Legal provisions of COM(2022)720 - Measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act)

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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

dossier COM(2022)720 - Measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act).
document COM(2022)720 EN
date March 13, 2024


Chapter 1
General provisions

Contents

Article 1 - Subject matter and scope

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

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

Article 2 - Definitions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(8) ‘standard’ means a standard as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council 40 ;

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

Article 3 - Interoperability assessment

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

(a)where the intended set-up or modification affects one or more network and information systems used for the provision of cross-border services across several sectors or administrations;

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. The interoperability assessment shall contain at least:

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

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

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

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

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

Article 4 - Share and reuse of interoperability solutions between public sector bodies, institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union

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

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

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

(c)access to which is excluded or restricted on grounds of:

(i)sensitive critical infrastructure protection related information as defined in Article 2, point (d) of Council Directive 2008/114/EC 41 ;

(ii)the protection of defence interests, or public security.

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

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

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

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

Chapter 2
Interoperability solutions

Article 5 - General principles

1. The Commission shall publish Interoperable Europe solutions and the European Interoperability Framework on the Interoperable Europe portal , by electronic means, in formats that are open, machine-readable, accessible 42 , findable and re-usable, if applicable, together with their metadata.

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

Article 6 - European Interoperability Framework and specialised interoperability frameworks

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

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

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

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

Article 7 - Interoperable Europe solutions

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

Article 8 - Interoperable Europe portal

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

(a)access to Interoperable Europe solutions;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(d)be regularly maintained under the responsibility of the owner of the interoperability solution.

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

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

Chapter 3
Interoperable Europe support measures

Article 9 - Policy implementation support projects

1. The Interoperable Europe Board may propose to the Commission to set up projects to support public sector bodies in the digital implementation of Union policies ensuring the cross-border interoperability of network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services to be delivered or managed electronically (‘policy implementation support project’).

2. The policy implementation support project shall set out:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Article 10 - Innovation measures

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

2. Innovation measures shall:

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

(b)involve GovTech actors.

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

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

Article 11 - Establishment of regulatory sandboxes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(e)contribute to the development or update of Interoperable Europe solutions.

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

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

Article 12 - Participation in the regulatory sandboxes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(f)evaluation and reporting requirements and possible follow-up;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Where a regulatory sandbox involves the use of artificial intelligence, the rules set out under Article 53 and 54 of the [proposal for a] Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain Union legislative acts shall prevail in case of conflict with the rules set out by the Regulation.

Article 13 - Training

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

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

Article 14 - Peer reviews

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

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

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

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

Chapter 4
Governance of cross-border interoperability

Article 15 - Interoperable Europe Board

1. The Interoperable Europe Board is established. It shall facilitate strategic cooperation and the exchange of information on cross-border interoperability of network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services to be delivered or managed electronically in the Union.

2. The Interoperable Europe Board shall be composed of:

(a)one representative of each Member State;

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

(i)the Commission;

(ii)the Committee of the Regions;

(iii)the European Economic and Social Committee.

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

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

4. The Interoperable Europe Board shall have the following tasks:

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

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

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

(d)monitor the overall coherence of the developed or recommended interoperability solutions;

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

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

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

(h)recommend Interoperable Europe solutions;

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

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

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

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

(m)adopt the Interoperable Europe Agenda;

(n)provide advice to the Commission on the monitoring and reporting on the application of this Regulation;

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

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

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

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

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

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

Article 16 - Interoperable Europe Community

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

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

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

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

(a)contribute to the content of the Interoperable Europe portal;

(b)participate in the working groups;

(c)participate in the peer reviews.

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

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

Article 17 - National competent authorities

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

2. The competent authority shall have the following tasks:

(a)appoint a member to the Interoperable Europe Board;

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

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

(d)foster the share and reuse of interoperability solutions through the Interoperable Europe portal or other relevant portal;

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

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

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

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

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

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

Article 18 - Interoperability coordinators for institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union

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

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

Chapter 5
Interoperable Europe planning and monitoring

Article 19 - Interoperable Europe Agenda

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

2. The Interoperable Europe Agenda shall contain:

(a)needs for the development of interoperability solutions;

(b)a list of ongoing and planned Interoperable Europe support measures;

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

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

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

Article 20 - Monitoring and evaluation

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

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

(a)the implementation of the EIF by the Member States;

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

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

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

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

Chapter 6
Final provisions

Article 21 - Costs

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

(a)the development and maintenance of the Interoperable Europe portal;

(b)the development, maintenance and promotion of Interoperable Europe solutions;

(c)the Interoperable Europe support measures.

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

Article 22 - Entry into force

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

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

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