REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL First annual report on interoperability in the Union
Date: 2025-12-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Digital Services, European Commission
Subjects: European Interoperability Framework, activity report, administrative cooperation, cross-border cooperation, digital transformation, electronic government, exchange of information, information system, public sector, public service

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.12.2025  COM(2025) 860 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL First annual report on interoperability in the Union {SWD(2025) 975 final}  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................. 2 

STRUCTURE .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 

IMPLEMENTATION STATE-OF-PLAY ................................................................................................................. 3 

Governance ............................................................................................................................................................ 3 

Enablers ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 

Supporting measures ........................................................................................................................................ 6 

Interoperability assessments ....................................................................................................................... 9 

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE COMMISSION AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS ............................. 11 

CONCLUSION AND A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE ....................................................................................... 12 

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Annual Report on  
Interoperability in the Union 

2025 Annual Report (First) 

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND 

THE INTEROPERABLE EUROPE ACT LAYS THE FOUNDATIONS FOR A SEAMLESSLY 
CONNECTED DIGITAL EUROPE

As the EU advances its digital transformation, the Interoperable Europe Act1, in force since 
11 April  2024,  provides  an  essential  framework  for  boosting  cross-border  interoperability 
and innovation in the public sector. The Act is driving the Digital Decade2 goal of 100% online 
key  public  services  by  2030.  It  responds  to  the  growing  need  for  seamless  cross-border 
services: with 150 million EU citizens living in border regions and 2 million commuting daily 
between Member States, interconnected public administrations are essential. Stronger digital 
administrations will not only deliver seamless services but will also save expected amounts 
of up to EUR 5 billion annually through greater efficiency3. 

This  first  Annual  Report,  submitted  by  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and 
Council under Article 20(4) of the Interoperable Europe Act, reviews the overall progress in 
implementing  the  Act  and  highlights  achievements,  challenges  and  future  directions.  It 
follows a structured approach, starting with the broader context of the Act before moving to 
a detailed look at its implementation and impact. While this report focuses on initial progress 
and  the  launch  of  new  initiatives,  future  reports  will  benefit  from  the  results  of  a  fully-
fledged monitoring mechanism that will benefit from a growing dataset to analyse trends, 
barriers and drivers. This will offer a comprehensive overview of the state of interoperability 
in the EU. 

STRUCTURE 

The  provisions  of  the  Interoperable  Europe  Act  established  a  solid  framework  for  public 
sector cooperation, ensuring that services can operate smoothly across territorial, sectoral 
and  organisational  boundaries.  The  main  articles  of  the  Act  have  been  grouped  into  four 
main  categories:  governance,  interoperability  enablers,  supporting  measures  for  the 
implementation, and interoperability assessments. The final category includes digital-ready 
policymaking. 

1   Regulation - EU - 2024/903 - EN - EUR-Lex. 
2   Europe’s digital decade: 2030 targets | European Commission. 
3   EUR-Lex - 52022SC0721 - EN - EUR-Lex. 

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Figure 1 - Interoperable Europe Act - Subsections 

This first report focuses on the implementation of the Act from its entry into force to July 
2025 and incorporates some elements from the monitoring activities under Article 20. Due 
to the ongoing implementation of the Act, comprehensive data was not yet available to gain 
insights from the Interoperable Europe Monitoring Mechanism. Further information on this is 
detailed in the staff working document accompanying this report4. 

IMPLEMENTATION STATE-OF-PLAY 

Governance 

Legal basis 

The governance framework set out by the Act has been fully established in the past year, as 
detailed below. 

Implementation actions 

Over  the  past  year,  substantial  progress  has  been  achieved  in  putting  in  place  a  strong 
governance structure. 

•  As  mandated  by  Article 15,  the  Interoperable  Europe  Board  and  its  permanent 
working group started formally operating in the fourth quarter of 2024 providing the 
institutional  framework necessary to coordinate  the implementation  of the Act  across 
the EU. In addition, the work programme of the Board was adopted by the Board in 
May 2025 and will be updated regularly to guide the drafting of future Board meeting 
agendas. 

