Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

**EUROPEAN UNION**

**THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT** **THE COUNCIL**

**Brussels, 14 September 2018**
**(OR. en)**

**2017/0086 (COD)** **PE-CONS 41/18**

**MI 491**

**ENT 122**

**TELECOM 200**

**DIGIT 139**

**COMPET 476**

**IND 178**

**CODEC 1141**

**LEGISLATIVE ACTS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS**

Subject: REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL 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

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**REGULATION (EU) 2018/...**

**OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL**

**of ...**

**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)**

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 21(2) and Article 114(1) 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 Committee **[1]**,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure **[2]**,

**1** OJ C 81, 2.3.2018, p. 88.
**2** Position of the European Parliament of 13 September 2018 (not yet published in the Official
Journal) and decision of the Council of ….

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Whereas:

(1) The internal market is one of the Union's most tangible achievements. By allowing people,

goods, services and capital to move freely it offers new opportunities for citizens and

businesses. This Regulation is a key element of the Single Market Strategy established by

the communication of the Commission of 28 October 2015 entitled 'Upgrading the Single

Market: more opportunities for people and business'. That strategy has the objective of

unlocking the full potential of the internal market by making it easier for citizens and

businesses to move within the Union and to trade, establish themselves and expand their

businesses across borders.

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(2) The communication of the Commission of 6 May 2015 entitled 'A Digital Single Market

Strategy for Europe' recognised the role of the internet and digital technologies in

transforming our lives, changing the way in which citizens and businesses access

information, acquire knowledge, buy goods and services, participate in the market and

work, thereby facilitating opportunities for innovation, growth and jobs. That

communication, along with several resolutions adopted by the European Parliament,

acknowledged that the needs of citizens and businesses in their own country and across

borders could be better met by extending and integrating existing European-level portals,

websites, networks, services and systems and by linking them with different national

solutions, thereby creating a single digital gateway serving as a European single entry point

('the gateway'). The communication of the Commission of 19 April 2016 entitled 'EU

eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 – Accelerating the digital transformation of

government' listed the gateway amongst one of its actions for 2017. The Commission's

report of 24 January 2017, entitled 'Strengthening Citizens' Rights in a Union of

Democratic Change – EU Citizenship Report 2017' considered the gateway to be a priority

for the rights of the Union's citizens.

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(3) The European Parliament and the Council have repeatedly called for a more

comprehensive and more user-friendly package of information and assistance to help

citizens and businesses navigate the internal market and to strengthen and streamline

internal market tools in order to better meet the needs of citizens and businesses in their

cross-border activities.

(4) This Regulation responds to those calls by offering citizens and businesses easy access to

the information, the procedures, and the assistance and problem-solving services that they

need in order to exercise their rights in the internal market. The gateway could contribute

to the greater transparency of rules and regulations relating to different business and life

events, in areas such as travel, retirement, education, employment, healthcare, consumer

rights and family rights. Furthermore, it could help improve consumers' confidence,

address the lack of knowledge about consumer protection and internal market rules and

reduce compliance costs for businesses. This Regulation establishes a user-friendly,

interactive gateway which, based on users' needs, should guide them to the most

appropriate services. In that context, the Commission and Member States should play an

important role in achieving those objectives.

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(5) The gateway should facilitate interactions between citizens and businesses, on the one

hand, and competent authorities, on the other hand, by providing access to online solutions,

facilitating the day-to-day activities of citizens and businesses and minimising the

obstacles encountered in the internal market. The existence of a single digital gateway

providing online access to accurate and up-to-date information, to procedures and to

assistance and problem-solving services could help raise the users' awareness of the

different existing online services and could save them time and expense.

(6) This Regulation has three objectives, namely to reduce any additional administrative

burden on citizens and businesses that exercise or want to exercise their internal market

rights, including the free movement of citizens, in full compliance with national rules and

procedures, to eliminate discrimination and to ensure the functioning of the internal market

with regard to the provision of information, of procedures and of assistance and problem

solving services. Since it covers free movement of citizens, which cannot be considered to

be merely incidental, this Regulation should be based on Article 21(2) and Article 114(1)

of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

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(7) In order for Union citizens and businesses to enjoy their right to free movement within the

internal market, the Union should adopt specific, non-discriminatory measures allowing

citizens and businesses to have easy access to sufficiently comprehensive and reliable

information about their rights under Union law and to information about the applicable

national rules and procedures which they need to comply with when they move to, live or

study, or when they establish or carry on a business, in a Member State other than their

own. Information should be considered to be sufficiently comprehensive if it includes all

the information that is necessary for the users to understand what their rights and

obligations are and identifies the rules that apply to them in relation to the activities they

want to undertake as cross-border users. The information should be stated in a clear,

concise and understandable way and be operational and well adapted to the target user

group. Information on procedures should cover all foreseeable procedural steps that are

relevant for the user. It is important for citizens and businesses facing complex regulatory

environments, such as those active in e-commerce and the collaborative economy, that they

can easily find the applicable rules and how they apply to their activities. Easy and

user-friendly access to information means enabling the users to easily find the information,

to easily identify which parts of the information are relevant for their particular situation

and to easily understand the relevant information. The information to be provided at

national level should not only concern national rules implementing Union law, but also any

other national rules that apply both to non-crossborder and cross-border users.

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(8) Rules on the provision of information in this Regulation should not apply to national

judicial systems, since information in that area relevant for cross-border users is already

included in the e-Justice portal. In some situations covered by this Regulation, courts

should be considered to be competent authorities, for instance where courts are managing

business registers. In addition, the non-discrimination principle should also apply to online

procedures that give access to court proceedings.

(9) It is clear that citizens and businesses from other Member States can be at a disadvantage

due to their lack of familiarity with the national rules and administrative systems, the

different languages used and their lack of geographic proximity to the competent

authorities in a Member State other than their own. The most efficient way to reduce the

ensuing obstacles to the internal market is to enable cross-border and non-crossborder

users to access information online in a language they are able to understand in order to

enable them to complete procedures for compliance with national rules fully online and to

offer them assistance where rules and procedures are not clear enough or where they

encounter obstacles to the exercise of their rights.

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(10) A number of Union acts have aimed to provide solutions by creating sectorial one-stop

shops, including points of single contact established by Directive 2006/123/EC of the

European Parliament and of the Council **[1]** which offer online information, assistance

services and access to procedures relevant for the provision of services; Product Contact

Points, established by Regulation (EC) No 764/2008 of the European Parliament and of the

Council **[2]**, and Product Contact Points for Construction, established by Regulation (EU)

No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council **[3]**, which provide access to

product-specific technical rules; and national assistance centres for professional

qualifications, established by Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council **[4]**, which assist professionals moving cross-border. In addition, networks have been

established, such as European Consumer Centres, in order to promote the understanding of

Union consumers' rights and to assist in resolving complaints about purchases made in

other Member States within the network, when travelling or shopping online. Furthermore,

SOLVIT as referred to in Commission Recommendation 2013/461/EU **[5]** seeks to deliver

fast, effective and informal solutions to individuals and businesses when their internal

market rights are denied by public authorities. Finally, several information portals, such as

Your Europe, in respect of the internal market, and the e-Justice portal, in relation to the

area of justice, were established to inform users about Union and national rules.

**1** Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006
on services in the internal market (OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36).
**2** Regulation (EC) No 764/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008
laying down procedures relating to the application of certain national technical rules to
products lawfully marketed in another Member State and repealing Decision
No 3052/95/EC (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 21).
**3** Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction
products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC (OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5).
**4** Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005
on the recognition of professional qualifications (OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22).
**5** Commission Recommendation 2013/461/EU of 17 September 2013 on the principles
governing SOLVIT (OJ L 249, 19.9.2013, p. 10).

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(11) As a result of the sectorial nature of those Union acts, the current provision of online

information and of assistance and problem-solving services together with online

procedures for citizens and businesses remains very fragmented. There are discrepancies in

the availability of online information and procedures, there is a lack of quality in relation to

the services and a lack of awareness regarding that information and those assistance and

problem-solving services. Cross-border users also experience problems finding and

accessing those services.

(12) This Regulation should establish a single digital gateway to act as the single entry point

through which citizens and businesses are able to access information about the rules and

requirements that they have to comply with, by virtue of Union or national law. The

gateway should simplify citizens' and businesses' contact with the assistance and

problem-solving services established at Union or national level and make that contact more

effective. The gateway should also facilitate access to and completion of online

procedures. This Regulation should not affect in any way the existing rights and

obligations under Union or national law within those policy areas. For the procedures listed

in Annex II to this Regulation and the procedures provided for in Directives 2005/36/EC

and 2006/123/EC, and in Directives 2014/24/EU **[1]** and 2014/25/EU **[2]** of the European

Parliament and of the Council, this Regulation should support the use of the 'once-only'

principle and should fully respect the fundamental right to the protection of personal data,

for the purpose of the exchange of evidence between competent authorities in different

Member States.

**1** Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014
on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65).
**2** Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014
on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services
sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243).

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(13) The gateway and its content should be user-centric and user-friendly. The gateway should

aim to avoid overlaps and should provide links to existing services. It should allow citizens

and businesses to interact with public bodies at national and Union level by providing them

with the opportunity to give feedback in relation to both the services offered through the

gateway and the functioning of the internal market as they experience it. The feedback tool

should enable the user to point out, in a way that makes it possible for the user to remain

anonymous, perceived problems, deficiencies and needs in order to encourage the

continuous improvement of the quality of the services.

(14) The success of the gateway will depend on the joint effort of the Commission and the

Member States. The gateway should include a common user interface integrated into the

existing Your Europe portal, to be managed by the Commission. The common user

interface should provide links to information, to procedures and to assistance or

problem-solving services available on portals managed by competent authorities in

Member States and by the Commission. In order to facilitate the use of the gateway, the

common user interface should be available in all official languages of the institutions of the

Union ('official languages of the Union'). The existing Your Europe portal and its main

access webpage, adapted to the requirements of the gateway, should preserve this

multilingual approach to the information provided. The functioning of the gateway should

be supported by technical tools developed by the Commission in close cooperation with

the Member States.

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(15) In the Charter for the electronic Points of Single Contact under Directive 2006/123/EC,

which was endorsed by the Council in 2013, Member States made a voluntary commitment

to take a user-centric approach in the provision of information through the points of single

contact, in order to cover areas of particular importance for businesses including VAT,

income taxes, social security or labour law requirements. Based on the Charter and in the

light of experience with the Your Europe portal, that information should also include a

description of the assistance and problem-solving services. Citizens and businesses should

be able to refer to such services when they have problems understanding the information,

applying that information to their situation or completing a procedure.

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(16) This Regulation should list the information areas which are relevant for citizens and

businesses exercising their rights and complying with their obligations within the internal

market. For those areas, sufficiently comprehensive information should be provided at

national level, including at regional and local levels, and at Union level, explaining the

applicable rules and obligations and the procedures to be completed by citizens and

businesses in order to comply with those rules and obligations. In order to ensure the

quality of the services offered, the information provided through the gateway should be

clear, accurate and up-to-date, the use of complex terminology should be minimised and

the use of acronyms should be limited to those which provide simplified and easily

understandable terms that do not require a pre-existing knowledge of the issue or area of

law. That information should be provided in such a way that users can easily understand

the basic rules and requirements applicable to their situation in such areas. Users should

also be informed about the absence, in certain Member States, of national rules in the

information areas listed in Annex I, especially where those areas are subject to national

rules in other Member States. Such information about the absence of national rules could

be included in the Your Europe portal.

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(17) Wherever possible, information already collected by the Commission from the Member

States under existing Union law or voluntary arrangements – such as information collected

for the EURES portal, established by Regulation (EU) 2016/589 of the European

Parliament and of the Council **[1]**, the e-Justice portal, established by Council Decision

2001/470/EC **[2]**, or the Regulated professions database, established by Directive 2005/36/EC

– should be used to cover part of the information to be made accessible to citizens and

businesses at Union and national level in accordance with this Regulation. Member States

should not be required to provide on their national websites information which is already

available in the relevant databases managed by the Commission. Where Member States

already have to provide online information pursuant to other Union acts, such as

Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council **[3]**, it should be

sufficient for Member States to provide links to the existing online information.

