastructure. 

in 

This  Regulation  applies  to public  sector  bodies  of  Member  States  and  institutions, 
bodies  and  agencies  of 
that provide  or  manage  network  or 
information systems that  enable  public  services  to  be  delivered  or  managed 
electronically. 

the  Union 

Article 2 

Definitions 

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: 

(1) ‘cross-border interoperability’ means the ability of network and information systems to be 
used by public sector bodies in different Member States and institutions, bodies, and agencies 
of  the  Union  in  order  to  interact  with  each  other  by  sharing  data  by  means  of  electronic 
communication; 

(2) ‘network and information system’ means a network and information system as defined in 
Article  4,  point  (1), of  the  proposal  for  a  Directive  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council on  measures  for  a  high  common  level  of  cybersecurity  across  the  Union,  repealing 
Directive (EU) 2016/1148 [proposal NIS 2]; 

(3) ‘interoperability solution’ means a technical specification, including a standard, or another 
solution,  including  conceptual  frameworks,  guidelines  and  applications,  describing legal, 
organisational,  semantic  or  technical  requirements  to  be  fulfilled  by  a network  and 
information system in order to enhance cross-border interoperability; 

38 

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the  processing of personal data by the Union institutions, 
bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39). 

EN 

21 

  EN 

                                                 
(4)  ‘public  sector  body’  means  a  public  sector  body  as  defined  in  Article  2,  point  (1),  of 
Directive (EU) 2019/1024; 

(5)  ‘data’  means  data  as  defined  in Article  2,  point  (1),  of  Regulation  (EU)  2022/868  on 
European  data  governance  and  amending  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1724  (Data  Governance 
Act)39; 

(6) ‘machine-readable format’ means a machine-readable format as defined in Article 2, point 
(13), of Directive (EU) 2019/1024; 

(7)  ‘GovTech’  means  a  technology-based  cooperation  between  public  and  private  sector 
actors supporting public sector digital transformation; 

(8)  ‘standard’  means  a  standard  as  defined  in  Article  2,  point  (1),  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council40; 

(9)  ‘highest  level  of  management’  means  a  manager,  management  or  coordination  and 
oversight  body  at  the  most  senior  administrative  level,  taking  account  of  the  high-level 
governance arrangements in each institution, body or agency of the Union. 

Article 3 

Interoperability assessment 

1. 

Where a public sector body or an institution, an agency or body of the Union intends 
to  set  up  a  new  or  significantly  modify  an  existing network  and information 
system that enables public services to be delivered or managed electronically, it shall 
carry  out  an  assessment of  the  impacts  of  the  planned  action on  cross-border 
interoperability (‘interoperability assessment’) in the following cases: 

(a)  where  the  intended  set-up  or  modification  affects  one  or  more  network  and 
cross-border 
for 

provision 

information 
services across several sectors or administrations; 

systems 

used 

the 

of 

(b)  where  the  intended  set-up  or  modification  will  most  likely  result  in 
procurements for network  and  information  systems  used  for  the  provision  of 
cross-border  services  above 
in  Article  4 of 
Directive 2014/24/EU; 

threshold  set  out 

the 

(c)  where 

the 

intended  set-up  or  modification  concerns  a  network  and 
information system used for the provision of cross-border services and funded 
through Union programmes. 

2. 

39 

40 

The  public  sector  body  or  the  institution,  body  or  agency  of  the  Union  concerned 
may also carry out the interoperability assessment in other cases. 

The  interoperability  assessment shall  be  carried  out  before  taking  decisions  on  the 
legal,  organisational,  semantic  or  technical  requirements  for  the  new  or  modified 
network  and information  system  in  a  binding  manner. A  single  interoperability 

Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on European 
data  governance  and  amending  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1724  (Data  Governance  Act)  (OJ  L  152, 
03.06.2022, p. 1). 
Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on 
European  standardisation,  amending  Council  Directives  89/686/EEC  and  93/15/EEC  and  Directives 
94/9/EC,  94/25/EC,  95/16/EC,  97/23/EC,  98/34/EC,  2004/22/EC,  2007/23/EC,  2009/23/EC  and 
2009/105/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and  repealing  Council  Decision 
87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 316, 
14.11.2012, p. 12). 

EN 

22 

  EN 

                                                 
assessment may be carried out to address a set of requirements and several network 
and information systems. 

The public  sector  body  or  the  institution,  body  or  agency  of  the  Union  concerned 
shall publish a report presenting the outcome of the interoperability assessment on its 
website. 

3. 

The  national  competent  authorities and  the  interoperability  coordinators  shall 
provide the  necessary  support  to  carry  out  the  interoperability  assessment.  The 
Commission may provide technical tools to support the assessment. 

4. 

The interoperability assessment shall contain at least: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

a description  of  the  intended  operation  and  its  impacts  on  the  cross-border 
interoperability of one or several network and information systems concerned, 
including  the  estimated  costs  for  the  adaptation  of  the  network  and 
information systems concerned; 

a description of the level of alignment of the network and information systems 
concerned with 
the 
Interoperable Europe solutions, after the  operation and where it has improved 
compared to the level of alignment before the operation; 

the  European  Interoperability  Framework, and  with 

a description of the Application Programming Interfaces that enable machine-
to-machine  interaction  with the  data  considered  relevant  for  cross-border 
exchange with other network and information systems. 

The public sector body, or institution, body or agency of the Union concerned shall 
consult  recipients  of  the  services  affected  or  their  representatives  on  the  intended 
operation if it directly affects the recipients. This consultation is without prejudice to 
the protection of commercial or public interests or the security of such systems. 

The  Interoperable  Europe  Board  shall  adopt  guidelines  on  the  content  of  the 
interoperability assessment by ... at the latest [one  year after the entry into force of 
this Regulation], including practical check lists. 

5. 

6. 

Share and reuse of interoperability solutions between public sector bodies, institutions, 
bodies and agencies of the Union 

Article 4 

1. 

A  public  sector  body  or an  institution,  body  or  agency  of  the  Union  shall make 
available  to  any  other  such  entity  that requests  it,  interoperability  solutions  that 
support  the  public  services  that  it  delivers  or  manages  electronically.  The 
shared content shall include  the  technical  documentation  and, where  applicable, the 
documented  source  code. This  obligation  to  share  shall not  apply  to  any  of  the 
following interoperability solutions: 

(a) 

that  support processes  which fall outside  the  scope  of  the  public  task  of  the 
public sector bodies or institutions, bodies, or agencies of the Union concerned 
as defined by law or by other binding rules, or, in the absence of such rules, as 
defined  in  accordance  with  common  administrative  practice  in  the  Member 
State  or  Union  administrations in  question,  provided  that  the  scope  of  the 
public tasks is transparent and subject to review; 

(b) 

for  which  third  parties  hold  intellectual  property  rights  and  do  not  allow 
sharing; 

EN 

23 

  EN 

(c) 

access to which is excluded or restricted on grounds of: 

(i) 

sensitive  critical  infrastructure  protection  related  information  as  defined 
in Article 2, point (d) of Council Directive 2008/114/EC41; 

(ii) 

the protection of defence interests, or public security. 

To  enable  the  reusing  entity  to  manage  the  interoperability  solution  autonomously, 
the  sharing  entity  shall  specify  the  guarantees  that  will  be  provided  to  the  reusing 
entity  in  terms  of  cooperation,  support  and  maintenance.  Before  adopting  the 
interoperability  solution,  the  reusing  entity  shall  provide  to  the  sharing  entity  an 
assessment  of  the  solution  covering  its  ability  to  manage  autonomously  the 
cybersecurity and the evolution of the reused interoperability solution. 