•  As  mandated  by  Article 16,  the  Interoperable  Europe  Community  was  officially 
launched via  the  Interoperable  Europe  Portal  in May 2025. It provides  a collaborative 
space for Member States, institutions and stakeholders to exchange experiences, share 
best practices and co‑create solutions. 

•  As mandated by Article  17 and 18,  26 of the 27  Member  States  had appointed  their 
national competent authorities by the legally binding deadline of 12 January 2025, 
as  required  by  Article 17,  and  Union  entities  had  appointed  their  interoperability 

4   SWD(2025)975. 

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coordinators under Article 18. This has enabled a coherent approach to implementation 
and coordination across the EU. 

•  To  develop  the  first  Interoperable  Europe  Agenda  mandated  by  Article 19,  a  task 
force, including permanent working group members, was set up in the first quarter of 
2025.  A  public  consultation  was  prepared  by  the  task  force  and  launched  on  the 
Interoperable  Europe  Portal  in  June  2025,  with  the  objective  of  ensuring  that  future 
priorities reflect the contributions and expectations of a broad range of stakeholders5. 

Considerations for the future 

Looking ahead, the focus will shift to the Board’s formal adoption of the Interoperable 
Europe  Agenda.  This  Agenda  will  provide  a  comprehensive  framework  to  guide 
interoperability efforts across the EU, aligning ongoing initiatives with long‑term objectives 
and the evolving needs of Member States and EU institutions. The monitoring framework 
will be further improved. Finally, the first annual assembly of the Community, to be held 
in October 2025, will serve as a key occasion to further promote collaboration, exchange of 
best practices and stakeholder engagement. 

Enablers 

Legal basis 

The  Interoperable  Europe  Act  establishes  a  comprehensive  framework  to  address  legal, 
organisational, semantic and technical requirements to ensure scalable and adaptable public 
sector solutions. To ensure effective sharing and reuse of solutions, Article 4 obliges EU 
institutions and public sector bodies to share interoperability solutions for trans-European 
digital  services.  The  Board  recommends  interoperability  solutions  eligible  for  the 
‘Interoperable  Europe  solution’  label.  The  Act  reinforces  the  European  Interoperability 
Framework (EIF) as a common reference point and introduces the Interoperable Europe 
Portal as a single-entry point for solutions, technical specifications and best practices. 

Implementation actions 

•  The 2025 results of the Interoperable Europe Monitoring Mechanism demonstrated that 
every Member State has formally adopted the current version of the European 
Interoperability Framework6. To implement the provisions of Article 6 of the Act, an 
informal  expert  group  on  the  Next  Generation  European  Interoperability 
Framework was established in May 2025 to provide technical and strategic guidance 
for the revision of the framework. 

•  As mandated by Article 7, the definition of the process and criteria for labelling 
Interoperable  Europe  solutions was  approved  by the  Board  in May  2025. This will 
ensure  that  solutions  meeting  defined  quality  and  interoperability  standards  can  be 
recognised  and  promoted  within  the  Portal  and  across  the  broader  Community.  A 

5   Agenda consultation on the Portal: Have your say | Interoperable Europe Portal. 
6   EUR-Lex - 52017DC0134 - EN - EUR-Lex. 

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dedicated task force composed of members from the permanent working group was 
established  to  select  the  first  Interoperable  Europe  solutions.  In  addition,  a  public 
consultation was opened on the Portal from June to August 2025 to collect submissions 
of interoperability solutions to be considered for labelling. 

• 

In  alignment  with  Article 8,  the  Interoperable  Europe  Portal  was  launched  in  the 
fourth quarter of 2024. It serves as a central hub for information, resources and tools 
aimed  at  facilitating  cross‑border  interoperability  initiatives.  Around  10 000  users  are 
registered  on  the  Portal  and  almost  100 000  pages  are  viewed  every  month.  Among 
other  features,  the  Portal  hosts  interoperability  solutions  and  assessment  reports,  a 
space  for  the  Board  decisions  and  documents;  provides  a  collaboration  space  for  the 
regulatory sandboxes; and it publishes new digital funding opportunities every month. As 
of July 2025, 670 active solutions have been recorded on the Portal7. The majority of 
these  (58.5%)  originated  at  EU level.  Ownership  is  primarily  with  EU  entities  (57.7%), 
followed by public sector bodies (34.5%). The European Commission – in particular DG 
DIGIT – is the main institutional owner. 