**1** Regulation (EU) 2016/589 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2016
on a European network of employment services (EURES), workers' access to mobility
services and the further integration of labour markets, and amending Regulations (EU)
No 492/2011 and (EU) No 1296/2013 (OJ L 107, 22.4.2016, p. 1).
**2** Council Decision 2001/470/EC of 28 May 2001 establishing a European Judicial Network in
civil and commercial matters (OJ L 174 27.6.2001, p. 25).
**3** Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the
enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of
the provision of services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative
cooperation through the Internal Market Information System ('the IMI Regulation')
(OJ L 159, 28.5.2014, p. 11),

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Where certain policy areas have already been fully harmonised through Union law, for

instance consumer rights, information provided at Union level should generally be

sufficient for users to be able to understand their relevant rights or obligations. In such

cases, Member States should be required only to provide additional information regarding

their national administrative procedures and assistance services or any other national

administrative rules if it is relevant for users. Information regarding consumer rights, for

instance, should not affect contract law, but should rather inform users about their rights

under Union and national law in the context of commercial transactions.

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(18) This Regulation should enhance the internal market dimension of online procedures, and

thereby contribute to the digitalisation of the internal market, by upholding the general

principle of non-discrimination inter alia in relation to the access by citizens or businesses

to online procedures already established at national level on the basis of Union or national

law and to procedures that are to be made available fully online in accordance with this

Regulation. Where a user, in a situation exclusively confined to a single Member State, is

able to access and complete a procedure online in that Member State in an area covered by

this Regulation, a cross-border user should also be able to access and complete that

procedure online, either by using the same technical solution or an alternative, technically

separate solution leading to the same outcome, without any discriminatory obstacles. Such

obstacles might consist of nationally-designed solutions, such as using form fields that

require national phone numbers, national prefixes for phone numbers or national postal

codes, payment of fees that can only be done through systems which do not provide for

cross-border payments, the lack of detailed explanations in a language understood by

cross-border users, the lack of possibilities to submit electronic evidence from authorities

located in another Member State and the lack of acceptance of electronic means of

identification issued in other Member States. Member States should provide solutions for

those obstacles.

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(19) When users are completing online procedures across borders, they should be able to

receive all the relevant explanations in an official language of the Union that is broadly

understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users. This does not mean that

Member States are required to translate their administrative forms related to the procedure,

or the output of that procedure, into that language. Member States are however encouraged

to use technical solutions which would allow users to complete the procedures in as many

cases as possible, in that language, while respecting the Member States' rules on the use of

languages.

(20) The online national procedures that are relevant for cross-border users to enable them to

exercise their internal market rights depend on whether they are resident or established in

the Member State concerned, or want to access the procedures of that Member State while

being resident or established in another Member State. This Regulation should not prevent

Member States from requiring that cross-border users who are resident or established on

their territory obtain a national identification number in order to get access to the online

national procedures, provided this does not entail an unjustifiable additional burden or cost

for those users. For cross-border users who are not resident or established in the

Member State concerned, online national procedures that are not relevant for the exercise

of their internal market rights, for instance enrolment in order to receive local services,

such as garbage collection and parking permits, do not need to be made fully accessible

online.

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(21) This Regulation should build on Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament

and of the Council **[1]**, which lays down conditions under which Member States recognise

certain electronic identification means for natural and legal persons subject to a notified

electronic identification scheme of another Member State. Regulation (EU) No 910/2014

lays down the conditions subject to which users are permitted to use their means of

electronic identification and authentication to access online public services in cross-border

situations. Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies are encouraged to accept means

of electronic identification and authentication for the procedures for which they are

responsible.

(22) A number of sectorial Union acts such as Directives 2005/36/EC, 2006/123/EC,

2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU require that procedures are made fully available online. This

Regulation should require a number of other procedures of key importance to the majority

of citizens and businesses exercising their rights and complying with their obligations

across borders to be fully made available online.

**1** Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the
internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73).

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(23) In order to allow citizens and businesses to directly enjoy the benefits of the internal

market without incurring an unnecessary additional administrative burden, this Regulation

should require a full digitalisation of the user interface of certain key procedures for

cross-border users, which are listed in Annex II to this Regulation. This Regulation should

also lay down the criteria for determining how those procedures qualify as fully online.

The obligation to make such a procedure fully available online should only apply where

the procedure has been established in the Member State concerned. This Regulation should

not cover the initial registration of a business activity, the procedures leading to the

constitution of companies or firms as legal entities or any subsequent filing by such

companies or firms, since such procedures necessitate a comprehensive approach aimed at

facilitating digital solutions throughout a company's lifecycle. When businesses establish

themselves in another Member State, they are required to register with a social security

scheme and an insurance scheme in order to register their employees and pay contributions

to both schemes. They might need to notify their business activities, obtain permissions or

register changes to their business activity. Those procedures are common for businesses

operating in many sectors of the economy, and it is therefore appropriate to require that

those procedures are made available online.

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(24) This Regulation should clarify what offering a procedure fully online entails. A procedure

should be considered to be fully online if the user can take all steps, from access to

completion, interacting with the competent authority, the 'front office', electronically, at a

distance and through an online service. This online service should guide the user through a

list of all the requirements to be fulfilled and all supporting evidence to be provided,

should enable the user to provide the information and proof of compliance with all such

requirements and should provide an automatic acknowledgement of receipt to the user,

unless the output of the procedure is delivered immediately. This should not prevent

competent authorities from contacting the users directly, where necessary in order to obtain

further clarifications needed for the procedure. The output of the procedure, as set out in

this Regulation, should also be provided by the competent authorities to the user in an

electronic way, where possible under applicable Union and national law.

(25) This Regulation should not affect the substance of the procedures listed in Annex II which

are established at national, regional or local level and does not lay down material or

procedural rules within the areas covered by Annex II, including the area of taxation. The

purpose of this Regulation is to lay down the technical requirements in order to ensure that

such procedures, where they have been established in the Member State concerned, are

made available fully online.

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(26) This Regulation should not affect the competences of national authorities in any procedure,

including the verification of the accuracy and the validity of information or evidence

submitted and the verification of authenticity where evidence is submitted by means other

than the technical system based on the 'once-only' principle. This Regulation should also

not affect the procedural workflows within and between the competent authorities, the

'back office', whether digitalised or not. Where necessary, as part of some of the

procedures for registering changes of business activities, Member States should continue to

be able to require the involvement of notaries or lawyers who might want to use means of

verification including video-conference or other online means that provide real-time

audio-visual connection. However, such involvement should not prevent the completion of

procedures for registering such changes in their entirety online.

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(27) In some cases users might be required to submit evidence to prove facts that cannot be

established by online means. Such evidence could include a medical certificate, proof of

being alive, proof of roadworthiness of motor vehicles or confirmation of their chassis

numbers. Provided that such evidence can be submitted in electronic format, this should

not constitute an exception to the principle that a procedure should be offered fully online.

In other cases, it might still be necessary for users of a procedure to appear in person

before a competent authority as part of an online procedure. Any such exceptions, other

than those resulting from Union law, should be limited to situations which are justified by

an overriding reason of public interest in the areas of public security, public health or the

fight against fraud. In order to ensure transparency, Member States should share with the

Commission and the other Member States information about such exceptions and the

grounds on which, and circumstances in which, they can be applied. Member States should

not be required to report about each individual case in which, exceptionally, physical

presence was required, but should rather communicate the national provisions which

provide for such cases. Best practices at national level and technical developments

allowing further digitalisation in this regard should be discussed regularly in a gateway

coordination group.

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(28) In cross-border situations, the procedure to register a change of address might consist of

two separate procedures, one in the Member State of origin to request deregistration from

the old address, and the other in the Member State of destination to request registration at

the new address. Both procedures should be covered by this Regulation.

(29) Since the digitalisation of requirements, procedures and formalities relating to the

recognition of professional qualifications is already covered by Directive 2005/36/EC, this

Regulation should only cover the digitalisation of the procedure to request the academic

recognition of diplomas, certificates or other proof of courses completed with regard to a

person wishing to begin or to continue studying, or to use an academic title outside the

formalities relating to the recognition of professional qualifications.

(30) This Regulation should not affect the social security coordination rules set out in

Regulations (EC) No 883/2004 **[1]** and (EC) No 987/2009 **[2]** of the European Parliament and of

the Council, which define the rights and obligations of insured persons and social security

institutions, as well as the procedures applicable in the field of social security coordination.

**1** Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, p. 1).
**2** Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16
September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004
on the coordination of social security systems (OJ L 284, 30.10.2009, p. 1).

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(31) Several networks and services have been established at Union and national level to assist

citizens and businesses in their cross-border activities. It is important that those services,

including existing assistance or problem-solving services established at Union level, such

as the European Consumer Centres, Your Europe Advice, SOLVIT, the Intellectual

Property Rights helpdesk, Europe Direct and the Enterprise Europe Network, form part of

the gateway in order to ensure that all potential users can find them. The services listed in

Annex III were established by binding Union acts, whilst other services operate on a

voluntary basis. Services established by binding Union acts should be bound by the quality

requirements laid down in this Regulation. Services operated on a voluntary basis should

comply with those quality requirements if the intention is to make them accessible through

the gateway. The scope and nature of those services, their governance arrangements,

existing deadlines, and the voluntary, contractual or other basis on which they operate

should not be altered by this Regulation. For instance, where the assistance that they

provide is of an informal nature, this Regulation should not have the effect of changing

such assistance into legal advice of a binding nature.

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(32) Furthermore, the Member States and the Commission should be able to add to the gateway

other national assistance or problem-solving services provided by competent authorities or

by private or semi-private entities, or public bodies, such as chambers of commerce or

non-governmental assistance services for citizens, under the conditions laid down in this

Regulation. In principle, competent authorities should be responsible for assisting citizens

and businesses with any queries they have in relation to applicable rules and procedures

that cannot be fully addressed by online services. However, in very specialised areas and

where the service provided by private or semi-private bodies meets the users' needs,

Member States can propose to the Commission that it includes such services in the

gateway, provided that those services meet all conditions laid down in this Regulation and

do not duplicate the assistance or problem-solving services already included.

(33) In order to assist users to identify the appropriate service, this Regulation should provide

an assistance-service finder that automatically guides users to the right service.

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(34) Compliance with a minimum list of quality requirements is essential for the success of the

gateway in order to ensure that the provision of information or services is reliable, since,

otherwise, the credibility of the gateway as a whole would be seriously undermined. The

overarching objective of compliance is to ensure that the information or service is

presented in a clear and user-friendly way. It is the responsibility of the Member States to

determine how information is presented over the course of the user journey in order to

meet this objective. For instance, while it is helpful for users to be informed, before

launching a procedure, about the generally available means of redress when a procedure

results in a negative outcome, it is much more user-friendly to provide any specific

information about the possible steps to take in such a case at the end of the procedure.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 25

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(35) The accessibility of information for cross-border users can be substantially improved

where that information is made available in an official language of the Union broadly

understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users. This language should in

most cases be the foreign language most widely studied by users across the Union, but in

some specific cases, more particularly in the case of information to be provided at local

level by small municipalities close to the border of a Member State, the most suitable

language may be the one used as a first language by the cross-border users in the

neighbouring Member State. The translation from the official language or languages of the

Member State in question into this other official language of the Union should accurately

reflect the content of the information provided in the original language or languages.

Translation may be limited to the information that users need in order to understand the

basic rules and requirements that apply to their situation. While Member States should be

encouraged to translate as much information as possible into an official language of the

Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, the

volume of information to be translated under this Regulation will depend on the financial

resources available for this purpose, in particular those from the Union budget. The

Commission should make the appropriate arrangements to ensure the efficient delivery of

translations to the Member States at their request. The gateway coordination group should

discuss and provide guidance on the official language or languages of the Union into which

such information should be translated.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 26

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(36) In accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the

Council **[1]**, Member States are required to ensure that the websites of their public bodies are

accessible in accordance with the principles of perceivability, operability,

understandability and robustness and that they comply with the requirements laid down in

that Directive. The Commission and the Member States should ensure compliance with the

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in particular

Articles 9 and 21 thereof, and, in order to foster access to information for persons with

intellectual disabilities, alternatives in easy-to-read language should be provided to the

greatest possible extent in accordance with the principle of proportionality. The

Member States, by ratifying, and the Union, by concluding **[2]**, that Convention, have

committed themselves to taking appropriate measures to ensure access for persons with

disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to new information and communication

technologies and systems, including the internet, by facilitating access to information for

persons with intellectual disabilities, providing alternatives in easy-to-read language to the

greatest possible extent and proportionately.