The  obligation  in paragraph  1 of  this  Article  may be  fulfilled by  publishing  the 
relevant  content  on  the  Interoperable  Europe  portal or  a  portal,  catalogue  or 
repository connected to the Interoperable Europe portal. In that case, paragraph 2 of 
this Article shall not apply to the sharing entity. The publication on the Interoperable 
European  portal  shall  be  made  by  the  Commission,  at  the  request  of  the  sharing 
entity. 

A  public  sector  body,  an  institution,  body  or  agency  of  the  Union  or  a  third  party 
using an interoperability solution may adapt it to its own needs. If the interoperability 
solution  was  made  public  as  set  out  in  paragraph  3,  the  adapted  interoperability 
solution shall be made public in the same way. 

The sharing and reusing entities may conclude an agreement on sharing the costs for 
future developments of the interoperability solution. 

Chapter 2 
Interoperability solutions 

Article 5 

General principles 

The  Commission  shall  publish  Interoperable  Europe  solutions  and  the  European 
Interoperability Framework on the Interoperable Europe portal , by electronic means, 
in  formats  that  are  open,  machine-readable,  accessible42,  findable  and  re-usable,  if 
applicable, together with their metadata. 

The Interoperable Europe Board shall monitor the overall coherence of the developed 
or  recommended  interoperability solutions,  and  propose  measures  to  ensure,  where 
appropriate,  their  compatibility  with  other  interoperability  solutions  that  share  a 
common  purpose,  while  supporting,  where  relevant,  the  complementarity  with  or 
transition to new technologies. 

European Interoperability Framework and specialised interoperability frameworks 

Article 6 

Council Directive 2008/114/EC of 8 December 2008 on the identification and designation of European 
critical  infrastructures  and  the  assessment  of  the  need  to  improve  their  protection  (OJ  L  345, 
23.12.2008, p. 75). 
Directive  (EU)  2019/882  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  April  2019  on  the 
accessibility requirements for products and services (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 
70–115). 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

41 

42 

EN 

24 

  EN 

                                                 
1. 

2. 

3. 

The  Interoperable  Europe  Board  shall  develop  a  European  Interoperability 
Framework (EIF)43 and propose to the Commission to adopt it. The Commission may 
adopt the EIF. The Commission shall publish the EIF in the Official Journal of the 
European Union. 

The EIF shall provide a model and a set of recommendations on legal, organisational, 
semantic  and  technical  interoperability,  addressed  to  all  entities  falling  within  the 
scope  of  this  Regulation  for  interacting  with  each  other  through  their  network  and 
information  systems.  The  EIF  shall  be  taken  into  account  in  the  interoperability 
assessment in accordance with Article 3(4), point (b) and Article 3(6). 

The Commission, after consulting the Interoperable Europe Board, may adopt other 
interoperability frameworks (‘specialised interoperability frameworks’) targeting the 
needs  of  specific  sectors  or  administrative  levels.  The  specialised  interoperability 
frameworks shall be based on the EIF. The Interoperable Europe Board shall assess 
the alignment  of  the  specialised  interoperability  frameworks  with  the  EIF.  The 
Commission  shall  publish  the  specialised  interoperability  frameworks  on  the 
Interoperable Europe portal. 

4. 

Where  a  Member  State  develops  a  national  interoperability  framework  and  other 
relevant national policies, strategies or guidelines, it shall take into account the EIF. 

Article 7 

Interoperable Europe solutions 

The  Interoperable  Europe  Board  shall  recommend interoperability  solutions  for the cross-
border  interoperability  of  network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or 
manage  public  services  to  be  delivered  or  managed  electronically  in  the  Union. When  an 
interoperability solution is recommended by the Interoperable Europe Board, it shall carry the 
label  ‘Interoperable  Europe  solution’  and  shall  be  published  on  the  Interoperable  Europe 
portal. 

Article 8 

Interoperable Europe portal 

1. 

The Commission shall provide a portal (‘the Interoperable Europe portal’) as a single 
point of entry for information related to cross-border interoperability of network and 
information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage  public  services  to  be 
delivered  or  managed  electronically in  the  Union.  The  portal  shall be  electronically 
accessible and free of charge. The portal shall have at least the following functions: 

(a) 

(b) 

access to Interoperable Europe solutions; 

access  to  other  interoperability  solutions  not  bearing  the  label  ‘Interoperable 
Europe  solution’  and  provided  for  by  other  Union policies  or  fulfilling  the 
requirements set out in Paragraph 2; 

(c) 

access  to  ICT  technical  specifications  eligible  for  referencing  in  accordance 
with Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012; 

43 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  European  Interoperability 
Framework – Implementation Strategy, COM/2017/0134 final. 

EN 

25 

  EN 

                                                 
(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

access  to  information  on  processing  of  personal  data  in  the  context  of 
regulatory  sandboxes  referred  to  in  Articles  11  and  12,  if  any  high  risks  to 
the rights  and freedoms  of the data subjects, as  referred to  in  Article 35(1) of 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  and  in  Article  39  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1725, 
has been identified, as well as access to information on response mechanisms 
to  promptly  mitigate  those  risks.  The  published  information  may  include  a 
disclosure of the data protection impact assessment; 

fostering  knowledge  exchange between  members  of  the  Interoperable  Europe 
Community,  as  set  out  in  Article  16,  such  as providing  a  feedback  system to 
express  their  views on  measures  proposed  by  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board 
or express their interest to participate to actions related to the implementation 
of this Regulation; 

access to interoperability-related monitoring data referred to in Article 20; 

allowing  citizens  and  civil  society  organisations  to  provide  feedback  on  the 
published content. 

2. 

The  Interoperable  Europe  Board may propose  to  the  Commission  to  publish  on  the 
portal other interoperability solutions or to have them referred to on the portal. Such 
solutions shall: 

(a) 

not  be  subject  to  third  party  rights  or  contain  personal  data  or  confidential 
information; 

(b)  have a high-level of alignment with the Interoperable Europe solutions which 
may be  proven  by  publishing the  outcome  of  the  interoperability  assessment 
referred to in Article 3; 

(c) 

use  a  licence  that  allows  at  least  for  the  reuse  by other  public  sector  bodies 
or institutions, bodies or agencies of the Union or be issued as open source. An 
open  source  licence  means  a  licence  whereby  the  reuse  of  the  software  is 
permitted for  all specified uses in  a unilateral  declaration by the  right  holder, 
and where the source codes of the software are made available for users; 

(d)  be  regularly  maintained  under  the  responsibility  of  the  owner  of  the 

interoperability solution. 

When a public sector body or an institution, body or agency of the Union provides a 
portal,  catalogue  or  repository  with  similar  functions,  it  shall  take  the  necessary 
measures to ensure interoperability with the Interoperable Europe portal. Where such 
portals collect  open  source  solutions,  they  shall  allow  for  the  use  of  the  European 
Union Public Licence. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  guidelines  on  interoperability  for  other  portals with 
similar functions as referred to in paragraph 3. 

Chapter 3 
Interoperable Europe support measures 

Article 9 

Policy implementation support projects 

The Interoperable Europe Board may propose to the Commission to set up projects to 
support public sector bodies in the digital implementation of Union policies ensuring 
the cross-border interoperability of network and information systems which are used 

3. 

4. 

1. 

EN 

26 

  EN 

to  provide  or  manage  public 
electronically (‘policy implementation support project’). 

services 

to  be  delivered  or  managed 

2. 

The policy implementation support project shall set out: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  existing Interoperable  Europe  solutions  deemed  necessary  for  the  digital 
implementation of the policy requirements; 

any  missing  interoperability  solutions  to  be  developed, deemed  necessary  for 
the digital implementation of the policy requirements; 

(c) 

other recommended support measures, such as trainings or peer-reviews. 

The Commission shall set out, after consulting the Interoperable Europe Board, the 
scope, the timeline, the needed involvement of sectors and administrative levels and 
the  working  methods  of  the  support  project.  If  the  Commission  has  already 
performed  and  published  an  interoperability  assessment,  in  accordance  with Article 
3,  the  outcome  of  that  assessment  shall  be taken  into  account  when  setting  up  the 
support project. 