Good practices 

ESTONIA’S 
FRAMEWORK 

IMPLEMENTATION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN 

INTEROPERABILITY 

In  2023  Estonia  launched  a  new  national  interoperability  framework8  to  replace  its 
decade-old  predecessor.  Although  not  mandatory,  it  offers  practical  guidance  on 
interoperability principles for the entire public administration. These principles ensure 
seamless  communication  and  data-sharing  between  ICT  systems.  The  framework  is 
aligned  with  the  European  Interoperability  Framework  and  is  a  ‘living  framework’, 
regularly updated to remain adaptable and user-friendly, with revisions at least every 
two years.  

Complementing  this,  Estonia  has  advanced  several  initiatives  on  interoperability  and 
digital  resilience,  in  particular  the  world’s  first  ‘data  embassy’  in  Luxembourg9.  This 
secure backup for government data ensures continuity of operations and exemplifies 
best  practice  in cross-border  data  management  and  interoperability.  This  initiative  is 
part  of  Estonia’s  broader  strategy  to  boost  its  digital  resilience  and  maintain 
uninterrupted  government  operations  based  on strong  interoperability  supporting  the 
secure and seamless exchange of data between systems. By storing critical government 
data in a secure location outside Estonia, the  data  embassy represents best-in-class 
practice for business continuity and disaster-recovery management. These are essential 
for systems to be interoperable. 

7   Data from the 2025 Interoperable Europe Monitoring Mechanism results. More information is available in 

SWD(2025)975. 

8   Interoperability of the State Information System 2011 | Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. 
9   Data embassy in Luxembourg. 

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THE EU OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS CATALOGUE 

The EU Open Source Solutions Catalogue10 demonstrates how shared digital assets can 
drive  efficiency,  cross-border  cooperation  and  Europe’s  digital  sovereignty.  Public 
administrations  are  increasingly  adopting  open  source,  and  Article  4  of  the  Act 
encourages  the  sharing  of  interoperability  solutions  –  including  code,  documentation 
and references to open standards – to support trans-European digital public services. 

The  Catalogue,  developed  under  the  Free  and  Open  Source  Software  Solutions  for 
European  Public  Services  (FOSSEPS)  pilot  projects  by  the  European  Commission, 
compiles  solutions  from  multiple  Member  States,  enabling  reuse,  collaboration  and 
better interoperability. It serves as a marketplace for open source solutions, empowering 
collaboration,  creativity  and  efficiency  while  strengthening  interoperability.  Initially 
launched as a minimum viable product in 2024 with contributions from Italy, Germany 
and the Commission’s code.europa.eu11, it now includes Finland, France, the Netherlands 
and Sweden. Initiatives like the EU Open Source Solutions Catalogue and publiccode.yml 
are helping build a more innovative, interoperable and efficient EU digital public sector. 

Considerations for the future 

In the coming period, the operational focus will be on the first batch of  Interoperable 
Europe solutions to be submitted for the Board’s approval. The solutions that receive the 
Board’s  endorsement  will  be  awarded  the  Interoperable  Europe  solution  label  and  made 
available  on  the  Interoperable  Europe  Portal.  Furthermore,  building  on  the  work  of  the 
European Interoperability Framework Informal Expert Group, the  blueprint for the Next 
Generation  European  Interoperability  Framework  will  be  presented  to  the  Board  in 
December 2025 to kick-start the formal revision of the framework. In addition, a new task 
force, to include members of the permanent working group, will be established to draft the 
Guidelines  for  the  Sharing  and  Reuse  of  interoperability  solutions.  The  Interoperable 
Europe  Portal  will  be  translated  into  all  EU  official  languages  via  machine  translation  to 
ensure broad accessibility. 