**1** Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector
bodies (OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1).
**2** Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the
European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (OJ L 23, 27.1.2010, p. 35).

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 27

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(37) Directive (EU) 2016/2102 does not apply to websites and mobile applications of Union

institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, but the Commission should ensure that the

common user interface and the webpages under its responsibility that are to be included in

the gateway are accessible to persons with disabilities, meaning that they are perceivable,

operable, understandable and robust. Perceivability means that information and the

common user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can

perceive; operability means that the common user interface components and navigation

must be operable; understandability means that information and the operation of the

common user interface must be understandable; and robustness means that content must be

robust enough to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including

assistive technologies. In respect of the terms perceivable, operable, understandable and

robust, the Commission is encouraged to comply with the relevant harmonised standards.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 28

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(38) In order to facilitate the payment of fees required as part of online procedures or for the

provision of assistance or problem-solving services, cross-border users should be able to

use credit transfers or direct debits as specified in Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 of the

European Parliament and of the Council **[1]** or other generally used cross-border payment

means including debit or credit cards.

(39) It is useful for users to be informed about the expected time a procedure may take.

Accordingly, users should be informed about applicable deadlines or tacit approval or

administrative silence arrangements or, if these are not applicable, at least of the average,

estimated or indicative time that the procedure in question usually requires. Such estimates

or indications should only help the users in planning their activities or any subsequent

administrative steps and should have no legal effect.

**1** Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
14 March2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and
direct debits in euro and amending Regulation (EC) No 924/2009
(OJ L 94, 30.03.2012, p.22).

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 29

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(40) This Regulation should also allow for the verification of the evidence provided in

electronic format by the users, where that evidence is submitted without electronic seal or

certification from the issuing competent authority, or where the technical tool established

by this Regulation or another system enabling the direct exchange or verification of

evidence between competent authorities of different Member States is not available. For

such cases, this Regulation should provide for an effective mechanism for administrative

cooperation among the competent authorities of the Member States, based on the Internal

Market Information System ('IMI') established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the

European Parliament and of the Council **[1]** . In such cases, the decision of a competent

authority to use IMI should be voluntary, but once that authority has submitted a request

for information or cooperation through IMI, the requested competent authority should be

bound to cooperate and to provide a response. The request can be sent through IMI either

to the competent authority issuing the evidence or to the central authority to be designated

by Member States in accordance with their own administrative rules.

**1** Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
25 October 2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information
System and repealing Commission Decision 2008/49/EC ('the IMI Regulation')
(OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 1).

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 30

# ECOMP.3.A EN

To avoid unnecessary duplication and as Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European

Parliament and of the Council **[1]** covers part of the evidence relevant for the procedures

covered by this Regulation, the cooperation arrangements for IMI laid down in Regulation

(EU) 2016/1191 can also be used for the purpose of other evidence required in procedures

covered by this Regulation. In order to allow Union bodies, offices or agencies to become

actors within IMI, Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 should be amended.

(41) Online services provided by competent authorities are crucial for increasing the quality and

security of the services provided to citizens and businesses. Public administrations within

Member States are increasingly working towards the reuse of data, dispensing with the

requirement that citizens and businesses supply the same information several times. The

reuse of data should be facilitated for cross-border users in order to reduce additional

burden.

(42) In order to enable the lawful cross-border exchange of evidence and information by means

of the Union-wide application of the 'once-only' principle, the application of this

Regulation and of the 'once-only' principle should comply with all applicable data

protection rules, including the principle of data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation,

integrity and confidentiality, necessity, proportionality and purpose limitation. Its

implementation should also comply fully with the principles of security by design and of

privacy by design, and should also respect the fundamental rights of individuals, including

those related to fairness and transparency.

**1** Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016
on promoting the free movement of citizens by simplifying the requirements for presenting
certain public documents in the European Union and amending Regulation (EU)
No 1024/2012 (OJ L 200, 26.7.2016, p. 1).

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 31

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(43) Member States should ensure that users of procedures are provided with clear information

on how personal data relating to them will be processed in accordance with Articles 13 and

14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council **[1]** and

Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) 2018/... **[2+]** .

**1** Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016
on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the
free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection
Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).
**2** Regulation (EU) 2018/... of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... 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 ...).
**+** OJ: please insert in the text the number of the Regulation contained in document PE-CONS
31/18 - 2017/0002(COD) and insert the number, date, and OJ reference of that Regulation in
the footnote.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 32

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(44) In order to further facilitate the use of online procedures, this Regulation should, in line

with the 'once-only' principle, provide the basis for the creation and use of a fully

operational, safe and secure technical system for the automated cross-border exchange of

evidence between the actors involved in the procedure, where this is explicitly requested

by citizens and businesses. Where the exchange of evidence includes personal data, the

request should be considered to be explicit if it contains a freely given, specific, informed

and unambiguous indication of the individual's wish to have the relevant personal data

exchanged, either by statement or by affirmative action. If the user is not the person

concerned by the data, the online procedure should not affect his or her rights under

Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The cross-border application of the 'once-only' principle should

result in citizens and businesses not having to supply the same data to public authorities

more than once, and that it should also be possible to use those data at the request of the

user for the purposes of completing cross-border online procedures involving cross-border

users. For the issuing competent authority, the obligation to use the technical system for

the automated exchange of evidence between different Member States should apply only

where authorities lawfully issue, in their own Member State, evidence in an electronic

format that makes such an automated exchange possible.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 33

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(45) Any cross-border exchange of evidence should have an appropriate legal basis such as

Directive 2005/36/EC, 2006/123/EC, 2014/24/EU or 2014/25/EU or, for the procedures

listed in Annex II, other applicable Union or national law.

(46) It is appropriate that this Regulation lays down, as a general rule, that the cross-border

automated exchange of evidence takes place at the explicit request of the user. However,

this requirement should not apply where the relevant Union or national law allows for

automated cross-border data exchange without an explicit user request.

(47) The use of the technical system established by this Regulation should remain voluntary and

the user should remain free to submit evidence by other means outside the technical

system. The user should have the possibility to preview the evidence and the right to

choose not to proceed with the exchange of evidence in cases where the user, after

previewing the evidence to be exchanged, discovers that the information is inaccurate, out

of-date, or goes beyond what is necessary for the procedure in question. The data included

in the preview should not be stored longer than is technically necessary.

(48) The secure technical system that should be set up to enable the exchange of evidence under

this Regulation should also give requesting competent authorities certainty that the

evidence has been provided by the right issuing authority. Before accepting information

provided by a user in the context of a procedure, the competent authority should be able to

verify the information where it gives rise to doubts, and to conclude that it is accurate.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 34

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(49) A number of building blocks offering basic capabilities exist that can be used to set up the

technical system, such as the Connecting Europe Facility, established by Regulation (EU)

No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council **[1]**, and the eDelivery and eID

building blocks that form a part of that facility. Those building blocks consist of technical

specifications, sample software and supporting services, and aim to ensure interoperability

between the existing information and communication technology (ICT) systems in

different Member States so that citizens, businesses and administrations, wherever they are

in the Union, can benefit from seamless digital public services.

(50) The technical system established by this Regulation should be available in addition to other

systems providing mechanisms for cooperation between authorities, such as IMI and

should not affect other systems, including the system provided for in Regulation (EC)

No 987/2009, the European Single Procurement Document, under Directive 2014/24/EU,

the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information, under Regulation (EC)

No 987/2009, the European Professional Card, under Directive 2005/36/EC, the

interconnection of national registers and the interconnection of central, commercial and

company registers, under Directive (EU) 2017/1132 of the European Parliament and of the

Council **[2]**, and the interconnection of insolvency registers, under Regulation (EU) 2015/848

of the European Parliament and of the Council **[3]** .

**1** Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
11 December 2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility, amending Regulation (EU)
No 913/2010 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 680/2007 and (EC) No 67/2010
(OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 129).
**2** Directive (EU) 2017/1132 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017
relating to certain aspects of company law (OJ L 169, 30.6.2017, p. 46).
**3** Regulation (EU) 2015/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015
on insolvency proceedings (OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 19).

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 35

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(51) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of a technical system

allowing for the automated exchange of evidence, implementing powers should be

conferred on the Commission to lay down, in particular the technical and operational

specifications of a system for the processing of a user's request for evidence to be

exchanged and for the transfer of such evidence, as well as to lay down the rules necessary

to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the transfer. Those powers should be exercised

in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the

Council **[1]** .

(52) With a view to ensuring that the technical system provides a high level of security for the

cross-border application of the 'once-only' principle, the Commission should, when

adopting implementing acts setting out the specifications for such a technical system, take

due account of the standards and technical specifications drawn up by European and

international standardisation organisations and bodies, in particular the European

Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the European Telecommunications Standards

Institute (ETSI), the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the

International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as well as of the security standards referred

to in Article 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2018/... **[+]** .

**1** Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for
control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers
(OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).
**+** OJ: please insert in the text the number of the Regulation contained in document PE-CONS
31/18 - 2017/0002(COD).

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 36

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(53) Where necessary in order to ensure the development, availability, maintenance,

supervision, monitoring and security management of the parts of the technical system for

which the Commission is responsible, the Commission should request the advice of the

European Data Protection Supervisor.

(54) The competent authorities and the Commission should ensure that the information,

procedures and services for which they are responsible comply with the quality criteria.

The national coordinators appointed under this Regulation and the Commission should, at

regular intervals, supervise compliance with the quality and security criteria at national and

Union level respectively, and address any problems that arise. The national coordinators

should in addition assist the Commission in monitoring the functioning of the technical

system enabling the cross-border exchange of evidence. This Regulation should afford the

Commission a range of means to address any deterioration in the quality of services

offered through the gateway, depending on the seriousness and persistence of such

deterioration, involving, where necessary, the gateway coordination group. This should not

prejudge the overall responsibility of the Commission regarding the monitoring of the

compliance with this Regulation.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 37

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(55) This Regulation should specify the main functionalities of the technical tools supporting

the functioning of the gateway, in particular the common user interface, the repository for

links, and the common assistance service finder. The common user interface should ensure

that users can easily find information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving

services on national and Union level websites. Member States and the Commission should

aim to provide links to a single source of the information required for the gateway in order

to avoid confusion among the users as a result of different or fully or partly duplicative

sources of the same information. This should not exclude the possibility of providing links

to the same information offered by local or regional competent authorities regarding

different geographical areas. It should also not prevent some duplication of information

where this is unavoidable or desirable, for instance where some Union rights, obligations

and rules are repeated or described on national webpages to improve user-friendliness. To

minimise human intervention in the updating of the links to be used by the common user

interface, a direct connection between the relevant technical systems of the Member States

and the repository for links should, where technically possible, be established. The

common ICT support tools might use the Core Public Services Vocabulary (CPSV) to

facilitate interoperability with national service catalogues and semantics. Member States

should be encouraged to use the CPSV, but are free to decide to use national solutions. The

information included in the repository for links should be made publicly available in open,

commonly used and machine-readable format, for example by application programming

interfaces (APIs), in order to enable its reuse.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 38

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(56) The search facility of the common user interface should lead users to the information they

need wherever it is on Union or national level webpages. In addition, as an alternative way

to guide users to useful information, it will continue to be helpful to create links between

existing and complementary websites or webpages, streamlining and grouping them

together as much as possible, and to create links between webpages and websites at Union

and national level providing access to online services and information.

(57) This Regulation should also specify quality requirements for the common user interface.

The Commission should ensure that the common user interface complies with those

requirements, and the interface should in particular be available and accessible online

through various channels, as well as being easy to use.

(58) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the technical solutions

supporting the gateway, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to

lay down, where necessary, the applicable standards and interoperability requirements in

order to make it easier to find the information on rules and obligations, on procedures and

on assistance and problem-solving services for which the Member States and Commission

are responsible. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU)

No 182/2011.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 39

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(59) This Regulation should also clearly allocate the responsibility regarding the development,

availability, maintenance and security of the ICT applications supporting the gateway

between the Commission and Member States. As part of their maintenance tasks, the

Commission and the Member States should regularly monitor the proper functioning of

those ICT applications.