In  order  to  reinforce  the  policy  implementation  support  project,  the  Interoperable 
Europe Board may propose to establish a regulatory sandbox as referred to in Article 
11. 

The outcome of a policy implementation  support project  as well  as interoperability 
solutions developed in the project shall be openly available and made public on the 
Interoperable Europe Portal. 

Article 10 

Innovation measures 

The  Interoperable  Europe  Board may  propose  to  the  Commission  to  set  up 
innovation  measures  to  support  the  development  and  uptake  of  innovative 
interoperability solutions in the EU (‘innovation measures’). 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

Innovation measures shall: 

3. 

4. 

1. 

(a) 

contribute  to  the  development  of  existing  or  new  Interoperable  Europe 
solutions; 

(b) 

involve GovTech actors. 

In  order  to  support  the  development  of  innovation  measures,  the  Interoperable 
Europe Board may propose to set up a regulatory sandbox. 

The Commission  shall  make  the  results  from  the  innovation  measures  openly 
available on the Interoperable Europe portal. 

Article 11 

Establishment of regulatory sandboxes 

Regulatory  sandboxes shall  provide  a  controlled  environment  for  the  development, 
testing  and  validation  of innovative  interoperability  solutions  supporting  the  cross-
border  interoperability  of  network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to 
provide  or  manage  public  services  to  be  delivered  or  managed  electronically for  a 
limited period of time before putting them into service. 

EN 

27 

  EN 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

Regulatory sandboxes shall be operated under the responsibility of the participating 
public sector bodies and, where the sandbox entails  the processing of personal  data 
by public sector bodies, under the supervision of other relevant national authorities, 
or where the sandbox entails the processing of personal data by institutions, bodies, 
and agencies of the Union, under the responsibility of the European Data Protection 
Supervisor. 

The  establishment  of  a regulatory  sandbox as  set  out  in paragraph  1  shall  aim  to 
contribute to the following objectives: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

foster  innovation and  facilitate  the  development  and  roll-out  of  innovative 
digital interoperability solutions for public services; 

facilitate cross-border cooperation between national competent authorities and 
synergies in public service delivery; 

facilitate the development of an open European GovTech ecosystem, including 
cooperation with small and medium enterprises and start-ups; 

enhance  authorities’  understanding  of  the  opportunities  or barriers to  cross-
border interoperability of innovative interoperability solutions, including legal 
barriers; 

(e) 

contribute to the development or update of Interoperable Europe solutions. 

The  establishment  of  regulatory  sandboxes  shall  contribute  to  improving  legal 
certainty through cooperation with the authorities involved in the regulatory sandbox 
with  a  view  to  ensuring  compliance  with  this  Regulation  and,  where  appropriate, 
with other Union and Member States legislation. 

The  Commission,  after  consulting  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board  and,  where  the 
regulatory sandbox would include the processing of personal data, the European Data 
Protection Supervisor, shall upon joint request from at least three participating public 
sector bodies authorise the establishment of a regulatory sandbox. This consultation 
should not replace the prior consultation referred to in Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 
2016/679 and in Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Where the sandbox is set 
up  for  interoperability  solutions  supporting  the  cross-border  interoperability  of 
network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage  public 
services to be delivered or managed electronically by one or more institutions, bodies 
or agencies of the Union, eventually with the participation of public sector bodies, no 
authorisation is needed. 

Article 12 

Participation in the regulatory sandboxes 

The participating public sector bodies shall ensure that, to the extent the innovative 
interoperability  solution  involves  the  processing  of  personal  data  or  otherwise  falls 
under  the  supervisory  remit  of  other  national  authorities  providing  or  supporting 
access  to  data,  the  national  data  protection  authorities  and  those  other  national 
authorities are associated to the operation of the regulatory sandbox. As appropriate, 
the participating public sector bodies may allow for the involvement in the regulatory 
sandbox of other actors within the GovTech ecosystem such as national or European 
standardisation  organisations,  notified  bodies,  research  and  experimentation  labs, 
innovation  hubs,  and  companies  wishing  to  test  innovative  interoperability 

EN 

28 

  EN 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

solutions. Cooperation  may  also  be  envisaged  with  third  countries  establishing 
mechanisms to support innovative interoperability solutions for the public sector. 

Participation in the regulatory sandbox shall be limited to a period that is appropriate 
to  the  complexity  and  scale  of  the  project,  and  in  any  case  not  longer  than  2 
years from  the  establishment  of  the  regulatory  sandbox.  The  participation  may  be 
extended  for  up  to  one more  year  if  necessary  to  achieve  the  purpose  of  the 
processing. 

Participation  in  the regulatory sandbox shall be based on a specific plan elaborated 
by  the  participants taking  into  account  the  advice  of  other  national  competent 
authorities or the European Data Protection Supervisor, as applicable. The plan shall 
contain as a minimum the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

description  of  the  participants involved  and  their  roles,  the  envisaged 
innovative  interoperability  solution and  its  intended  purpose,  and  relevant 
development, testing and validation process; 

the  specific  regulatory  issues  at  stake  and  the  guidance  that  is  expected  from 
the authorities supervising the regulatory sandbox; 

the  specific  modalities  of  the  collaboration  between  the  participants and  the 
authorities, as well as any other actor involved in the regulatory sandbox; 

a risk management and monitoring mechanism to identify, prevent and mitigate 
any risk; 

the key milestones to be completed by the participants for the interoperability 
solution to be considered ready to be put into service; 

(f) 

evaluation and reporting requirements and possible follow-up; 

(g)  where personal data are processed, an indication of the categories of personal 
data concerned, the purposes of the processing for which the personal data are 
intended and the actors involved in the processing and their role. 

The  participation  in  the  regulatory  sandboxes  shall  not  affect  the  supervisory  and 
corrective powers of any authorities supervising the sandbox. 

Participants in the regulatory sandbox shall remain liable under applicable Union law 
and  Member  States  legislation  on  liability  for  any  damage  caused  in  the  course  of 
their participation in the regulatory sandbox. 

Personal  data  may  be  processed  in  the  regulatory  sandbox  subject  to  the  following 
cumulative conditions: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the  innovative  interoperability  solution  is developed  for  safeguarding  public 
interests  in  the  area  of a  high  level  of  efficiency  and  quality  of  public 
administration and public services; 

the  data  processed  is limited  to  what  is  necessary  for the  functioning  of 
the interoperability solution  to  be developed or tested in  the sandbox, and the 
functioning cannot  be  effectively  achieved  by  processing  anonymised, 
synthetic or other non-personal data; 

there  are  effective  monitoring  mechanisms  to  identify  if  any  high  risks  to 
the rights  and freedoms  of the data subjects, as  referred to  in  Article 35(1) of 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  and  in  Article  39  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1725, 
may  arise  during  the  operation  of  the  sandbox,  as  well  as  a  response 

EN 

29 

  EN 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

mechanism  to  promptly  mitigate  those  risks  and,  where  necessary,  stop  the 
processing; 

any  personal  data  to  be  processed  are  in  a  functionally  separate,  isolated  and 
protected data processing environment under the control of the participants and 
only authorised persons have access to that data; 

any personal data processed are not to be transmitted, transferred or otherwise 
accessed by other parties that are not participants in the sandbox nor transferred 
to parties other than the participants of the sandbox; 

any processing of personal data does not affect the application of the rights of 
the data subjects as provided for under Union law on the protection of personal 
data, in particular in Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 24 of 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725; 

any  personal  data  processed  are  protected  by  means  of  appropriate  technical 
and organisational measures and deleted once the participation in the sandbox 
has terminated or the personal data has reached the end of its retention period; 

the  logs  of  the  processing  of  personal  data  are  kept  for  the  duration  of  the 
participation in the sandbox and for a limited period after its termination solely 
for  the  purpose  of  and  only  as  long  as  necessary  for  fulfilling  accountability 
and documentation obligations under Union or Member States legislation; 

a complete  and  detailed  description  of  the  process  and  rationale  behind  the 
training, testing and validation of the interoperability solution is kept together 
with the testing results as part of the technical documentation and transmitted 
to the Interoperable Europe Board; 

a short summary of the interoperability solution developed in  the sandbox, its 
objectives  and  expected  results  are  made  available  on  the  Interoperable 
Europe portal. 