Supporting measures 

Legal basis 

The  Interoperable  Europe  Act  sets  out  measures  to  strengthen  interoperability  across 
Member  States  and  entities  through  tailored  support,  innovation,  skills  and  collaboration. 
Article 10  introduces  innovation  measures  to  develop  new  or  improved  interoperability 
solutions, often in collaboration with GovTech actors such as SMEs, research institutions and 
start-ups.  Articles  11  and  12  establish  interoperability  regulatory  sandboxes  for 
testing  and  validating  solutions  in  a  controlled  environment.  Additional  support  includes 
further  training  material  on  the  European  Interoperability  Framework  and  Interoperable 

10  EU Open Source Solutions Catalogue | Interoperable Europe Portal. 
11  code.europa.eu | GitLab. 

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Europe solutions, including open source, and a voluntary peer review mechanism to improve 
cooperation among public sector bodies. 

Implementation actions 

Multiple support measures have been put in place to support innovation in interoperability. 

• 

In  relation  to  Articles  11  and  12,  the  Committee  on  Interoperability  Regulatory 
Sandboxes  oversees  the  functioning  of  sandboxes,  facilitates  the  exchange  of 
experiences and provides guidance on best practices. The implementing act for the 
interoperability  regulatory  sandboxes12  was  adopted  in  July  2025,  providing  a 
structured legal basis for testing and experimenting with innovative digital solutions in a 
controlled environment. This framework enables Member States and stakeholders to pilot 
new approaches while ensuring compliance with the principles and objectives of the Act. 

•  Through the Digital Europe Programme and in line with Article 10, the Commission funds 
key  initiatives  to  boost  cross-border  digital  cooperation,  innovation  measures  and 
GovTech (e.g.  the GovTech  Incubator and a  Coordination  and  Support  Action  on 
Innovative and connected public administrations). The latter is paving the way for 
a  future  multi-country  project  to  co-invest  in  developing  AI  and  key  interoperability 
solutions for public services. 

•  Public sector interoperability skills have been strengthened through the development 
of the Interoperable Europe Academy, as mandated by Article 13. The Commission 
has promoted the development of a certification programme on interoperability matters. 
Between September 2024 and June 2025, 9 new  courses were  published, there were 
12 426  enrolments  and  2 716  certificates  were  delivered.  The  rate  of  delivered 
certificates is 34%13. A virtual event, the Seasonal School, organised from 13 to 15 May, 
attracted more than 500 participants, aiming to promote European interoperability and 
further reinforce knowledge sharing in the field. The event is to become an annual one. 

Good practices 

STUDENT DATA EXCHANGE 

EMREX14 is a cross-border infrastructure enabling secure electronic exchange of student 
data, such as transcripts and diplomas, among students, higher education institutions 
and authorised third parties. It supports the recognition of academic achievements in 
machine-readable and PDF formats, promoting interoperability and reusability in line 
with the Act and the European Interoperability Framework15, thereby facilitating student 
mobility. 

12  Implementing regulation - EU - 2025/1420 - EN - EUR-Lex. 
13  Data  from  2025  Interoperable  Europe  Monitoring  Mechanism  results.  More  information  is  available  in 

SWD(2025)975. 

14  EMREX | Supporting Student Mobility. 
15  Emrex, an open source solution supporting student mobility | Interoperable Europe Portal. 

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Originally funded through Erasmus+ (2015-2017), EMREX is now a self-sustaining, open 
source initiative governed by the EMREX user group (EUG), an independent, international, 
multi-stakeholder network involving government bodies, academia and GovTech actors. 
The  initiative  is  now  active  in  several  countries,  including  Finland,  the  Netherlands, 
Norway, Sweden and Chile, with increasing adoption in Germany. 