(60) In order to develop the full potential of the different areas of information, the procedures

and the assistance and problem-solving services that should be included in the gateway,

target audiences' awareness of their existence and operation needs to be improved

significantly. Their inclusion in the gateway should make it much easier for users to find

the information, the procedures and the assistance and problem-solving services that they

need, even when they are not familiar with any of them. In addition, coordinated

promotional activities will be needed to ensure that citizens and businesses across the

Union become aware of the existence of the gateway and of the advantages it offers. Such

promotional activities should include search engine optimisation and other online

awareness raising actions, since they are the most cost-effective and have the potential to

reach the largest possible target audience. For maximum efficiency, those promotional

activities should be coordinated within the framework of the gateway coordination group

and Member States should adjust their promotional efforts so that there is a common brand

reference in all relevant contexts, with a possibility of co-branding the gateway with

national initiatives.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 40

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(61) All Union institutions, bodies and agencies should be encouraged to promote the gateway

by including its logo and links to it on all relevant webpages for which they are

responsible.

(62) The name by which the gateway is to be known and promoted to the general public should

be 'Your Europe'. The common user interface should be prominent and easy to find,

particularly on relevant Union and national webpages. The logo of the gateway should be

visible on relevant Union and national websites.

(63) In order to obtain adequate information for measuring and improving the performance of

the gateway, this Regulation should require the competent authorities and the Commission

to collect and analyse the data related to the use of the different information areas,

procedures and services offered through the gateway. The collection of user statistics, such

as data relating to the number of visits to specific webpages, the number of users within a

Member State compared to the number of users from other Member States, the search

terms used, the most visited webpages, the referral webpages, or the number, origin and

subject matter of requests for assistance should improve the functioning of the gateway by

helping to identify the audience, to develop promotional activities and to improve the

quality of the services offered. The collection of such data should take into account the

annual eGovernment Benchmarking done by the Commission in order to avoid any

duplication.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 41

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(64) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation,

implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to lay down uniform rules

on the method of collecting and exchanging user statistics. Those powers should be

exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

(65) The quality of the gateway depends on the quality of Union and national services provided

through the gateway. Therefore, the quality of the information, procedures, assistance and

problem-solving services available through the gateway should also be regularly monitored

through a user feedback tool that asks users to assess and give feedback on the coverage

and quality of the information, procedure or assistance and problem-solving service which

they have used. This feedback should be collected in a common tool to which the

Commission, the competent authorities and the national coordinators should have access.

In order to ensure uniform conditions for implementation of this Regulation in relation to

the common functionalities of user feedback tools and the detailed arrangements for the

collection and sharing of the user feedback, implementing powers should be conferred on

the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU)

No 182/2011. The Commission should publish, in anonymised form, online summary

overviews of the problems emerging from the information, the main user statistics and the

main user feedback collected in accordance with this Regulation.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 42

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(66) In addition, the gateway should include a feedback tool that enables users to signal,

voluntarily and anonymously, any problems and difficulties that they encountered while

exercising their internal market rights. This tool should be considered only to be

complementary to the complaint handling mechanisms, since it cannot offer a personalised

response to users. The received input should be combined with aggregated information

from assistance and problem-solving services about the cases that they have handled in

order to produce an overview of the internal market as perceived by its users and to

identify problem areas for possible future action in order to improve the functioning of the

internal market. That overview should be linked to existing reporting tools, such as the

Single Market Scoreboard.

(67) The right of Member States to decide who should carry out the role of the national

coordinator should be unaffected by this Regulation. Member States should be able to

adapt the functions and responsibilities of their national coordinators in relation to the

gateway to their internal administrative structures. Member States should be able to

appoint additional national coordinators to carry out the tasks under this Regulation alone

or jointly with others, with responsibility for a division of the administration or a

geographic region, or in accordance with other criteria. Member States should inform the

Commission of the identity of the single national coordinator that they have appointed for

contacts with the Commission.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 43

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(68) The gateway coordination group composed of the national coordinators and chaired by the

Commission should be set up with a view to facilitating the application of this Regulation,

in particular by exchanging best practices and working together to improve the consistency

of the presentation of information as required by this Regulation. The work of the gateway

coordination group should take into account the objectives set out in the annual work

programme, which the Commission should submit to it for consideration. The annual work

programme should take the form of guidelines or recommendations, which are not binding

for Member States. The Commission, upon the request of the European Parliament, can

decide to invite Parliament to send experts to attend meetings of the gateway coordination

group.

(69) This Regulation should clarify which parts of the gateway are to be financed through the

Union budget and which parts are to be the responsibility of the Member States. The

Commission should assist the Member States in identifying reusable ICT building blocks

and financing available through various Union level funds and programmes that can

contribute to covering the costs for ICT adaptations and developments needed at national

level to comply with this Regulation. The budget required for the implementation of this

Regulation should be compatible with the applicable Multiannual Financial Framework.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 44

# ECOMP.3.A EN

(70) Member States are encouraged to coordinate, exchange and collaborate more with one

another in order to increase their strategic, operational, research and development

capacities in the area of cybersecurity, in particular through the implementation of the

network and information security, as referred to in Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the

European Parliament and of the Council **[1]**, to strengthen the security and resilience of their

public administration and services. Member States are encouraged to increase the security

of transactions and to ensure a sufficient level of confidence in electronic means by using

the eIDAS framework laid down by Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and in particular

adequate assurance levels. Member States can take measures in accordance with Union law

to safeguard cybersecurity and to prevent identity fraud or other forms of fraud.

(71) Where the application of this Regulation entails the processing of personal data, it should

be carried out in accordance with Union law on the protection of personal data, in

particular Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Regulation (EU) 2018/... **[+]** . Directive

(EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council **[2]** should also apply in the

context of this Regulation. As provided for in Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Member States

can maintain or introduce further conditions, including limitations, with regard to the

processing of data concerning health, and they can also provide for more specific rules on

the processing of employees' personal data in the context of employment.

**1** Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning
measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across
the Union (OJ L 194, 19.7.2016, p. 1).
**+** OJ: please insert in the text the number of the Regulation contained in document PE-CONS
31/18 - 2017/0002(COD).
**2** Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on
the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent
authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of
criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such
data, and repealing Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA
(OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89).

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# ECOMP.3.A EN

(72) This Regulation should promote and facilitate the streamlining of governance

arrangements for the services covered by the gateway. For this purpose, the Commission

should, in close cooperation with the Member States, review the existing governance

arrangements and adapt them where necessary, in order to avoid duplication and

inefficiencies.

(73) The objective of this Regulation is to ensure that users who operate in other Member States

have online access to comprehensive, reliable, accessible and understandable Union and

national information on rights, rules and obligations, to online procedures that are fully

transactional cross-border and to assistance and problem-solving services. As that

objective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason

of the scale and effects of this Regulation, 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 that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to

achieve that objective.

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# ECOMP.3.A EN

(74) In order for the Member States and the Commission to develop and implement the

necessary tools to give effect to this Regulation, certain of its provisions should apply from

two years after its entry into force. Municipal authorities should be given until four years

after the entry into force of this Regulation to implement the requirement to provide

information regarding the rules, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services

within their responsibility. The provisions of this Regulation regarding procedures to be

offered fully online, the cross-border access to online procedures and the technical system

for the cross-border automated exchange of evidence in accordance with the 'once-only'

principle should be implemented by five years after the entry into force of this Regulation

at the latest.

(75) This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in

particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and should be

implemented in accordance with those rights and principles.

(76) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 28(2)

of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and delivered an opinion on 1 August 2017 **[1]**,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

**1** OJ C 340, 11.10.2017, p. 6.

PE-CONS 41/18 SH/JP/fh 47

# ECOMP.3.A EN

## **Chapter I** **General provisions**

_Article 1_

_Subject matter_

1. This Regulation lays down rules for:

(a) the establishment and operation of a single digital gateway to provide citizens and

businesses with easy access to high quality information, to efficient procedures and

to effective assistance and problem-solving services with regard to Union and

national rules applicable to citizens and businesses exercising or intending to

exercise their rights derived from Union law in the field of the internal market,

within the meaning of Article 26(2) TFEU;

(b) the use of procedures by cross-border users and the implementation of the 'once-only'

principle in connection with the procedures listed in Annex II to this Regulation and

the procedures provided for in Directives 2005/36/EC, 2006/123/EC, 2014/24/EU

and 2014/25/EU;

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(c) the reporting on obstacles in the internal market based on the collection of user

feedback and statistics from the services covered by the gateway.

2. Where this Regulation conflicts with a provision of another Union act governing specific

aspects of the subject matter covered by this Regulation, the provision of that other Union

act shall prevail.

3. This Regulation shall not affect the substance of, or the rights granted through, any

procedure laid down at Union or national level in any of the areas covered by this

Regulation. Furthermore, this Regulation shall not affect measures taken in accordance

with Union law to safeguard cybersecurity and to prevent fraud.

_Article 2_

_Establishment of the single digital gateway_

1. A single digital gateway ('the gateway') shall be established by the Commission and the

Member States in accordance with this Regulation. The gateway shall consist of a common

user interface managed by the Commission ('the common user interface'), which shall be

integrated into the Your Europe portal and shall give access to relevant Union and national

webpages.

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2. The gateway shall give access to:

(a) information on rights, obligations and rules laid down in Union and national law that

are applicable to users exercising or intending to exercise their rights derived from

Union law in the field of the internal market in the areas listed in Annex I;

(b) information on online and offline procedures and links to online procedures,

including procedures covered by Annex II, established at Union or national level in

order to enable users to exercise the rights and to comply with the obligations and

rules in the field of the internal market in the areas listed in Annex I;

(c) information on, and links to, the assistance and problem-solving services listed in

Annex III or referred to in Article 7 which citizens and businesses can refer to if they

have questions or problems related to the rights, obligations, rules or procedures

referred to in points (a) and (b) of this paragraph.

3. The common user interface shall be accessible in all official languages of the Union.

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_Article 3_

_Definitions_

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

(1) 'user' means either a citizen of the Union, a natural person residing in a Member State or a

legal person having its registered office in a Member State, and who accesses the

information, the procedures, or the assistance or problem-solving services, referred to in

Article 2(2), through the gateway;

(2) 'cross-border user' means a user in a situation which is not confined in all respects within a

single Member State;

(3) 'procedure' means a sequence of actions that must be taken by users to satisfy the

requirements, or to obtain from a competent authority a decision, in order to be able to

exercise their rights as referred to in point (a) of Article 2(2);

(4) 'competent authority' means any Member State authority or body established at national,

regional or local level with specific responsibilities relating to the information, procedures,

assistance and problem-solving services covered by this Regulation;

(5) 'evidence' means any document or data, including text or sound, visual or audiovisual

recording, irrespective of the medium used, required by a competent authority to prove

facts or compliance with procedural requirements referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2).

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## **Chapter II** **Gateway services**

_Article 4_

_Access to information_

1. Member States shall ensure that users have easy, online access on their national webpages

to the following:

(a) information about those rights, obligations and rules referred to in point (a) of

Article 2(2) that are derived from national law;

(b) information about those procedures referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2) that are

established at national level;

(c) information about those assistance and problem-solving services referred to in

point (c) of Article 2(2) that are provided at national level.

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2. The Commission shall ensure that the Your Europe portal provides users with easy, online

access to the following:

(a) information about those rights, obligations and rules referred to in point (a) of

Article 2(2) that are derived from Union law;

(b) information about those procedures referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2) that are

established at Union level;

(c) information about those assistance and problem-solving services referred to in

point (c) of Article 2(2) that are provided at Union level.

_Article 5_

_Access to information not included in Annex I_

1. The Member States and the Commission may provide links to information not listed in

Annex I which is offered by competent authorities, the Commission or bodies, offices and

agencies of the Union, provided that this information falls within the scope of the gateway

as defined in point (a) of Article 1(1) and complies with the quality requirements laid down

in Article 9.

2. The links to the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be provided in

accordance with Article 19(2) and (3).

3. Before activating any links, the Commission shall verify that the conditions laid down in

paragraph 1 are met and consult the gateway coordination group.