The participating public sector bodies shall submit periodic reports and a final report 
to  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board  and  the  Commission  on  the  results  from  the 
regulatory sandboxes, including good practices, lessons learnt and recommendations 
on their setup and, where relevant, on the development of this Regulation and other 
Union  legislation  supervised  within  the  regulatory  sandbox.  The  Interoperable 
Europe  Board  shall  issue  an  opinion  to  the  Commission  on  the  outcome  of  the 
regulatory 
to 
implement new interoperability solutions to promote the cross-border interoperability 
of  network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage  public 
services to be delivered or managed electronically. 

specifying,  where  applicable, 

the actions  needed 

sandbox, 

The  Commission  shall  ensure  that  information  on  the  regulatory  sandboxes  is 
available on the Interoperable Europe portal. 

The  Commission  is  empowered  to  adopt  implementing  acts to  set  out  the detailed 
rules  and  the  conditions  for  the  establishment  and  the  operation  of  the  regulatory 
sandboxes, including the eligibility criteria and the procedure for the application for, 
selection  of,  participation  in  and  exiting  from  the  sandbox,  and  the  rights  and 
obligations of the participants. 

Where  a  regulatory  sandbox  involves  the  use  of  artificial  intelligence,  the  rules  set 
out  under  Article  53  and  54  of  the  [proposal  for  a]  Regulation  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

EN 

30 

  EN 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

(Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain Union legislative acts shall prevail 
in case of conflict with the rules set out by the Regulation. 

Article 13 

Training 

The Commission, assisted by the Interoperable Europe Board, shall provide training 
material  on the use of the  EIF and on  Interoperable Europe solutions.  Public sector 
bodies  and institutions,  bodies  and  agencies  of  the  Union  shall  provide  their  staff 
entrusted  with  strategical  or  operational  tasks  having  an impact on  network  and 
information systems in the Union with appropriate training programmes concerning 
interoperability issues. 

The Commission  shall organise training courses on interoperability issues at  Union 
level to enhance cooperation and the exchange of best practices between the staff of 
public sector bodies, institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union. The courses shall 
be announced on the Interoperable Europe portal. 

Article 14 

Peer reviews 

A mechanism for cooperation between public sector bodies designed to support them 
to  implement Interoperable  Europe  solutions  in  their  network  and  information 
systems  and  to  help  them  perform  the  interoperability  assessments  referred  to  in 
Article 3 (‘peer review’) shall be established. 

The peer review shall be conducted by interoperability experts drawn from Member 
States  other  than  the  Member  State  where  the  public  sector  body  undergoing  the 
review  is  located.  The  Commission  may,  after  consulting  the  Interoperable 
Europe Board, adopt guidelines on the methodology and content of the peer-review. 

Any  information  obtained  through  a peer  review shall  be  used  solely  for  that 
purpose. The experts participating in the peer review shall not disclose any sensitive 
or confidential information obtained in the course of that review to third parties. The 
Member State concerned shall ensure that any risk of conflict of interests concerning 
the  designated  experts  is  communicated  to  the  other  Member  States  and the 
Commission without undue delay. 

The experts conducting the peer review shall prepare and present within one month 
after  the  end  of  the  peer  review  a  report  and  submit  it  to  the  public  sector  body 
concerned and to the Interoperable Europe Board. The reports shall be published on 
the  Interoperable  Europe  portal  when authorised  by  the Member  State  where  the 
public sector body undergoing the review is located. 

Chapter 4 
Governance of cross-border interoperability 

Article 15 

Interoperable Europe Board 

1. 

The Interoperable Europe Board is established. It shall facilitate strategic cooperation 
and  the  exchange  of  information  on cross-border  interoperability  of  network  and 

EN 

31 

  EN 

information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage  public  services  to  be 
delivered or managed electronically in the Union. 

2. 

The Interoperable Europe Board shall be composed of: 

(a) 

one representative of each Member State; 

(b)  one representative designated by each of the following: 

(i) 

the Commission; 

(ii) 

the Committee of the Regions; 

(iii) 

the European Economic and Social Committee. 

3. 

The  Board  shall  be  chaired  by  the  Commission.  Countries  participating  in  the 
European  Economic  Area  and  candidate  countries  may be  invited  as  observers. In 
addition, the Chair may give the status of observer to individuals and organisations 
after  consultation  with  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board.  The  Chair  may invite  to 
participate, on an ad hoc basis, experts with specific competence in a subject on the 
agenda.  The  Commission  shall  provide  the  secretariat  of  the  Interoperable  Europe 
Board. 

The  members  of  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board  shall  make  every  effort  to  adopt 
decisions  by  consensus.  In  the  event  of  a  vote,  the  outcome  of  the  vote  shall  be 
decided  by  simple  majority  of  the  component  members.  The  members  who  have 
voted against or abstained shall have the right to have a document summarising the 
reasons for their position annexed to the opinions, recommendations or reports. 

4. 

The Interoperable Europe Board shall have the following tasks: 

(a) 

(b) 

support  the  implementation  of  national  interoperability  frameworks  and  other 
relevant national policies, strategies or guidelines; 

adopt guidelines on the content of the interoperability assessment referred to in 
Article 3(6); 

(c) 

propose measures to foster the share and reuse of interoperable solutions; 

(d)  monitor 

the  overall  coherence  of 

the  developed  or 

recommended 

interoperability solutions; 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

propose  to  the  Commission  measures  to  ensure,  where  appropriate,  the 
compatibility of interoperability solutions with other interoperability solutions 
that  share  a  common  purpose,  while  supporting,  where  relevant,  the 
complementarity with or transition to new technologies; 

develop the EIF and update it, if necessary, and propose it to the Commission; 

assess  the  alignment  of  the  specialised  interoperability  frameworks  with  the 
EIF  and  answer  the  request  of  consultation  from  the  Commission  on  those 
frameworks; 

(h) 

recommend Interoperable Europe solutions; 

(i) 

propose  to  the  Commission  to  publish  on  the  Interoperable  Europe  portal  the 
interoperability solutions referred to in Article 8(2), or to have them referred to 
on the portal; 

EN 

32 

  EN 

(j) 

(k) 

(l) 

propose  to  the  Commission  to  set  up  policy  implementation  support 
projects and innovation  measures  and  other  measures  that  the  Interoperable 
Europe Community may propose; 

review reports from innovation measures, on the use of the regulatory sandbox 
and on the peer reviews and propose follow-up measures, if necessary; 

propose  measures  to  enhance  interoperability  capabilities  of  public  sector 
bodies, such as trainings; 

(m)  adopt the Interoperable Europe Agenda; 

(n)  provide  advice  to  the  Commission  on the monitoring  and  reporting  on  the 

application of this Regulation; 

(o)  propose  measures  to  relevant  standardisation  organisations  and  bodies  to 
contribute  to  European  standardisation  activities,  in  particular  through  the 
procedures set out in Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012; 

(p)  propose measures to collaborate with international bodies that could contribute 
to the development of the cross-border interoperability, especially international 
communities  on  open  source  solutions,  open  standards  or  specifications  and 
other platforms without legal effects; 

(q) 

(r) 

coordinate with the European Data Innovation Board, referred to in Regulation 
(EU) No 2022/686 on interoperability solutions for the common European Data 
Spaces,  as  well  as  with  any  other  Union  institution,  body,  or  agency  of  the 
Union working on interoperability solutions relevant for the public sector; 

inform regularly and coordinate with the interoperability coordinators and the 
Interoperable  Europe  Community  on  matters  concerning  cross-border 
interoperability of network and information systems. 