Its technical architecture features open source components available on GitHub under 
an EUPL-1.2 open source licence16. Like the Student Mobility Plugin, which facilitates the 
transfer of educational records, for example, between a university and an application 
portal, the EMREX Data Access Point provides reliable, standardised access to student 
data. Data is exchanged using the EMREX learning model object, a common format that 
ensures academic records are structured in an interoperable and machine-readable way. 
Gateway  with  DC4EU17  is  a  once-only  technical  link  that  integrates  EMREX  with  the 
Digital  Credentials  for  EU  (DC4EU)  project,  thus  reinforcing  its  role  in  the  broader 
European  digital  education  ecosystem.  It  supports  trusted  and  secure  data  exchange 
aligned with EU principles such as eIDAS and the once-only principle. EMREX continues 
to  expand,  with  potential  alignment  with  the  EU  Digital  Identity  Framework  and  the 
Single Digital Gateway on the horizon. This will position it as a key enabler of trusted, 
user-centred data exchange in higher education and beyond. 

INTEROPERABILITY EDUCATION IN POLAND’S PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 

it  reused  the 

Interoperable  Europe  Academy’s 

Poland has advanced digital public administration and interoperability through two key 
initiatives: 
‘Interoperability:  An 
Introductory Course’ and launched the Government Enterprise Architecture (GEA) Study. 
The  ‘Interoperability:  An  Introductory  Course’18,  integrated  into  Poland’s  national 
eLearning  platform19  under  EUPL  licence20  and  translated  in  collaboration  with  the 
European  Commission,  builds  public  sector  capacity  on  EU-aligned  interoperability 
principles. The training material has been widely praised for its clarity and ease of use, 
prompting  Poland  to  proactively  engage  with  the  European  Commission  to  localise 
additional courses, such as those on interoperability assessments and eGovERA©21. 

The  Government  Enterprise  Architecture  Study22,  launched  in  late  2023,  combines 
introductory webinars, on-site workshops and advanced maturity support to boost the 
capacity of public sector organisations in interoperability and enterprise architecture. It 
builds on a Government Enterprise Architecture Repository to boost practical application. 
Engaging over 400 civil servants across 26 organisations, these initiatives demonstrate 

16  EMREX | GitHub. 
17  Digital Credentials for Europe | DC4EU. 
18  Interoperability: An introductory course | EU Academy. 
19  Kurs wprowadzający do interoperacyjności | Portal Interoperacyjności i Architektury. 
20  Introduction to the EUPL licence | Interoperable Europe Portal. 
21  Introduction to eGovERA© | EU Academy. 
22  Studium AIP | Portal Interoperacyjności i Architektury. 

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how  strategic  training  and  capacity-building  strengthen  governance,  drive  digital 
transformation  and  deliver  tangible  benefits  for  administrations,  businesses  and 
citizens alike. 

Considerations for the future 

The  processes  and  conditions  to  put  in  place  policy  support  implementation 
projects,  as  introduced  by  Article 9,  will  be  drawn  up  and  submitted  to  the  permanent 
working  group  in  2026.  This  may  result  in  the  creation  of  the  first  interoperability 
sandbox,  which  would mark  a  significant step towards  fostering  innovation  in  the  public 
sector. It would also support the controlled testing of cross‑border solutions. The sandboxes 
will  enable  Member  States  and  stakeholders  to  experiment  with  novel digital  approaches 
while ensuring compliance with the principles of the Interoperable Europe Agenda. Over time, 
the lessons learned from sandbox operations will also help to refine interoperability policies 
and develop new solutions. The Academy will publish 12 new training courses before the 
end of 2025 and three of these will be available in all 24 official EU languages. Finally, the 
methodology for the voluntary peer review mechanism will be submitted to the Board for 
approval.  Once  validated,  the  supporting  features  will  be  developed  on  the  Portal  and 
promoted through the Interoperable Europe Community. 