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_Article 6_

_Procedures to be offered fully online_

1. Each Member State shall ensure that users can access and complete any of the procedures

listed in Annex II fully online, provided that the relevant procedure has been established in

the Member State concerned.

2. The procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall be considered to be fully online where:

(a) the identification of users, the provision of information and supporting evidence,

signature and final submission can all be carried out electronically at a distance,

through a service channel which enables users to fulfil the requirements related to the

procedure in a user-friendly and structured way;

(b) users are provided with an automatic acknowledgement of receipt, unless the output

of the procedure is delivered immediately;

(c) the output of the procedure is delivered electronically, or where necessary to comply

with applicable Union or national law, delivered by physical means; and

(d) users are provided with an electronic notification of completion of the procedure.

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3. Where, in exceptional cases justified by overriding reasons of public interest in the areas of

public security, public health or the fight against fraud, the objective pursued cannot be

fully achieved online, Member States may require the user to appear in person before the

competent authority as a step in the procedure. In such exceptional cases, Member States

shall limit such physical presence to what is strictly necessary and objectively justified and

shall ensure that other steps of the procedure can be completed fully online. Member States

shall also ensure that physical presence requirements do not result in discrimination against

cross-border users.

4. Member States shall notify and explain, through a common repository accessible to the

Commission and the other Member States, the grounds on which, and the circumstances in

which, physical presence might be required for the procedural steps referred to in

paragraph 3, and the grounds on which, and the circumstances in which, physical delivery

is necessary, as referred to in point (c) of paragraph 2.

5. This Article shall not prevent Member States from offering users the additional possibility

of accessing and completing the procedures referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2) by

means other than an online channel, or from contacting users directly.

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_Article 7_

_Access to assistance and problem-solving services_

1. The Member States and the Commission shall ensure that users, including cross-border

users, have easy online access through different channels to the assistance and

problem-solving services referred to in point (c) of Article 2(2).

2. The national coordinators referred to in Article 28 and the Commission may provide links

to assistance and problem-solving services offered by competent authorities, the

Commission or bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, other than those listed in

Annex III, in accordance with Article 19(2) and (3), provided that such services comply

with the quality requirements laid down in Articles 11 and 16.

3. Where necessary to meet the needs of the users, the national coordinator may propose to

the Commission that links to assistance or problem-solving services provided by private or

semi-private entities are included in the gateway, where those services meet the following

conditions:

(a) they offer information or assistance within the areas, and for the purposes, covered

by this Regulation and are complementary to services already included in the

gateway;

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(b) they are offered free of charge or at a price which is affordable for micro-enterprises,

non-profit organisations and citizens; and

(c) they comply with the requirements laid down in Articles 8, 11 and 16.

4. Where the national coordinator has proposed the inclusion of a link in accordance with

paragraph 3 of this Article, and provides such link in accordance with Article 19(3), the

Commission shall assess whether the conditions in paragraph 3 of this Article are met by

the service to be included through the link, and if so, shall activate the link.

Where the Commission finds that the conditions in paragraph 3 are not met by the service

to be included, it shall inform the national coordinator of the reasons for not activating the

link.

_Article 8_

_Quality requirements related to web accessibility_

The Commission shall make those of its websites and webpages through which it grants access to

the information referred to in Article 4(2) and to the assistance and problem-solving services

referred to in Article 7 more accessible by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and

robust.

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## **Chapter III** **Quality requirements**

### **S ECTION 1** **Q UALITY REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO INFORMATION** **ON RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND RULES, ON PROCEDURES AND ON ASSISTANCE** **AND PROBLEM - SOLVING SERVICES**

_Article 9_

_Quality of information on rights, obligations and rules_

1. Where Member States and the Commission are responsible in accordance with Article 4

for ensuring access to information referred to in point (a) of Article 2(2), they shall make

sure that such information complies with the following requirements:

(a) it is user-friendly, enabling users to easily find and understand the information and to

easily identify which parts of the information are relevant to their particular situation;

(b) it is accurate and sufficiently comprehensive to cover information that users need to

know in order to exercise their rights in full compliance with applicable rules and

obligations;

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(c) it includes references, links to legal acts, technical specifications and guidelines,

where relevant;

(d) it includes the name of the competent authority or entity responsible for the content

of the information;

(e) it includes the contact details of any relevant assistance or problem-solving services,

such as a phone number, an e-mail address, an online enquiry form or any other

commonly used means of electronic communication that is most suitable for the type

of service offered and for the target audience of that service;

(f) it includes the date of the last update of the information, if any, or, where the

information has not been updated, the date of publication of the information;

(g) it is well-structured and presented, so that users can quickly find the information they

need;

(h) it is kept up-to-date; and

(i) it is written in clear and plain language adapted to the needs of the target users.

2. Member States shall make the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article

accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest

possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.

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_Article 10_

_Quality of information on procedures_

1. The Member States and the Commission shall, for the purposes of complying with

Article 4, ensure that, before users have to identify themselves prior to launching the

procedure, they have access to a sufficiently comprehensive, clear and user-friendly

explanation of the following elements, where applicable, of the procedures referred to in

point (b) of Article 2(2):

(a) the relevant steps of the procedure to be taken by the user, including any exception,

under Article 6(3), to the obligation of Member States to offer the procedure fully

online;

(b) the name of the competent authority responsible for the procedure, including its

contact details;

(c) the accepted means of authentication, identification and signature for the procedure;

(d) the type and format of evidence to be submitted;

(e) the means of redress or appeal which are generally available in the event of disputes

with the competent authorities;

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(f) the applicable fees and the online methods of payment;

(g) any deadlines to be respected by the user or by the competent authority and where no

deadlines exist, the average, estimated or indicative time that the competent authority

needs to complete the procedure;

(h) any rules concerning a lack of reply from the competent authority and the legal

consequences thereof for the users, including tacit approval or administrative silence

arrangements;

(i) any additional languages in which the procedure can be carried out.

2. If no tacit approval, administrative silence or similar arrangements exist, competent

authorities shall, where applicable, inform users of any delays and of any extension of

deadlines or any consequences thereof.

3. Where the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 is already made available for

non-crossborder users, it may be used or reused for the purposes of this Regulation,

provided that it also covers the situation of cross-border users, where applicable.

4. Member States shall make the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article

accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest

possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.

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_Article 11_

_Quality of information on assistance and problem-solving services_

1. The Member States and the Commission shall, for the purposes of complying with

Article 4, ensure that, before submitting a request for a service as referred to in point (c) of

Article 2(2), users have access to a clear and user-friendly explanation of the following:

(a) the type, purpose and expected results of the service offered;

(b) the contact details of the entities responsible for the service such as a phone number,

an e-mail address, an online enquiry form or any other commonly used means of

electronic communication that is most suitable for the type of service offered and for

the target audience of that service;

(c) where relevant, the applicable fees and the online methods of payment;

(d) any applicable deadlines to be respected and where none exist, an average, or

estimated time required to deliver the service;

(e) any additional languages in which the request can be submitted and which can be

used in subsequent contacts.

2. Member States shall make the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article

accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest

possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.

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_Article 12_

_Translation of information_

1. Where a Member State does not provide the information, explanations and instructions set

out in Articles 9, 10 and 11, and in point (a) of Article 13(2), in an official language of the

Union broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, that

Member State shall request the Commission to provide translations into that language,

within the limits of the available Union budget referred to in point (c) of Article 32(1).

2. Member States shall ensure the texts submitted for translation under paragraph 1 of this

Article cover at least the basic information in all areas listed in Annex I and that, where

sufficient Union budget is available, they cover any further information, explanations and

instructions referred to in Articles 9, 10 and 11, and in point (a) of Article 13(2), taking the

most important needs of cross-border users into account. Member States shall provide to

the repository for links referred to in Article 19 the links to such translated information.

3. The language referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the official language of the Union that is

most widely studied as a foreign language by users across the Union. By way of exception,

where the information, explanations or instructions to be translated are expected to be of

predominant interest for cross-border users originating from one other Member State, the

language referred to in paragraph 1 may be the official language of the Union used as the

first language by those cross-border users.

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4. Where a Member State requests a translation into an official language of the Union that is

not the language most widely studied as a foreign language by users across the Union, it

shall provide reasons for its request. Where the Commission finds that the conditions

referred to in paragraph 3 for the choice of such other language are not met, it may refuse

the request and shall inform the Member State of the reasons thereof.

### **S ECTION 2** **R EQUIREMENTS RELATED TO ONLINE PROCEDURES**

_Article 13_

_Cross-border access to online procedures_

1. Member States shall ensure that, where a procedure referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2)

and established at national level can be accessed and completed online by non-crossborder

users, it can also be accessed and completed online by cross-border users in a

non-discriminatory way by means of the same or an alternative technical solution.

2. Member States shall ensure that, for the procedures referred to in paragraph 1 of this

Article, at least the following requirements are met:

(a) users are able to access the instructions for completing the procedure in an official

language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of

cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12;

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(b) cross-border users are able to submit the required information, including where the

structure of such information differs from similar information in the Member State

concerned;

(c) cross-border users are able to identify and authenticate themselves, sign or seal

documents electronically, as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, in all

cases where this is also possible for non-crossborder users;

(d) cross-border users are able to provide evidence of compliance with applicable

requirements and to receive the outcome of the procedures in electronic format in all

cases where this is also possible for non-crossborder users;

(e) where the completion of a procedure requires a payment, users are able to pay any

fees online through widely available cross-border payment services, without

discrimination based on the place of establishment of the payment service provider,

the place of issue of the payment instrument or the location of the payment account

within the Union.

3. Where the procedure does not require electronic identification or authentication, as referred

to in point (c) of paragraph 2, and where competent authorities are allowed under

applicable national law or administrative practices to accept digitalised copies of non

electronic evidence of identity, such as identity cards or passports, in respect of

non-crossborder users, those authorities shall also accept such digitalised copies in respect

of cross-border users.

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_Article 14_

_Technical system for the cross-border automated exchange of evidence_

_and application of the 'once-only' principle_

1. For the purpose of the exchange of evidence for the online procedures listed in Annex II to

this Regulation and the procedures provided for in Directives 2005/36/EC, 2006/123/EC,

2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU, a technical system for the automated exchange of evidence

between competent authorities in different Member States ('the technical system') shall be

established by the Commission in cooperation with the Member States.

2. Where competent authorities lawfully issue, in their own Member State and in an

electronic format that allows automated exchange, evidence that is relevant for the online

procedures referred to in paragraph 1, they shall also make such evidence available to

requesting competent authorities from other Member States in an electronic format that

allows automated exchange.

3. The technical system shall, in particular:

(a) enable the processing of requests for evidence at the explicit request of the user;

(b) enable the processing of requests for evidence to be accessed or exchanged;

(c) allow the transmission of evidence between competent authorities;

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(d) allow the processing of the evidence by the requesting competent authority;

(e) ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the evidence;

(f) enable the possibility for the user to preview the evidence to be used by the

requesting competent authority and to choose whether or not to proceed with the

exchange of evidence;

(g) ensure an adequate level of interoperability with other relevant systems;

(h) ensure a high level of security for the transmission and processing of evidence;

(i) not process evidence beyond what is technically necessary for the exchange of

evidence, and then only for the duration necessary for that purpose.

4. The use of the technical system shall not be obligatory for users and shall only be

permitted at their explicit request, unless otherwise provided under Union or national law.

The users shall be permitted to submit evidence by means other than the technical system

and directly to the requesting competent authority.

5. The possibility of previewing the evidence, referred to in point (f) of paragraph 3, of this

Article shall not be required for procedures where the automated cross-border data

exchange without such preview is allowed under applicable Union or national law. That

possibility of previewing the evidence shall be without prejudice to the obligation to

provide the information under Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

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6. Member States shall integrate the fully operational technical system as part of the

procedures referred to in paragraph 1.

7. The competent authorities responsible for the online procedures referred to in paragraph 1

shall, upon an explicit, freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous request of the

user concerned, request evidence directly from competent authorities issuing evidence in

other Member States through the technical system. The issuing competent authorities

referred to in paragraph 2 shall, in accordance with point (e) of paragraph 3, make such

evidence available through the same system.