5. 

The  Interoperable  Europe  Board  may set  up  working  groups  to  examine  specific 
points  related  to  the  tasks  of  the  Board.  Working  groups  shall  involve  members  of 
the Interoperable Europe Community. 

6. 

The Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt its own rules of procedure. 

Article 16 

Interoperable Europe Community 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The Interoperable  Europe  Community is  established.  It  shall  contribute  to  the 
activities of the Interoperable Europe Board by providing expertise and advice. 

Public  and  private  stakeholders  residing  or  having  their  registered  office  in  a 
Member  State may  register on  the  Interoperable  Europe  portal as  a  member of  the 
Interoperable Europe Community. 

After confirmation of the registration, the membership status shall be made public on 
the  Interoperable  Europe  portal.  Membership  shall  not  be  limited  in  time.  It may 
time  for 
however  be  revoked  by 
proportionate and  justified  reasons,  especially  if  a  person  is  no  longer  able  to 
contribute  to  the  Interoperable  Europe  Community  or  has  abused  its  status  as  a 
member of the Community. 

the  Interoperable  Europe  Board at  any 

The  members  of  the  Interoperable  Europe  Community  may  be  invited  to  among 
other: 

EN 

33 

  EN 

(a) 

contribute to the content of the Interoperable Europe portal; 

(b)  participate in the working groups; 

(c) 

participate in the peer reviews. 

The Interoperable Europe Board shall organise once a year an online assembly of the 
Interoperable Europe Community. 

The Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt the code of conduct for the Interoperable 
Europe Community that shall be published on the Interoperable Europe portal. 

Article 17 

National competent authorities 

By  ...  at  the  latest  [the  date  of  application  of  this  Regulation],  each  Member  State 
shall designate one or more competent authorities as responsible for the application 
of this Regulation. Member States may designate an existing authority to that effect. 

5. 

6. 

1. 

2. 

The competent authority shall have the following tasks: 

(a) 

appoint a member to the Interoperable Europe Board; 

(b) 

coordinate within the Member State all questions related to this Regulation; 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

support public sector bodies within the Member State to  set  up or adapt their 
processes to do interoperability assessment referred to in Article 3; 

the  share  and  reuse  of 

foster 
Interoperable Europe portal or other relevant portal; 

interoperability  solutions 

through 

the 

contribute with country-specific knowledge to the Interoperable Europe portal; 

coordinate and encourage the active involvement of a diverse range of national 
entities  in  the  Interoperable  Europe  Community  and  their  participation  in 
policy  implementation  support  projects  as  referred  to  in Article  9 and 
innovation measures referred to in Article 10; 

support public sector bodies in the Member State to cooperate with the relevant 
public  sector  bodies  in  other  Member  States  on  topics  covered  by this 
Regulation. 

The  Member  States  shall  ensure 
the  competent  authority has adequate 
that 
competencies  and  resources  to  carry  out,  in  an  effective  and  efficient  manner,  the 
tasks assigned to it. 

The  Member  States  shall  set  up  the  necessary  cooperation  structures  between  all 
national authorities 
this Regulation. 
Those structures may build on existing mandates and processes in the field. 

implementation 

involved 

the 

of 

in 

Each  Member  State  shall  notify  to  the  Commission,  without  undue  delay,  the 
designation of the competent authority, its tasks, and any subsequent change thereto, 
and inform the Commission of other national authorities involved in the oversight of 
the interoperability policy. Each Member State shall make public the designation of 
their  competent  authority.  The  Commission  shall  publish  the  list  of  the  designated 
competent authorities. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

EN 

34 

  EN 

1. 

2. 

1. 

Article 18 

Interoperability coordinators for institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union 

All  institutions,  bodies  and  agencies  of  the  Union  that  provide  or  manage  network 
and information systems that  enable  public  services  to  be  delivered  or  managed 
electronically  shall  designate  an  interoperability  coordinator  under  the  oversight  of 
its highest level of management to ensure the contribution to the implementation of 
this Regulation. 

The interoperability coordinator shall support the concerned departments to set up or 
adapt their processes to implement the interoperability assessment.  

Chapter 5 
Interoperable Europe planning and monitoring 

Article 19 

Interoperable Europe Agenda 

After  organising  a  public  consultation  process  through  the  Interoperable  Europe 
portal  that  involves,  among  others,  the  members  of  the  Interoperable  Europe 
Community, the Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt each year a strategic agenda 
to plan and coordinate priorities for the development of cross-border interoperability 
of  network  and  information  systems  which  are  used  to  provide  or  manage  public 
services to be delivered or managed electronically. (‘Interoperable Europe Agenda’). 
The  Interoperable  Europe  Agenda  shall  take  into  account  the  Union’s  long-term 
strategies for digitalisation, existing Union funding programmes and ongoing Union 
policy implementation. 

2. 

The Interoperable Europe Agenda shall contain: 

(a) 

needs for the development of interoperability solutions; 

(b) 

a list of ongoing and planned Interoperable Europe support measures; 

(c) 

(d) 

a list of proposed follow-up actions to innovation measures; 

identification of synergies with other relevant Union and national programmes 
and initiatives. 

The Interoperable Europe Agenda shall not constitute financial obligations. After its 
adoption,  the  Commission  shall  publish  the  Agenda  on  the  Interoperable  Europe 
portal. 

Article 20 

Monitoring and evaluation 

The  Commission  shall  monitor  the  progress  of  the  development  of  cross-border 
interoperable public services to be delivered or managed electronically in the Union. 
The  monitoring  shall  give  priority  to  the  reuse  of  existing  international,  Union and 
national monitoring data and to automated data collection. 

As regards topics of specific interest for the implementation of this Regulation, the 
Commission shall monitor: 

(a) 

the implementation of the EIF by the Member States; 

3. 

1. 

2. 

EN 

35 

  EN 

(b) 

(c) 

the  take-up  of  the  interoperability solutions in  different  sectors,  across  the 
Member States, and at local level; 

the development of open source solutions for the public services, public sector 
innovation  and  the  cooperation with  GovTech  actors  in  the  field  of  cross-
border interoperable public services to be delivered or managed electronically 
in the Union. 

Monitoring  results shall  be  published  by  the  Commission  on  the  Interoperable 
Europe portal. Where feasible, they shall be published in a machine-readable format. 

By ... at  the latest  [three  years  after the date of application of this Regulation], and 
every four years thereafter, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament 
and to the Council a report on the application of this Regulation, which shall include 
conclusions  of  the  evaluation.  The  report shall  specifically  assess the  need  for 
establishing mandatory interoperability solutions. 

3. 

4. 

Chapter 6 
Final provisions 

Article 21 

Costs 

1. 

Subject to the availability of funding, the general budget of the Union shall cover the 
costs of: 

(a) 

(b) 

the development and maintenance of the Interoperable Europe portal; 

the  development,  maintenance  and  promotion  of  Interoperable  Europe 
solutions; 

(c) 

the Interoperable Europe support measures. 

2. 

These costs shall be met in compliance with the applicable provisions of the relevant 
basic act. 

Article 22 

Entry into force 

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

It shall apply from [3 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 
[...] 

For the Council 
The President 
[...]