Interoperability assessments 

Legal basis 

The Act mandates interoperability assessments for EU entities and public sector bodies 
to ensure that cross-border interoperability issues of trans-European digital public services 
are considered before implementation (Article 3). The assessments are designed to evaluate 
the impact of binding requirements on digital public services, to identify stakeholders and to 
ascertain the applicability and value contribution of existing interoperability solutions before 
making decisions on new or substantially modified binding requirements.  To facilitate the 
process,  the  European  Commission  provides  technical  tools,  including  an  online  tool  for 
completing assessment reports and publishing them on the Portal. For Member States these 
instruments make it easier to identify digital dimensions of proposals early on and to involve 
the right experts and stakeholders from the start. They also enable them to assess whether 
changes  or  compromises  during  interinstitutional  negotiations  have  significant  digital 
implications. In addition, they provide a structured channel for feedback and exchange, which 
strengthens the Commission’s capacity to anticipate implementation challenges and refine 
its policymaking practices. 

Implementation actions 

•  For Member States, the adoption of interoperability assessment guidelines23 helps 
to  ensure  a  structured  and  consistent  approach  to  evaluating  interoperability  across 
various domains. These guidelines provide a clear framework  to assess the effects of 
binding requirements on cross-border  interoperability,  on  the stakeholders and  on  the 

23  Assessment Guidelines | Interoperable Europe Portal. 

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supporting Interoperable Europe solutions. In the second quarter of 2025 the guidelines 
were translated into all EU languages and supported the two interoperability assessment 
reports submitted by Member States (Cyprus and Germany) since the entry into force of 
the mandatory interoperability assessments on 12 January 2025. 

•  At  the  Commission,  Article 3  of  the  Interoperable  Europe  Act  has  been  implemented 
through  the  digital-ready  policymaking  (DRPM)  framework24,  which  entered  into 
force  in  January  2025.  Using  this  structured  approach,  the  Commission  has  already 
completed  32  interoperability  assessments25  with  efficiency  and  a  clear  focus  on 
quality26. The approach is built around three core elements. 
o  The Digital Check is carried out during the policy planning phase and consists of 
four short questions that help policy teams determine whether an initiative has digital 
implications. 

o  The digital-ready policymaking guidance supports the systematic integration of 

digital considerations throughout the policymaking process. 

o  The Legislative Financial and Digital Statement (LFDS) or, where appropriate, 
the  Digital  Statement  (DS).  Both  statements  serve  as  the  Commission’s 
interoperability  assessment  when  required.  The  Legislative  Financial  and  Digital 
Statement  adds  a  dedicated  digital  chapter  to  the  former  Legislative  Financial 
Statement.  The  Digital  Statement  is  a  simplified  version  for  implementing  and 
delegated acts. 

Good practices 

INTEROPERABILITY  ASSESSMENTS  VIA  THE  DIGITAL-READY  POLICYMAKING 
FRAMEWORK 

The assessment highlighted EU-level systems like eIDAS27 for electronic identification 
and the EU Cybersecurity Framework28 as key enablers of secure, interoperable service 
delivery, with no remaining cross-border barriers identified. 

Using the Digital-Ready Policymaking Framework, the Commission has completed 32 
interoperability  assessments  on  policy  proposals  in  2025,  with  examples  like  the 
BridgeforEU29 and Digital Waste Shipment30 regulations available on the Interoperable 
Europe Portal. 

24  Digital-ready policymaking | Interoperable Europe Portal. 
25  Assessment report's repository | Interoperable Europe Portal. 
26  Data  coming  from  the  2025  Interoperable  Europe  Monitoring  Mechanism  results.  More  information  is 

available in SWD(2025)975. 

27  Electronic  Identification,  Authentication  and  Trust  Services  –  learn  more  at  eIDAS  Regulation  |  European 

Commission. 

28  EU Cybersecurity Framework. 
29  Assessment report for BridgeforEU | Interoperable Europe Portal. 
30  Assessment report for Digital Waste Shipment Regulation | Interoperable Europe Portal. 

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CROSS-BORDER  DIGITAL  PUBLIC  SERVICES:  DECLARATION  ON  SWEDISH-
FINNISH COOPERATION 

The Declaration on Swedish-Finnish Cooperation31, signed on 16 September 2024, is a 
key milestone in cross-border digital collaboration. It focuses on interoperable digital 
public  services,  including  population  data  exchange  and  harmonised  business 
regulations,  to  improve  access,  efficiency  and  reliability  for  citizens  and  businesses 
across borders.  