8. The evidence made available to the requesting competent authority shall be limited to what

has been requested and shall only be used by that authority for the purpose of the

procedure for which the evidence was exchanged. The evidence exchanged through the

technical system shall, for the purposes of the requesting competent authority, be deemed

to be authentic.

9. By ... [30 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], the Commission

shall adopt implementing acts to set out the technical and operational specifications of the

technical system necessary for the implementation of this Article. Those implementing acts

shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(2).

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10. Paragraphs 1 to 8 shall not apply to procedures established at Union level which provide

for different mechanisms for the exchange of evidence, unless the technical system

necessary for the implementation of this Article is integrated into those procedures in

accordance with the rules of the Union acts that establish those procedures.

11. The Commission and each of the Member States shall be responsible for the development,

availability, maintenance, supervision, monitoring and security management of their

respective parts of the technical system.

_Article 15_

_Verification of evidence between Member States_

Where the technical system, or other systems for the exchange or verification of evidence between

Member States are not available or are not applicable, or where the user does not request the use of

the technical system, competent authorities shall cooperate through the Internal Market Information

System (IMI) where this is necessary in order to verify the authenticity of evidence that was

submitted to one of them in an electronic format by the user for the purpose of an online procedure.

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### **S ECTION 3** **Q UALITY REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO ASSISTANCE** **AND PROBLEM - SOLVING SERVICES**

_Article 16_

_Quality requirements related to assistance and problem-solving services_

The competent authorities and the Commission shall, within their respective competences, ensure

that the assistance and problem-solving services listed in Annex III and those that have been

included in the gateway in accordance with Article 7(2), (3) and (4) comply with the following

quality requirements:

(a) they are provided within a reasonable timeframe taking into account the complexity of the

request;

(b) when deadlines are extended, users are informed in advance of the reasons thereof and of

the new deadline given;

(c) where the provision of a service requires a payment, users are able to pay any fees online

through widely available cross-border payment services without discrimination based on

the place of establishment of the payment service provider, the place of issue of the

payment instrument or the location of the payment account within the Union.

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### **S ECTION 4** **Q UALITY MONITORING**

_Article 17_

_Quality monitoring_

1. The national coordinators referred to in Article 28 and the Commission shall, within their

respective competences, regularly monitor the compliance of the information, procedures

and assistance and problem-solving services available through the gateway with the quality

requirements laid down in Articles 8 to 13 and 16. The monitoring shall be carried out on

the basis of the data gathered in accordance with Articles 24 and 25.

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2. In the event of a deterioration in the quality of the information, of the procedures and of the

assistance or problem-solving services referred to in paragraph 1 provided by the

competent authorities, the Commission shall, taking into account the seriousness and

persistence of the deterioration, take one or more of the following measures:

(a) inform the relevant national coordinator and ask for remedial action;

(b) submit for discussion in the gateway coordination group recommended actions to

improve compliance with the quality requirements;

(c) send a letter with recommendations to the Member State concerned;

(d) temporarily disconnect the information, the procedure, or the assistance or

problem-solving service from the gateway.

3. Where an assistance or problem-solving service to which links are provided in accordance

with Article 7(3) consistently does not comply with requirements laid down in Articles 11

and 16, or no longer meets the needs of the users as indicated by the data gathered in

accordance with Articles 24 and 25, the Commission may, after consultation with the

relevant national coordinator and, where necessary, with the gateway coordination group,

disconnect it from the gateway.

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## **Chapter IV** **Technical solutions**

_Article 18_

_Common user interface_

1. The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, provide a common

user interface, integrated into the 'Your Europe' portal, to ensure the proper functioning of

the gateway.

2. The common user interface shall give access to the information, procedures and assistance

or problem-solving services by means of links to the relevant Union and national level

websites or webpages included in the repository for links referred to in Article 19.

3. The Member States and the Commission, acting in accordance with their respective roles

and responsibilities, as provided for in Article 4, shall ensure that the information on rules

and obligations, on procedures and on assistance and problem-solving services is organised

and marked in a way that makes it easier to find through the common user interface.

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4. The Commission shall ensure that the common user interface complies with the following

quality requirements:

(a) it is easy to use;

(b) it is accessible online through various electronic devices;

(c) it is developed and optimised for different web browsers;

(d) it meets the following web accessibility requirements: perceivability, operability,

understandability and robustness.

5. The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down interoperability requirements

to make it easier to find the information on rules and obligations, on procedures and on

assistance and problem-solving services through the common user interface. Those

implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred

to in Article 37(2).

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_Article 19_

_Repository for links_

1. The Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States, shall establish and

maintain an electronic repository for links to the information, procedures and assistance

and problem-solving services referred to in Article 2(2) allowing the connection between

such services and the common user interface.

2. The Commission shall provide the repository for links with the links to the information,

procedures and assistance and problem-solving services accessible on the webpages

managed at Union level, and it shall keep those links accurate and up-to-date.

3. The national coordinators shall provide the repository for links with the links to the

information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services accessible on the

webpages managed by competent authorities, or by private or semi-private entities as

referred to in Article 7(3), and they shall keep those links accurate and up-to-date.

4. Where technically possible, the provision, referred to in paragraph 3, of the links may be

carried out automatically between the relevant systems of the Member States and the

repository for links.

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5. The Commission shall make the information included in the repository for links publicly

available in an open and machine-readable format.

6. The Commission and the national coordinators shall ensure that the links to information,

procedures and assistance or problem-solving services offered through the gateway do not

contain any unnecessary full or partial duplication and overlaps that are likely to confuse

users.

7. Where the making available of information referred to in Article 4 is provided for in other

provisions of Union law, the Commission and the national coordinators may provide links

to that information in order to comply with the requirements of that Article.

_Article 20_

_Common assistance service finder_

1. In order to facilitate access to the assistance and problem-solving services listed in

Annex III or referred to in Article 7(2) and (3), the competent authorities and the

Commission shall ensure that users can access them through a common assistance and

problem-solving service finder ('the common assistance service finder') available through

the gateway.

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2. The Commission shall develop and manage the common assistance service finder, and

decide on the structure and format in which the descriptions and contact details of the

assistance and problem-solving services need to be provided, to enable the proper

functioning of the common assistance service finder.

3. The national coordinators shall provide the descriptions and contact details as referred to in

paragraph 2 to the Commission.

_Article 21_

_Responsibilities for the ICT applications supporting the gateway_

1. The Commission shall be responsible for the development, availability, monitoring,

updating, maintenance, security and hosting of the following ICT applications and

webpages:

(a) the Your Europe portal, referred to in Article 2(1);

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(b) the common user interface, referred to in Article 18(1), including the search engine

or any other ICT tool that enables searchability of web information and services;

(c) the repository for links, referred to in Article 19(1);

(d) the common assistance service finder, referred to in Article 20(1);

(e) the user feedback tools, referred to in Article 25(1) and point (a) of Article 26(1).

The Commission shall work in close cooperation with the Member States to develop the

ICT applications.

2. The Member States shall be responsible for the development, availability, monitoring,

updating, maintenance and security of ICT applications related to the national websites and

webpages that they manage and that are linked to the common user interface.

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## **Chapter V** **Promotion**

_Article 22_

_Name, logo and quality label_

1. The name by which the gateway is to be known and promoted to the general public shall

be 'Your Europe'.

The logo by which the gateway is to be known and promoted to the general public shall be

decided by the Commission in close cooperation with the gateway coordination group by

... [six months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] at the latest.

The logo of the gateway and a link to the gateway shall be made visible and available on

the relevant Union-level and national-level websites that are connected to the gateway.

2. As proof of adherence to the quality requirements referred to in Articles 9, 10 and 11, the

name and the logo of the gateway shall also serve as a quality label. However, the logo of

the gateway shall only be used as a quality label by webpages and websites included in the

repository for links referred to in Article 19.

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_Article 23_

_Promotion_

1. The Member States and the Commission shall promote the awareness and the use of the

gateway amongst citizens and businesses and shall ensure that the gateway and its

information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services are visible to the

public and can be easily found through search engines which are accessible to the public.

2. The Member States and the Commission shall coordinate their promotion activities

referred to in paragraph 1 and shall refer to the gateway and use its logo in such activities,

along with any other brand names, as appropriate.

3. The Member States and the Commission shall ensure that the gateway can be easily found

through the related websites for which they are responsible, and that clear links to the

common user interface are available on all relevant websites at Union and national level.

4. The national coordinators shall promote the gateway to the national competent authorities.

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## **Chapter VI** **Collection of user feedback and statistics**

_Article 24_

_User statistics_

1. The competent authorities and the Commission shall ensure that statistics are collected in

relation to users' visits on the gateway and on the webpages to which the gateway links in a

way that guarantees anonymity of the users, in order to improve the functionality of the

gateway.

2. The competent authorities, the providers of assistance or problem-solving services as

referred to in Article 7(3) and the Commission shall collect and exchange, in an aggregated

way, the number, the origin and the subject matter of requests for assistance and

problem-solving services and their response times.

3. The statistics collected in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 in relation to the

information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services to which the gateway

links shall include the following data categories:

(a) data related to the number, origin and type of users of the gateway;

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(b) data related to the user preferences and user journeys;

(c) data related to the usability, findability and quality of the information, procedures

and assistance and problem-solving services.

Those data shall be made available to the public in an open and commonly used,

machine-readable format.

4. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down the method of collecting and

exchanging the user statistics referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article. Those

implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred

to in Article 37(2).

_Article 25_

_User feedback on the services of the gateway_

1. In order to gather direct information from users about their satisfaction with the services

provided through the gateway and the information made available therein, the Commission

shall provide users through the gateway with a user-friendly feedback tool that enables

them, immediately after using any of the services referred to in Article 2(2), to comment

anonymously on the quality and availability of the services provided through the gateway,

of the information made available therein and of the common user interface.

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2. The competent authorities and the Commission shall ensure that users can access the tool

referred to in paragraph 1 from all webpages that are part of the gateway.

3. The Commission, the competent authorities and the national coordinators shall have direct

access to the user feedback collected through the tool referred to in paragraph 1for the

purpose of addressing any problems raised.

4. The competent authorities shall not be required on those of their webpages that are part of

the gateway to give users access to the user feedback tool referred to in paragraph 1, where

another user feedback tool with similar functionalities to the user feedback tool referred to

in paragraph 1 is already available on their webpages for the purpose of monitoring service

quality. The competent authorities shall collect the user feedback received through their

own user feedback tool and shall share it with the Commission and the national

coordinators of the other Member States.

5. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down rules for the collection and

sharing of the user feedback. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with

the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(2).

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_Article 26_

_Reporting on the functioning of the internal market_

1. The Commission shall:

(a) provide users of the gateway with a user-friendly tool to signal and give feedback

anonymously on any obstacles encountered by them in exercising their internal

market rights;

(b) collect aggregated information from the assistance and problem-solving services that

form part of the gateway about the subject matter of requests and responses.

2. The Commission, the competent authorities and the national coordinators shall have direct

access to the feedback collected in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 1.

3. The Member States and the Commission shall analyse and investigate the problems raised

by users pursuant to this Article and address them, wherever possible, by appropriate

means.

_Article 27_

_Online summary overviews_

The Commission shall publish in an anonymised form online summary overviews of the problems

emerging from the information collected in accordance with Article 26(1), the main user statistics

referred to in Article 24, and the main user feedback referred to in Article 25.

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## **Chapter VII** **Governance of the gateway**

_Article 28_

_National coordinators_

1. Each Member State shall appoint a national coordinator. In addition to their obligations in

accordance with Articles 7, 17, 19, 20, 23 and 25, the national coordinators shall:

(a) act as a contact point for their respective administrations for all matters relating to

the gateway;

(b) promote the uniform application of Articles 9 to 16 by their respective competent

authorities;

(c) ensure that the recommendations referred to in point (c) of Article 17(2) are properly

implemented.

2. Each Member State may, in accordance with its internal administrative structure, appoint

one or more coordinators in order to carry out any of the tasks listed in paragraph 1.

One national coordinator for each Member State shall be responsible for contacts with the

Commission in respect of all matters relating to the gateway.

3. Each Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of the name

and contact details of its national coordinator.

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_Article 29_

_Coordination group_

A coordination group is hereby established ('the gateway coordination group'). It shall be composed

of one national coordinator from each Member State and shall be chaired by a representative of the

Commission. It shall adopt its rules of procedure. The Commission shall provide the secretariat.