EN 

36 

  EN 

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE 

1.1.  Title of the proposal/initiative 

1.2.  Policy area(s) concerned 

1.3.  The proposal/initiative relates to: 

1.4.  Grounds for the proposal/initiative 

1.4.1. Requirement(s)  to  be  met  in  the  short  or  long  term  including  a  detailed 
timeline for roll-out of the implementation of the initiative 

1.4.2. Added  value  of  Union  involvement  (it  may  result  from  different  factors,  e.g. 
coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For 
the purposes of this point ‘added value of Union involvement’ is the value resulting 
from  Union  intervention  which  is  additional  to  the  value  that  would  have  been 
otherwise created by Member States alone. 

1.4.3. Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

1.4.4. Compatibility  with  the  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  and  possible 
synergies with other appropriate instruments 

1.4.5. Assessment  of  the  different  available  financing  options,  including  scope  for 
redeployment 

1.5.  Duration and financial impact of the proposal/initiative 

1.6.  Management mode(s) planned 

2.  MANAGEMENT MEASURES 

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules 

2.2.  Management and control system(s) 

2.2.1. Justification  of 
mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed 

the  management  mode(s), 

funding 

the 

implementation 

2.2.2. Information  concerning the risks identified and the internal control  system(s) 
set up to mitigate them 

2.2.3. Estimation  and  justification  of  the  cost-effectiveness  of  the  controls  (ratio  of 
“control  costs  ÷  value  of  the  related  funds  managed”),  and  assessment  of  the 
expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure) 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities 

3. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE 

3.1.  Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure 
budget line(s) affected 

3.2.  Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations 

3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations 

3.2.2. Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations 

EN 

37 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.3. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework 

3.2.4. Third-party contributions 

3.3.  Estimated impact on revenue 

EN 

38 

  EN 

 
 
 
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

1.1. 

Title of the proposal/initiative 

Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  laying 
down  measures  for  a  high  level  of  public  sector  interoperability  across  the  Union 
(Interoperable Europe Act) 

1.2. 

Policy area(s) concerned  

Trans-European Networks 

(digital 
Digital 
interoperability) 

transformation  of  public 

administrations,  public 

sector 

1.3. 

The proposal/initiative relates to:  

 a new action  

 a new action following a pilot project/preparatory action44  

 the extension of an existing action  

 a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action  

1.4. 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative  

1.4.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for 

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative 

The regulation will be applicable 20 days after publication in the Official Journal. 

1.4.2.  Added  value  of  Union  involvement  (it  may  result  from  different  factors,  e.g. 
coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For 
the purposes of this point ‘added value of Union involvement’ is the value resulting 
from  Union  intervention  which  is  additional  to  the  value  that  would  have  been 
otherwise created by Member States alone. 

Reasons for action at European level (ex-ante): 

The  evaluations  of  the  EIF  and  the  ISA²  programme  supporting  European 
interoperability  cooperation,  as  well  as  the  impact  assessment  carried  out  for  this 
initiative, demonstrate that the voluntary interoperability cooperation approach taken 
so  far  has  not  delivered  on  the  needs  and  policy  expectations  of  Member  States  as 
expressed, for instance, in the 2017 Tallinn and 2020 Berlin ministerial declarations 
and the recommendations adopted by the interoperability expert group in 2021. The 
successful  digital  transformation  of  Europe’s  public  sector  requires  a  more  stable 
cooperation framework and more certainty in the use of interoperability solutions. 

Expected generated Union added value (ex-post): 

Interoperability  cannot  be  achieved  by  one  entity  alone.  Building  a  structural 
cooperation  framework  at  EU  level  enables  Member  State  and  Union  entities  to 
design  public  services  interoperable  by  design  and  improve  digital  policy 
implementation.  This  will  increase  efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  policies  and 
support the digital single market. 

44 

As referred to in Article 58(2)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation. 

EN 

39 

  EN 

                                                 
1.4.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

The  initiative  builds  on  the  evaluations  of  the  EIF  and  of  the  ISA²  programme 
supporting  European  interoperability  cooperation  which  both  concluded  that  EU 
interoperability  action  is  beneficial  but  also  demonstrated  that  impact  could  be 
considerably  improved  by  establishing  a  mandatory  interoperability  cooperation 
framework at EU level. 

1.4.4.  Compatibility  with  the  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  and  possible  synergies 

with other appropriate instruments 

The  initiative  draws  on  the  resources  of  the  dedicated  interoperability  line  within 
strategic  objective  5  of  the  Digital  Europe  Programme  and  is  compatible  with  and 
relevant  for,  amongst  other,  the  RRF  (EUR  45  billion  earmarked  for  public  sector 
digital transformation), TSI (supporting public sector reform projects), and Horizon 
Europe (e.g. EIC activities). 

1.4.5.  Assessment  of  the  different  available  financing  options,  including  scope  for 

redeployment 

The  initiative  relies  on  redeployment  of  administrative  resources  so  far  used  for 
voluntary  interoperability  cooperation  (EIF,  Interoperability  Expert  Group)  and  the 
funding available for interoperability under the DEP. 

EN 

40 

  EN 

 
1.5. 

Duration and financial impact of the proposal/initiative 

 limited duration  

–    in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY  

–    Financial  impact  from  YYYY  to  YYYY  for  commitment  appropriations  and 

from YYYY to YYYY for payment appropriations.  

 unlimited duration 

–  Implementation with a start-up period from 2023 to 2027, 

–  followed by full-scale operation. 

1.6.  Management mode(s) planned45  

 Direct management by the Commission 

–   by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;  

–    by the executive agencies  

 Shared management with the Member States  

 Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to: 

–   third countries or the bodies they have designated; 

–   international organisations and their agencies (to be specified); 

–   the EIB and the European Investment Fund; 

–   bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation; 

–   public law bodies; 

–   bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that 

they provide adequate financial guarantees; 

–   bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with 
the  implementation  of  a  public-private  partnership  and  that  provide  adequate 
financial guarantees; 

–    persons  entrusted  with  the  implementation  of  specific  actions  in  the  CFSP 

pursuant to Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act. 

– 

If more than one management mode is indicated, please provide details in the ‘Comments’ section. 

Comments  

No comments. 

45 

Details of management modes and references to the Financial Regulation may be found on the 
BudgWeb site: 
https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/budgweb/EN/man/budgmanag/Pages/budgmanag.aspx  

EN 

41 

  EN 

                                                 
2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

Specify frequency and conditions. 

The  Commission  will  monitor  the  progress  of  the  development  of  interoperable  trans-
European  digital  public  services,  giving  priority  to  the  reuse  of  existing  international, 
Union and national monitoring data and to automated data collection. 

The  Commission  will  in particular  monitor:  the take-up  of  interoperability  solutions  in 
different sectors, across the Member States, and at local level; and the development of 
open-source  solutions  for  the  public  services,  public  sector  innovation  and  the  co-
operation with GovTech actors in the field of interoperability of digital public services. 

2.2.  Management and control system(s)  

2.2.1. 

Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), 
the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed 

The  actions  foreseen  under  this  Regulation  will  be  implemented  through  direct 
management,  using  the  implementation  modes  offered  by  the  Financial  Regulation, 
mainly  being  grants  and  procurement.  Direct  management  allows  to  establish  grant 
agreements and contracts with beneficiaries and contractors directly engaged in activities 
that  serve  Union  policies.  The  Commission  will  ensure  direct  monitoring  over  the 
outcome of the actions financed. The payment modalities of the actions funded will be 
adapted to the risks pertaining to the financial transactions. 

In order to ensure the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of the Commission controls, 
the control strategy will be oriented towards a balance of ex-ante and ex-post checks and 
focus  on  three  key  stages  of  grant/contract  implementation,  in  accordance  with  the 
Financial Regulation: Selection of proposals/tenders that fit the policy objectives of the 
Regulation;  Operational,  monitoring  and  ex-ante  controls 
that  cover  project 
implementation,  public  procurement,  pre-financing,  interim  and  final  payments, 
management  of  guarantees;  Ex-post  controls  at  the  beneficiaries/contractors’  sites  will 
also be carried out on a sample of transactions. 