Interoperability  underpins  the  declaration,  enabling  seamless  services,  stronger 
cybersecurity  and  better  coordination,  while  fostering  economic  integration  and 
innovation.  The  initiative  demonstrates  that  shared  goals,  joint  investment  and 
harmonised  standards  are  essential  for  successful  cross-border  digital  cooperation, 
offering  a  best-practice  model  with  trans-European  relevance  for  other  EU  Member 
States. 

Considerations for the future 

Interoperability  assessments  have  proven  valuable 
in  embedding  cross-border 
interoperability into new legislation and digital  public services from the outset.  Continued 
effectiveness  will  rely  on  streamlining  processes  and  guidance,  integrating  emerging 
priorities  like  AI,  data  governance  and  cybersecurity,  and  ensuring  consistent  application 
across Member States and EU institutions. 

At Commission level, internal guidance is forthcoming on interoperability assessments for 
procurement.  An  AI-based  tool,  AI4DRPM,  is  being  explored  to  partially  automate  Digital 
Statements  and  Legislative  Financial  and  Digital  Statements,  reducing  workload  while 
preserving  their  role  in  assessing  digital  implications.  These  measures  aim  to  make 
interoperability assessments a cornerstone of better regulation and policy implementation. 

COOPERATION  BETWEEN 
STAKEHOLDERS 

THE  COMMISSION  AND  OTHER 

Over the past year, the Commission has strengthened stakeholder cooperation to advance 
the Interoperable Europe Act. Member States participate via the Interoperable Europe Board 
and  its  subgroups,  shaping  priorities  and  the  agenda,  while  interoperability  coordinators, 
experts and communities of practice ensure practical experience informs policies and tools. 
Collaboration  extends  to  candidate  countries,  international  partners  and  standardisation 
bodies, reflecting the interconnected nature of digital public services. Collaboration under the 
Interoperable Europe Act and its Board offers a valuable opportunity for accession countries 
to  align  early  with  EU  digital-governance  standards  —  thereby  accelerating  gradual 
integration in the EU Digital Single Market. Partnerships with industry, academia, civil society 
and international organisations have promoted open source solutions, GovTech markets and 

31  Declaration on Swedish-Finnish Cooperation. 

11 

 
 
 
regulatory sandboxes, helping align efforts, avoid duplication and create cross-border and 
cross-sector synergies. 

CONCLUSION AND A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE 

This first year of implementation of the Interoperable Europe Act has laid the groundwork 
for a stronger, more cohesive digital public sector across the EU. These achievements show 
that interoperability is no longer a purely technical issue but a strategic enabler of Europe’s 
digital sovereignty and competitiveness. Milestones such as putting in place the governance 
structures,  launching  interoperability  assessments  and  adopting  criteria  for  labelled 
solutions have demonstrated the EU’s capacity to act collectively. In the coming year we can 
expect: 

• 

• 

• 

the  adoption  of  the  first  Interoperable  Europe  Agenda  by  the  Board,  setting  out  the 
priorities for 2026 and beyond; 

the  first  batch  of  Interoperable  Europe  solutions  approved  by  the  Board  and  the 
guidelines for the reuse and sharing of solutions; 

further support measures for Member States and EU entities, including training courses, 
regulatory sandboxes, support projects and peer review mechanisms; 

•  additional  updated  guidance  and  tools  for  interoperability  assessments  to  foster 

simplification. 

The next steps will require political commitment and investment: scaling up the uptake of 
labelled solutions, embedding interoperability in major EU policy initiatives such as the Data 
Act32, Single Digital Gateway Regulation33 and the AI Act34, and reinforcing Europe’s global 
leadership by aligning with international standards. The Commission, together with Member 
States and partners, will continue to drive forward this agenda, ensuring that interoperability 
becomes a cornerstone of a more digital, inclusive and resilient European Union. 

32  Regulation - EU - 2023/2854 - EN - EUR-Lex. 
33  Regulation - 2018/1724 - EN - EUR-Lex. 
34  Regulation - EU - 2024/1689 - EN - EUR-Lex. 

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