_Article 30_

_Tasks of the gateway coordination group_

1. The gateway coordination group shall support the implementation of this Regulation. In

particular it shall:

(a) facilitate the exchange and regular updating of best practices;

(b) encourage the uptake of fully online procedures beyond those included in Annex II to

this Regulation, and of online means of authentication, identification and signatures,

in particular those provided for in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(c) discuss improvements to the user-friendly presentation of information within the

areas listed in Annex I, in particular on the basis of the data collected in accordance

with Articles 24 and 25;

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(d) assist the Commission in developing the common ICT solutions supporting the

gateway;

(e) discuss the draft annual work programme;

(f) assist the Commission in monitoring the execution of the annual work programme;

(g) discuss additional information provided in accordance with Article 5 with a view to

encouraging other Member States to provide similar information, where relevant to

the users;

(h) assist the Commission in monitoring compliance with the requirements set out in

Articles 8 to 16, in accordance with Article 17;

(i) inform about the implementation of Article 6(1);

(j) discuss and recommend actions to the competent authorities and the Commission

with a view to avoiding or eliminating unnecessary duplication of the services

available through the gateway;

(k) provide opinions on procedures or measures to address efficiently any problems with

the quality of the services raised by users or suggestions for its improvement;

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(l) discuss the application of the principles of security by design and privacy by design

in the context of this Regulation;

(m) discuss issues related to the collection of the user feedback and statistics referred to

in Articles 24 and 25, so that the services offered at Union and national level are

continuously improved;

(n) discuss issues related to the quality requirements of the services offered through the

gateway;

(o) exchange best practices and assist the Commission in the organisation, structuring

and presentation of services referred to in Article 2(2), to enable the proper

functioning of the common user interface;

(p) facilitate the development and implementation of the coordinated promotion;

(q) cooperate with the governance bodies or networks of information services, and of

assistance or problem-solving services;

(r) provide guidance on the additional official language, or languages, of the Union to be

used by competent authorities in accordance with Articles 9(2), 10(4) and 11(2), and

point (a) of Article 13(2).

2. The Commission may consult the gateway coordination group on any matter relating to the

application of this Regulation.

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_Article 31_

_Annual work programme_

1. The Commission shall adopt the annual work programme which shall specify, in

particular:

(a) actions to improve the presentation of specific information within the areas listed in

Annex I and actions to facilitate the timely implementation, by competent authorities

at all levels, including municipal level, of the requirement to provide information;

(b) actions to facilitate compliance with Articles 6 and 13;

(c) actions required to ensure the consistent compliance with the requirements set out in

Articles 9 to 12;

(d) activities related to the promotion of the gateway in accordance with Article 23.

2. When preparing the draft annual work programme, the Commission shall take account of

the user statistics and feedback collected in accordance with Articles 24 and 25 and of any

suggestions made by Member States. Prior to adoption, the Commission shall submit the

draft annual work programme to the gateway coordination group for discussion.

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## **Chapter VIII** **Final provisions**

_Article 32_

_Costs_

1. The general budget of the European Union shall cover the costs of:

(a) development and maintenance of the ICT tools supporting the implementation of this

Regulation at Union level;

(b) promotion of the gateway at Union level;

(c) translation of information, explanations and instructions in accordance with

Article 12 within a maximum annual volume per Member State, without prejudice to

possible reallocation where this is necessary in order to enable full use of the

available budget.

2. The costs related to national webportals, information platforms, assistance services and

procedures established at Member State level shall be met from the respective budgets of

the Member States, unless otherwise provided for in Union legislation.

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_Article 33_

_Protection of personal data_

The processing of personal data by competent authorities within the framework of this Regulation

shall comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Processing of personal data by the Commission

within the framework of this Regulation shall comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/... **[+]** .

_Article 34_

_Cooperation with other information and assistance networks_

1. After consulting the Member States, the Commission shall decide which existing informal

governance arrangements for any of the assistance or problem-solving services listed in

Annex III or for any of the areas of information covered by Annex I are to become the

responsibility of the gateway coordination group.

2. Where the information and assistance services or networks have been created by a legally

binding Union act for any of the areas of information covered by Annex I, the Commission

shall coordinate the work of the gateway coordination group and the governance bodies of

such services or networks with a view to achieving synergies and avoiding duplication.

**+** OJ: please insert in the text the number of the Regulation contained in document PE-CONS
31/18 - 2017/0002(COD).

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_Article 35_

_Internal Market Information System_

1. The Internal Market Information System (IMI), established by Regulation (EU)

No 1024/2012, shall be used for the purposes of, and in accordance with, Article 6(4) and

Article 15.

2. The Commission may decide to use IMI as the electronic repository for links referred to in

Article 19(1).

_Article 36_

_Reporting and review_

By … [four years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and once every two years

thereafter, the Commission shall review the application of this Regulation and submit to the

European Parliament and to the Council an assessment report on the functioning of the gateway and

on the functioning of the internal market on the basis of the statistics and feedback collected in

accordance with Articles 24, 25 and 26. The review shall, in particular, evaluate the scope of

Article 14, taking into account technological, market and legal developments concerning the

exchange of evidence between competent authorities.

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_Article 37_

_Committee procedure_

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee

within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall

apply.

_Article 38_

_Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012_

Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 is amended as follows:

(1) Article 1 is replaced by the following:

' _Article 1_

_Subject matter_

This Regulation lays down rules for the use of an Internal Market Information System

("IMI") for administrative cooperation among the IMI actors, including the processing of

personal data.';

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(2) in Article 3, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

'1. IMI shall be used for exchanges of information, including of personal data, among

the IMI actors and for the processing of that information for the purposes of either of

the following:

(a) administrative cooperation required in accordance with the acts listed in the

Annex;

(b) administrative cooperation subject to a pilot project carried out in accordance

with Article 4.';

(3) in Article 5, the second paragraph is amended as follows:

(a) point (a) is replaced by the following:

'(a) "IMI" means the electronic tool provided by the Commission to facilitate

administrative cooperation among the IMI actors;';

(b) point (b) is replaced by the following:

'(b) "administrative cooperation" means the collaboration between IMI actors by

exchanging and processing information for the purpose of better application of

Union law;';

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(c) point (g) is replaced by the following:

'(g) "IMI actors" means the competent authorities, the IMI coordinators, the

Commission and the Union bodies, offices and agencies;';

(4) in Article 8(1), the following point is added:

'(f) ensuring coordination with Union bodies, offices and agencies and granting them

access to IMI.';

(5) in Article 9, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

'4. Appropriate means shall be put in place by the Member States, the Commission and

Union bodies, offices and agencies to ensure that IMI users are allowed to access

personal data processed in IMI only on a need-to-know basis and within the internal

market area or areas for which they were granted access rights in accordance with

paragraph 3.';

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(6) Article 21 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

'2. The European Data Protection Supervisor shall be responsible for monitoring

and ensuring the application of this Regulation when the Commission or Union

bodies, offices and agencies, in their role as IMI actors, process personal data.

The duties and powers referred to in Articles 57 and 58 of Regulation

(EU) 2018/... **[*+]** shall apply accordingly.

______________________

***** Regulation (EU) 2018/... of the European Parliament and of the Council of ...
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 ...) **[++]** .';

(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

'3. The National Supervisory Authorities and the European Data Protection

Supervisor, each acting within the scope of their respective competences, shall

cooperate with each other to ensure the coordinated supervision of IMI and its

use by IMI actors in accordance with Article 62 of Regulation (EU) 2018/... **[+]** .';

(c) paragraph 4 is deleted;

**+** OJ: please insert the number of the Regulation contained in document PE-CONS 31/18 2017/0002(COD).
**++** OJ: please insert the number, date and OJ reference of the Regulation contained in document
PE-CONS 31/18 - 2017/0002(COD).

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(7) in Article 29, paragraph 1 is deleted;

(8) In the Annex, the following points are added:

'11. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of

27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of

personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing

Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) **[*]** : Article 56, Articles 60 to

66 and Article 70(1).

12. Regulation (EU) 2018/... **[+]** of the European Parliament and of the Council of …

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 **[**]** : Articles 6(4), 15 and 19.

____________________

***** OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1.
****** OJ …. **[++]** .'.

**+** OJ: please insert in the text the number and the date of the adoption of this amending
Regulation.
**++** OJ: Please insert the OJ reference of this amending Regulation.

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_Article 39_

_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_ .

Article 2, Article 4, Articles 7 to 12, Article 16, Article 17, Article 18(1) to (4), Article 19,

Article 20, Article 24(1), (2) and (3), Article 25(1) to (4), Article 26 and Article 27 shall apply from

... [two years after entry into force of this Regulation].

Article 6, Article 13, Article 14(1) to (8) and (10) and Article 15 shall apply from … [five years

after entry into force of this Regulation].

Notwithstanding the date of application of Articles 2, 9, 10 and 11, municipal authorities shall make

the information, explanations and instructions referred to in those Articles available by …

[four years after entry into force of this Regulation] at the latest.

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

Done at ...,

_For the European Parliament_ _For the Council_

_The President_ _The President_

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**ANNEX I**

List of areas of information relevant for citizens and business exercising their internal market rights

referred to in point (a) of Article 2(2)

Areas of information areas related to citizens:

|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES ARISING FROM UNION AND NATIONAL LAW|
|---|---|
|A. Travel within the<br>Union|1.<br>documents required of Union citizens, their family members who<br>are not Union citizens, minors travelling alone and non-Union<br>citizens when travelling across borders within the Union (ID<br>card, visa, passport)<br>2.<br>rights and obligations of travellers by plane, train, ship, busin and<br>from the Union, and of those who buy travel packages or linked<br>travel arrangements<br>3.<br>assistance in case of reduced mobility when travelling in and<br>from the Union<br>4.<br>transport of animals, plants, alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes and other<br>goods when travelling in the Union<br>5.<br>voice calling and sending and receiving electronic messages and<br>electronic data within the Union|
|B. Work and<br>retirement within the<br>Union|1.<br>seeking employment in another Member State<br>2.<br>taking up employment in another Member State<br>3.<br>recognition of qualifications with a view to employment in<br>another Member State<br>4.<br>taxation in another Member State<br>5.<br>rules on liability and mandatory insurance linked to residence or<br>employment in another Member State|

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|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES ARISING FROM UNION AND NATIONAL LAW|
|---|---|
||6.<br>terms and conditions of employment, including for posted<br>workers, as stipulated by law or statutory instrument (including<br>information on working hours, paid leave, holiday entitlements,<br>rights and obligations regarding overtime work, health checks,<br>termination of contracts, dismissal and redundancies)<br>7.<br>equal treatment (rules prohibiting discrimination in the<br>workplace, rules on equal pay for men and women and on equal<br>pay for employees on fixed-term or permanent employment<br>contracts)<br>8.<br>health and safety obligations in relation to different types of<br>activity<br>9.<br>social security rights and obligations in the Union including<br>those related to getting pensions|
|C. Vehicles in the<br>Union|1.<br>taking a motor vehicle temporarily or permanently to another<br>Member State<br>2.<br>acquiring and renewing a driving license<br>3.<br>taking out mandatory motor vehicle insurance<br>4.<br>buying and selling a motor vehicle in another Member State<br>5.<br>national traffic rules and requirements for drivers, including<br>general rules for the use of the national road infrastructure:<br>time-based charges (vignette), distance-based charges (toll),<br>emission stickers|

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|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES ARISING FROM UNION AND NATIONAL LAW|
|---|---|
|D. Residence in<br>another Member<br>State|1.<br>moving temporarily or permanently to another Member State<br>2.<br>purchasing and selling of immovable property, including any<br>conditions and obligations related to taxation, ownership, or use<br>of such property, including its use as a secondary residence<br>3.<br>participating in municipal elections and elections to the European<br>Parliament<br>4.<br>requirements for residence cards for Union citizens and their -<br>family members, including family members who are not Union<br>citizens<br>5.<br>conditions applicable to the naturalisation of nationals from<br>another Member State<br>6.<br>rules applicable in the case of death, includingrules on the<br>repatriation of remains to another Member State|
|E. Education or<br>traineeship in<br>another Member<br>State|1.<br>education system in another Member State, including early<br>childhood education and care, primary and secondary education,<br>higher education and adult learning<br>2.<br>volunteering in another Member State<br>3.<br>traineeships in another Member State<br>4.<br>conducting research in another Member State as part of an<br>education programme|