2.2.2. 

Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up 
to mitigate them 

The  implementation  of  this  Regulation  includes  the  setting  up  and  operation  of  a 
governance  mechanism  with  Member  States  and  the  attribution  of  public  procurement 
contracts and grants for specific activities. 

The main risks are the following: 

a)  Risk  of  not  fully  achieving  the  objectives  of  the  Regulation  due  to  insufficient 
engagement  of  partners,  uptake  of  solutions,  and/or  quality  and/or  delays  in  the 
implementation of the selected projects or contracts. 

b) Risk of inefficient or non-economic use of funds awarded, both for grants (complexity 
of  funding rules) and for  procurement (limited number of economic providers with the 
required specialist knowledge entailing insufficient possibilities to compare price offers 
in some sectors). 

c) Reputational risk for the Commission, in case of slow or insufficient implementation 
of the cooperation framework, or if fraud or criminal activities are discovered. 

EN 

42 

  EN 

The Commission put in place internal procedures that aim at covering the risks identified 
above. The internal procedures are in full compliance with the Financial Regulation and 
include anti-fraud measures and cost-benefit considerations. Within this framework, the 
Commission continues to explore possibilities to enhance the management and to realise 
efficiency gains. 

Main features of the control framework are the following: 

1) Controls to ensure stakeholder engagement 

Appropriate  stakeholder  management  practices  are  put  in  place  to  ensure  the 
interoperability  cooperation  mechanism  set  up  with  this  regulation  is  properly 
functioning and its impact regularly monitored. 

2) Controls before and during the implementation of the projects (in line with the 
rules governing the DEP): 

a) An appropriate project management system is put in place under DEP, focusing on the 
contributions  of  projects  and  contracts  to  the  policy  objectives,  ensuring  a  systematic 
involvement  of  all  actors,  establishing  a  regular  project  management  reporting 
complemented by on-site-visits on a case by case basis, including risk reports to senior 
management, as well as maintaining appropriate budgetary flexibility. 

b)  Model  grant  agreements  and  service  contracts  used  are  developed  within  the 
Commission. They provide for a number of control provisions such as audit certificates, 
financial guarantees, on-site audits as well as inspections by OLAF. The rules governing 
the eligibility of costs are being simplified, for example, by using unit costs, lump sums, 
contributions  not  linked  to  costs  and  other  possibilities  offered  by  the  Financial 
Regulation.  This  will  reduce  the  cost  of  controls  and  put  the  focus  on  checks  and 
controls in high-risk areas. 

c) All staff sign up to the code of good administrative behaviour. Staff who are involved 
in the selection procedure or in the management of the grant agreements/contracts (also) 
sign a declaration of absence of a conflict of interest. Staff is regularly trained and uses 
networks to exchange best practices. 

d)  Technical  implementation  of  a  project is  checked  at  regular intervals  at  the  desk on 
the  basis  of  technical  progress  reports  of  the  contractors  and  beneficiaries;  in  addition, 
contractors’/beneficiaries’  meetings  and  on-site-visits  are  foreseen  on  a  case  by  case 
basis. 

3) Controls at the end of the project: 

Ex-post  audits  are  performed  on  a  sample  of  transactions  to  verify  on-the-spot  the 
eligibility  of  cost  claims.  The  aim  of  these  controls  is  to  prevent,  detect  and  correct 
material errors related to the legality and regularity of financial transactions. With a view 
to achieving a high control impact, the selection of beneficiaries to be audited foresees to 
combine  a  risk-based  selection  with  a  random  sampling,  and  to  pay  attention  to 
operational aspects whenever possible during the on-site audit. 

2.2.3.  Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of “control 
costs ÷ value of the related funds managed”), and assessment of the expected levels 
of risk of error (at payment & at closure)  

Rules on the operation of the DEP apply. 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures, e.g. from the Anti-Fraud Strategy. 

EN 

43 

  EN 

As  for  its  activities  in  direct  management,  the  Commission  shall  take  appropriate 
measures ensuring that the financial interests of the European Union are protected by the 
application  of  preventive  measures  against  fraud,  corruption  and  any  other  illegal 
activities,  by  effective  checks  and,  if  irregularities  are  detected,  by  the  recovery  of  the 
amounts  wrongly  paid  and,  where  appropriate,  by  effective,  proportional  and  deterrent 
penalties. 

EN 

44 

  EN 

3. 

3.1. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget 
line(s) affected  

  Existing budget lines  

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines. 

Budget line 

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

Number  

Type of  
expenditure 

Diff./Non-
diff.46 

Contribution  

from 
EFTA 
countries
47 

from 
candidate 
countries48 

from third 
countries 

within the 
meaning of 
Article 21(2)(b) of 
the Financial 
Regulation  

02.06.05.02 Deployment/ Interoperability 

1 

Diff. 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

  New budget lines requested  

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines. 

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

Number  

None 

Budget line 

Type of 
expenditure 

Contribution  

Diff./Non-
diff. 

from 
EFTA 
countries 

from 
candidate 
countries 

from third 
countries 

within the 
meaning of 
Article 21(2)(b) of 
the Financial 
Regulation  

YES/NO  YES/NO  YES/NO 

YES/NO 

46 
47 
48 

Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations. 
EFTA: European Free Trade Association.  
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans. 

EN 

45 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2. 

Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations  

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations  

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–    The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  operational  appropriations.  The  budgetary  impact  of  the  proposal  will  be  entirely 

covered by the allocations already foreseen in the Digital Europe Programme, as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

1 

Single Market, Innovation and Digital 

DG: DIGIT 

 Operational appropriations  

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

Post 
202749 

TOTAL 

02.04.05.02  Digital  Europe  Programme: 
Deployment/Interoperability50 

Commitments 

(1a) 

23.790 

24.131 

25.511 

28.573 

29.162 

Payments 

(2a) 

7.137 

21.513 

24.511 

26.292 

28.443 

23.271 

131.167 

131.167 

Budget line 

Commitments 

(1b) 

Payments 

(2b) 

Appropriations  of  an  administrative  nature  financed  from  the 
envelope of specific programmes51  

02.01.30.01  Support  expenditure  for  the 
Digital Europe programme 

(3) 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

2.000 

49 
50 
51 

All figures in this column (“Post 2027”) are indicative and subject to the continuation of the programmes and availability of appropriations. 
According to the official budget nomenclature. 
Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, 
direct research. 

EN 

46 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
TOTAL appropriations 
for DG DIGIT 

Commitments 

Payments 

=1a+1b 
+3 

=2a+2b 

+3 

24.190 

24.531 

25.911 

28.973 

29.562 

7.537 

21.913 

24.911 

26.692 

28.843 

23.271 

 TOTAL operational appropriations  

Commitments 

Payments 

  TOTAL  appropriations  of  an  administrative  nature 
financed from the envelope for specific programmes  

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

23.790 

24.131 

25.511 

28.573 

29.162 

7.137 

21.513 

24.511 

26.292 

28.443 

23.271 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

TOTAL appropriations  
under HEADING 1 
of the multiannual financial framework 

Commitments 

=4+ 6 

24.190 

24.531 

25.911 

28.973 

29.562 

Payments 

=5+ 6 

7.537 

21.913 

24.911 

26.692 

28.843 

23.271 

If more than one operational heading is affected by the proposal / initiative, repeat the section above: 

  TOTAL  operational  appropriations  (all 
operational headings) 

Commitments 

Payments 

 TOTAL appropriations of an administrative nature financed 
from  the  envelope  for  specific  programmes  (all  operational 
headings) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

23.790 

24.131 

25.511 

28.573 

29.162 

7.137 

21.513 

24.511 

26.292 

28.443 

23.271 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

TOTAL appropriations  
under HEADINGS 1 to 6 
of the multiannual financial framework 
(Reference amount) 

Commitments 

=4+ 6 

24.190 

24.531 

25.911 

28.973 

29.562 

Payments 

=5+ 6 

7.537 

21.913 

24.911 

26.692 

28.843 

23.271 

Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

7 

‘Administrative expenditure’ 

133.167 

133.167 

131.167 

131.167 

2.000 

133.167 

133.167 

131.167 

131.167 

2.000 

133.167 

133.167 

EN 

47 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This section should be filled in using the ‘budget data of an administrative nature’ to be firstly introduced in the Annex to the Legislative 
Financial Statement (Annex V to the internal rules), which is uploaded to DECIDE for interservice consultation purposes. 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

DG: DIGIT 

 Human resources  
 Other administrative expenditure  

2.717 

0.105 

2.717 

0.105 

2.717 

0.105 

2.717 

0.105 

2.717 

0.105 

TOTAL DG DIGIT 

Appropriations  

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

13.585 

0.525 

14.110 

TOTAL appropriations 
under HEADING 7 
of the multiannual financial framework  

(Total  commitments  = 
Total payments) 

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

14.110 

TOTAL appropriations  
under HEADINGS 1 to 7 
of the multiannual financial framework  

Commitments 

27.012 

27.353 

28.733 

31.795 

32.384 

Payments 

10.359 

24.735 

27.733 

29.514 

31.665 

23.271 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

Post 
2027 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

TOTAL 

147.277 

147.277 

EN 

48 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.2. 

Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations  

–    The  proposal/initiative  does  not  require  the  use  of  appropriations  of  an 

administrative nature  

–    The proposal/initiative requires the use of  appropriations of an administrative 

nature, as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Year 
2023  

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework 

Human resources  

2.717 

2.717 

2.717 

2.717 

2.717 

Other administrative 
expenditure  

Subtotal HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

Outside HEADING 752 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

Human resources  

Other expenditure  
of an administrative 
nature 

Subtotal  
outside HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

0.105 

0.105 

0.105 

0.105 

0.105 

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

2.822 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

0.400 

13.585 

0.525 

14.110 

2.000 

2.000 

TOTAL 

3.222 

3.222 

3.222 

3.222 

3.222 

16.110 

The  appropriations  required  for  human  resources  and  other  expenditure  of  an  administrative  nature  will  be  met  by 
appropriations from the DG that are already assigned to management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the 
DG,  together  if  necessary  with  any  additional  allocation  which  may  be  granted  to  the  managing  DG  under  the  annual 
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. 

52 

Technical  and/or  administrative  assistance  and  expenditure  in  support  of  the  implementation  of 
EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, direct research. 

EN 

49 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2.2.1.  Estimated requirements of human resources  

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources.  

–    The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  human  resources,  as  explained 

below: 

Estimate to be expressed in full time equivalent units 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

 Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff) 

20 01 02 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s Representation 
Offices) 

14 

14 

14 

14 

14 

20 01 02 03 (Delegations) 

01 01 01 01  (Indirect research) 

 01 01 01 11 (Direct research) 

Other budget lines (specify) 

 External staff (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE)53 

20 02 01 (AC, END, INT from the ‘global envelope’) 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

20 02 03 (AC, AL, END, INT and JPD in the delegations) 

XX 01  xx yy zz  54 

- at Headquarters 

- in Delegations  

01 01 01 02 (AC, END, INT - Indirect research) 

 01 01 01 12 (AC, END, INT - Direct research) 

Other budget lines (specify) 

TOTAL 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

XX is the policy area or budget title concerned. 

The human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to management of the 
action  and/or  have  been  redeployed  within  the  DG,  together  if  necessary  with  any  additional  allocation  which 
may  be  granted  to  the  managing  DG  under  the  annual  allocation  procedure  and  in  the  light  of  budgetary 
constraints. 

Description of tasks to be carried out: 

Officials and temporary staff 

Officials  and  temporary  staff  (policy  officers  and  programme  managers)  will 
implement  the  tasks  and  activities  as  per  the  Regulation,  in  particular 
implementation of Art.5-19, namely: 

-  Development  and  management  of  a  catalogue  of  reusable  interoperability 

solutions and Interoperable Europe Portal; 

-  Regular  reviews  and  updates  of  the  European  Interoperability  Frameworks, 

methodologies and tools for interoperability impact assessments; 

-  Design monitoring mechanisms and implementation; 
-  Management  and  support  for  governance  framework  (Interoperable  Europe 

Board and communities); 

-  Horizontal  tasks  on  communication,  stakeholder  management  and  inter-

- 

institutional relations; 
Preparation  and  drafting  of  delegated  acts,  in  compliance  with  this 
Regulation. 

53 

54 

AC=  Contract  Staff;  AL  =  Local  Staff;  END=  Seconded  National  Expert;  INT  =  agency  staff; 
JPD= Junior Professionals in Delegations.  
Sub-ceiling for external staff covered by operational appropriations (former ‘BA’ lines). 

EN 

50 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
External staff 

9  AD,  2  AST  and  2  AST-SC  officials  will  be  covered  with  staff  currently 
working on interoperability activities in DG DIGIT. 

The  overall  workload  of  interoperability  activities  will  increase  particularly  to 
support  the  set  up  and  management  of  a  structured  cooperation  mechanism  and 
communities  as  well  as  to  develop  methodologies  and  tools  for  interoperability 
assessments. For this reason, 1 additional AD post is required, bringing the total 
to 14 posts. 

The  AC  and  END  posts  support  the  implementation  of  the  Regulation, 
complementing the officials posts mainly in areas related to coordination with the 
Member  States  and  the  organisation  of  Interoperable  Europe  Board  meetings, 
workshops  and  conferences,  the  follow-up  of  projects  such  as  establishing  a 
catalogue  of  reusable  interoperability  solutions  and  the  Interoperable  Europe 
Portal  and  monitoring  activities.  2  AC  and  3  END  will  be  covered  with  staff 
currently working on interoperability activities in DG DIGIT. An additional AC 
hors-quota will be required, bringing the total to 6 FTEs. 

EN 

51 

  EN 

 
3.2.3.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework  

The proposal/initiative: 

–    can be fully financed through redeployment within the relevant heading of the 

Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). 

Appropriations  will  be  redeployed  within  the  financial  envelope  allocated  to 
Interoperability activities in the Digital Europe Programme in the MFF 2021-2027. 

–    requires use of the unallocated margin under the relevant heading of the MFF 

and/or use of the special instruments as defined in the MFF Regulation. 

Explain  what  is  required,  specifying  the  headings  and  budget  lines  concerned,  the  corresponding 
amounts, and the instruments proposed to be used. 

–    requires a revision of the MFF. 

Explain what is required, specifying  the headings and budget lines concerned and the corresponding 
amounts. 

3.2.4.  Third-party contributions  

The proposal/initiative: 

–    does not provide for co-financing by third parties 

–    provides for the co-financing by third parties estimated below: 

Appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Year 
N 

Year 
N+1 

Year 
N+2 

Year 
N+3 

Enter as many years as necessary 
to show the duration of the 
impact (see point 1.6) 

Total 

Specify  the  co-financing 
body  

TOTAL appropriations 
co-financed  

EN 

52 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue  

–    The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue. 

–    The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact: 

–   

–   

on own resources  

on other revenue 

– 

please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines  

Appropriations 
available for 
the current 
financial year 

Budget revenue line: 

Article …………. 

     EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Impact of the proposal/initiative 

Year 
N 

Year 
N+1 

Year 
N+2 

Year 
N+3 

Enter as many years as necessary to show 
the duration of the impact (see point 1.6) 

For assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected. 

[…] 

Other  remarks  (e.g.  method/formula  used  for  calculating  the  impact  on  revenue  or  any  other 
information). 

[…] 

EN 

53 

  EN