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|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES ARISING FROM UNION AND NATIONAL LAW|
|---|---|
|F. Healthcare|1.<br>getting medical treatment in another Member State<br>2.<br>buying prescribed pharmaceutical products in a Member State<br>other than the one where the prescription was issued, on-line or<br>in person<br>3.<br>health insurance rules applicable in the case of short-term or<br>long-term stays in another Member State, including how to apply<br>for a European Health Insurance Card<br>4.<br>general information on access rights or obligations to participate<br>in available public preventive healthcare measures<br>5 <br>services provided through national emergency numbers,<br>including '112' and '116' numbers<br>6.<br>rights and conditions for moving to a residential care home|
|G. Citizens' and<br>family rights|1.<br>birth, custody for minor children, parental responsibilities, rules<br>on surrogacy and adoption, including second-parent-adoption,<br>maintenance obligations in relation to children in a cross-border<br>family situation<br>2.<br>living in a couple with different nationalities including same-sex<br>couples (marriage, civil or registered partnership, separation,<br>divorce, marital property rights, the rights of cohabitants)<br>3.<br>rules of gender recognition<br>4.<br>rights and obligations in relation to succession in another<br>Member State, including tax rules<br>5.<br>rights and rules applicable in the case of cross-border parental<br>child abduction|

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|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES ARISING FROM UNION AND NATIONAL LAW|
|---|---|
|H. Consumer rights|1.<br>buying goods, digital content or services (including financial<br>services) from another Member State, on-line or in person<br>2.<br>holding a bank account in another Member State<br>3.<br>connection to utilities, such as gas, electricity, water, household<br>waste disposal, telecoms and the internet<br>4.<br>payments, including credit transfers, delays in cross-border<br>payments<br>5.<br>consumer rights and guarantees related to buying goods and<br>services, including procedures for consumer dispute resolution<br>and compensation<br>6.<br>safety and security of consumer products<br>7.<br>renting a motor vehicle|
|I. Protection of<br>personal data|1.<br>exercising data subjects' rights in relation to the protection of<br>personal data|

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# ANNEX I ECOMP.3.A EN

Areas of information related to businesses:

|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES|
|---|---|
|J. Starting, running<br>and closing a<br>business|1.<br>registering, changing the legal form of or closing a business<br>(registration procedures and legal forms for carrying out<br>business)<br>2.<br>moving a business to another Member State<br>3.<br>intellectual property rights (applying for a patent, registering a<br>trademark, a drawing or a design, getting a license for<br>reproduction)<br>4.<br>fairness and transparency in commercial practices, including<br>consumer rights and guarantees related to selling goods and<br>services<br>5.<br>offering online facilities for cross-border payments when selling<br>goods and services online<br>6.<br>rights and obligations arising under contract law, including late<br>payment interests<br>7.<br>insolvency proceedings and liquidation of companies<br>8.<br>credit insurance<br>9.<br>mergers of companies or selling a business<br>10.<br>civil liability of directors of a company<br>11.<br>rules and obligations regarding the processing of personal data|

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# ANNEX I ECOMP.3.A EN

|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES|
|---|---|
|K. Employees|1.<br>terms of employment stipulated by law or statutory instrument<br>(including working hours, paid leave, holiday entitlements, rights<br>and obligations regarding overtime work, health checks,<br>termination of contracts, dismissals and redundancies)<br>2.<br>social security rights and obligations in the Union (registering as<br>employer, registering employees, notifying the end of contract of<br>an employee, paying social contributions, rights and obligations<br>related to pensions)<br>3.<br>employment of workers in other Member States (posting of<br>workers, rules on freedom to provide services, residency<br>requirements for workers)<br>4.<br>equal treatment (rules prohibiting discrimination in the<br>workplace, rules on equal pay for men and women and equal pay<br>for employees on fixed-term or under permanent employment<br>contracts)<br>5.<br>rules on staff representation|
|L. Taxes|1.<br>VAT: information on the general rules, rates and exemptions,<br>registering for and paying VAT, obtaining a refund<br>2.<br>excise duties: information on the general rules, rates and<br>exemptions, registration for excise tax purposes and payment of<br>excise tax, obtaining a refund<br>3.<br>customs duties and other taxes and duties collected on imports<br>4.<br>customs procedures for imports and exports under the Union<br>Customs Code<br>5.<br>other taxes: payment, rates, tax returns|

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# ANNEX I ECOMP.3.A EN

|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES|
|---|---|
|M. Goods|1.<br>obtaining CE marking<br>2.<br>product rules and requirements<br>3.<br>identifying applicable standards, technical specifications and<br>getting products certified<br>4.<br>mutual recognition of products not subject to Union -<br>specifications<br>5.<br>requirements regarding classification, labelling and packaging<br>for hazardous chemicals<br>6.<br>distance/off-premises selling: information to be given to<br>customers in advance, confirmation of the contract in writing,<br>withdrawal from a contract, delivering of the goods, other<br>specific obligations<br>7.<br>defective products: consumer rights and guarantees, after-sale<br>responsibilities, means of redress for an injured party<br>8.<br>certification, labels (EMAS, energy labels, Eco-design, EU<br>eco-label)<br>9.<br>recycling and waste management|
|N. Services|1.<br>acquiring licenses, authorisations or permits with a view to<br>starting and operating a business<br>2.<br>notifying the authorities of cross-border activities<br>3.<br>recognition of professional qualifications, including vocational<br>education and training|

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# ANNEX I ECOMP.3.A EN

|Area|INFORMATION REGARDING RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND<br>RULES|
|---|---|
|O. Funding a<br>business|1.<br>obtaining access to finance at the Union level, including Union<br>funding programmes and business grants<br>2.<br>obtaining access to finance at national level<br>3.<br>initiatives addressed to entrepreneurs (exchanges organised for<br>new entrepreneurs, mentoring programmes etc.)|
|P. Public contracts|1.<br>participating in public tenders: rules and procedures<br>2.<br>submitting a bid online in response to a public call for tender<br>3.<br>reporting irregularities in relation to the tender process|
|Q. Health and safety<br>at work|1.<br>health and safety obligations in relation to different types of<br>activity, including risk prevention, information and training|

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# ANNEX I ECOMP.3.A EN

**ANNEX II**

Procedures referred to in Article 6(1)

|Life events|Procedures|Expected output subject to an<br>assessment of the application by the<br>competent authority in acccordance with<br>national law, where relevant|
|---|---|---|
|Birth|Requesting proof of registration of<br>birth|Proof of registration of birth or birth<br>certificate|
|Residence|Requesting proof of residence|Confirmation of registration at the<br>current address|
|Studying|Applying for a tertiary education<br>study financing, such as study<br>grants and loans from a public body<br>or institution|Decision on the application for financing<br>or acknowledgement of receipt|
|Studying|Submiting an initial application for<br>admission to public tertiary<br>education institution|Confirmation of the receipt of<br>application|
|Studying|Requesting academic recognition of<br>diplomas, certificates or other proof<br>of studies or courses|Decision on the request for recognition|

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# ANNEX II ECOMP.3.A EN

|Life events|Procedures|Expected output subject to an<br>assessment of the application by the<br>competent authority in acccordance with<br>national law, where relevant|
|---|---|---|
|Working|Request for determination of<br>applicable legislation in accordance<br>with Title II of Regulation (EC)<br>No 883/2004**1**|Decision on applicable legislation|
|Working|Notifying changes in the personal<br>or professional circumstances of the<br>person receiving social security<br>benefits, relevant for such benefits|Confirmation of receipt of notification of<br>such changes|
|Working|Application for a European Health<br>Insurance Card (EHIC)|European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)|
|Working|Submitting an income tax<br>declaration|Confirmation of the receipt of the<br>declaration|

**1** Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, p. 1).

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# ANNEX II ECOMP.3.A EN

|Life events|Procedures|Expected output subject to an<br>assessment of the application by the<br>competent authority in acccordance with<br>national law, where relevant|
|---|---|---|
|Moving|Registering a change of address|Confirmation of deregistration at the<br>previous address and of the registration<br>of the new address|
|Moving|Registering a motor vehicle<br>originating from or already<br>registered in a Member State, in<br>standard procedures**1**|Proof of registration of a motor vehicle|
|Moving|Obtaining stickers for the use of the<br>national road infrastructure: time-<br>based charges (vignette),<br>distance-based charges (toll), issued<br>by a public body or institution|Receipt of toll sticker or vignette or<br>other proof of payment|
|Moving|Obtaining emission stickers issued<br>by a public body or institution|Receipt of emission sticker or other<br>proof of payment|
|Retiring|Claiming pension and<br>pre-retirement benefits from<br>compulsory schemes|Confirmation of the receipt of the claim<br>or decision regarding the claim for a<br>pension or pre-retirement benefits|
|Retiring|Requesting information on the data<br>related to pension from compulsory<br>schemes|Statement of personal pension data|

**1** This covers the following vehicles: (a) any motor vehicle or trailer as referred to in Article 3
of Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 263,
9.10.2007, p. 1) and (b) any two or three-wheel motor vehicle, whether twin-wheeled or
otherwise, intended to travel on the road, as referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EU)
No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 52).

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# ANNEX II ECOMP.3.A EN

|Life events|Procedures|Expected output subject to an<br>assessment of the application by the<br>competent authority in acccordance with<br>national law, where relevant|
|---|---|---|
|Starting, running<br>and closing a<br>business|Notification of business activity,<br>permission for exercising a business<br>activity, changes of business<br>activity and the termination of a<br>business activity not involving<br>insolvency or liquidation<br>procedures, excluding the initial<br>registration of a business activity<br>with the business register and<br>excluding procedures concerning<br>the constitution of or any<br>subsequent filing by companies or<br>firms within the meaning of the<br>second paragraph of Article 54<br>TFEU|Confirmation of the receipt of<br>notification or change, or of the request<br>for permission for business activity|
|Starting, running<br>and closing a<br>business|Registration of an employer (a<br>natural person) with compulsory<br>pension and insurance schemes|Confirmation of registration or social<br>security registration number|
|Starting, running<br>and closing a<br>business|Registration of employees with<br>compulsory pension and insurance<br>schemes|Confirmation of registration or social<br>security registration number|
|Starting, running<br>and closing a<br>business|Submitting a corporate tax<br>declaration|Confirmation of the receipt of the<br>declaration|
|Starting, running<br>and closing a<br>business|Notification to the social security<br>schemes of the end of contract with<br>an employee, excluding procedures<br>for the collective termination of<br>employee contracts|Confirmation of the receipt of the<br>notification|
|Starting, running<br>and closing a<br>business|Payment of social contributions for<br>employees|Receipt or other form of confirmation of<br>payment of social contributions for<br>employees|

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# ANNEX II ECOMP.3.A EN

**ANNEX III**

List of the assistance and problem-solving services referred to in point (c) of Article 2(2)

(1) Points of single contact **[1]**

(2) Product Contact Points **[2]**

(3) Product Contact Points for Construction **[3]**

**1** Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006
on services in the internal market (OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36).
**2** Regulation (EC) No 764/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008
laying down procedures relating to the application of certain national technical rules to
products lawfully marketed in another Member State and repealing Decision
No 3052/95/EC (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 21).
**3** Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction
products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC (OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5).

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# ANNEX III ECOMP.3.A EN

(4) National assistance centres for professional qualifications **[1]**

(5) National contact points for cross-border healthcare **[2]**

(6) European network of employment services (EURES) **[3]**

(7) Online dispute resolution (ODR) **[4]**

**1** Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005
on the recognition of professional qualifications (OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22).
**2** Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on
the application of patients' rights in cross-border healthcare (OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 45).
**3** Regulation (EU) 2016/589 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2016
on a European network of employment services (EURES), workers' access to mobility
services and the further integration of labour markets, and amending Regulations (EU)
No 492/2011 and (EU) No 1296/2013 (OJ L 107, 22.4.2016, p. 1).
**4** Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
21 May 2013 on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation
(EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Regulation on consumer ODR)
(OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 1).

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# ANNEX III ECOMP.3.A EN