Considerations on COM(2022)720 - Measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act) - Main contents
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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  |
| date | March 13, 2024 |
(2) Member States and the Union have been working for more than two decades to support the modernisation of administrations through digital transformation and foster the deep interconnections needed for a truly European digital space. The communication from the Commission ‘2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade’ (COM(2021) 118) underlines the need to speed up the digitalisation of public services by 2030, including by ensuring interoperability across all levels of government and across public services. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the speed of digitalisation, pushing public administrations to adapt to the online paradigm, including for cross-border digital public services, as well as for the smarter and greener use of technologies in accordance with the climate and energy targets set in the European Green Deal and the Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council 36 . This Regulation aims to significantly contribute to these Union goals by creating a structured cooperation framework on cross-border interoperability amongst Member States and the Commission to support the setup of digital public services.
(3) The new governance structure should have a legal mandate to drive the further development of the European Interoperability Framework and other common interoperability solutions, such as specifications and applications. Furthermore, this Regulation should establish a clear and easily recognisable label for some interoperability solutions. The creation of a vibrant community around open government technology solutions should be fostered.
(4) It is in the interest of a coherent approach to public sector interoperability throughout the Union, of supporting the principle of good administration and the free movement of personal and non-personal data within the Union, to align the rules as far as possible for all public sectors that are controllers or providers of network and information systems used to facilitate or manage public services. This objective includes the Commission and other institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union, as well as public sector bodies in the Member States across all levels of administration: national, regional and local. Agencies are playing an important role in collecting regulatory reporting data from Member States. Therefore, the interoperability of this data - should also be in scope of this Regulation.
(5) Cross-border interoperability is not solely enabled via centralised Member State digital infrastructures, but also through a decentralised approach. This entails data exchange between local administrations in different Member States without necessarily going through national nodes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop common solutions across all administrative levels, particularly for specifications and applications. Needs for cross-border digital interactions are increasing, which requires solutions that can fulfil these needs. With this Regulation, the intention is to facilitate and encourage the exchange between all levels of administration.
(6) Interoperability facilitates successful implementation of policies, in particular those with a strong public sector connection, such as justice and home affairs, taxation and customs, transport, health, agriculture, as well as in business and industry regulation. However, a single sector interoperability perspective is associated with the risk that the adoption of different or incompatible solutions at national or sectoral levels will give rise to new electronic barriers that impede the proper functioning of the internal market and the associated freedoms of movement. Furthermore, it risks undermining the openness and competitiveness of markets and the delivery of services of general interest to businesses and citizens. Therefore, this Regulation should also facilitate, encourage and apply to cross-sector interoperability.
(7) In order to eliminate fragmentation in the interoperability landscape in the Union, a common understanding of interoperability in the Union and a holistic approach to interoperability solutions should be promoted. A structured cooperation should support measures promoting digital-ready and interoperable by default policy set-up. Furthermore, it should promote the efficient management and use of digital service infrastructures and their respective components by public sector bodies and institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union that permit the establishment and operation of sustainable and efficient cross-border public services.
(8) To set up cross-border interoperable public services, it is important to focus on the interoperability aspect as early as possible in the policymaking process. Therefore, the public organisation that intends to set up a new or to modify an existing network and information system that is likely result in high impacts on the cross-border interoperability, should carry out an interoperability assessment. This assessment is necessary to understand the magnitude of impact of the planned action and to propose measures to reap up the benefits and address potential costs. The interoperability assessment should be mandatory in three cases, which are in scope for cross-border interoperability. In other situations, the public organisations may decide to carry out the interoperability assessment on a voluntary basis.
(9) Under some circumstances it may also be reasonable and economical for the subject of an interoperability assessment to be broader than a single project, for example when public sector bodies intend to establish a common application or processing platform. In those other cases, the assessment should be strongly encouraged to go beyond the achievement of the Interoperable Europe objectives towards a full implementation of interoperability.
(10) The interoperability assessment should evaluate the impacts of the planned action on cross-border interoperability of network and information system, for example, having regard to the origin, nature, particularity and scale of those impacts. The outcome of that assessment should be taken into account when determining the appropriate measures that need to be taken in order to set up or modify the network and information system.
(11) The organisation should publish the outcome of the interoperability assessment on its website. The publication of the outcome should not compromise intellectual property rights or trade secrets, and should be restricted where justified on the grounds of public order or security. The provisions of Union law governing the protection of personal data should be observed.
(12) Public sector bodies or institutions, bodies or agencies of the Union that search for interoperability solutions should be able to request from other public sector bodies or institutions, bodies or agencies of the Union the software code those organisations use, together with the related documentation. Sharing should become a default among public sector bodies, and institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union while not sharing would need a legal justification. In addition, public sector bodies or institutions, bodies, or agencies of the Union should seek to develop new interoperability solutions or to further develop existing interoperability solutions.
(13) When public administrations decide to share their solutions with other public administrations or the public, they are acting in the public interest. This is even more relevant for innovative technologies: for instance, open code makes algorithms transparent and allows for independent audits and reproducible building blocks. The sharing of interoperability solutions among public administration should set the conditions for the achievement of an open ecosystem of digital technologies for the public sector that can produce multiple benefits.
(14) When monitoring the coherence of the interoperability solutions and proposing measures to ensure their compatibility with existing solutions that share a common purpose, the Interoperable Europe Board should take into account the obsolescence of solutions.
(15) The European Interoperability Framework (EIF) should ensure coherence and be recognised as the single point of reference for the Union’s approach to interoperability in the public service sector. In addition, specialised interoperability frameworks can address the needs of specific sectors, domains or administrative levels. Those frameworks should further promote the implementation of interoperability solutions.
(16) The EIF should be developed by the Interoperability Europe Board, composed, among others, by one representative of each Member State. The Member States, with the other members of the Interoperable Europe Board, are thus at the centre of the development and implementation of the EIF. The Interoperable Europe Board should update the EIF when necessary.
(17) The specialised interoperability frameworks issued to complement the EIF should take into account and not prejudice the existing sector-specific frameworks developed at the Union level (for example in the health sector).
(18) Interoperability is directly connected with, and dependent on the use of open specifications and standards. Therefore, the Union public sector should be allowed to agree on cross-cutting open specifications and other solutions to promote interoperability. The new framework should provide for a clear process on the establishment and promotion of such agreed interoperability solutions in the future. This way, the public sector will have a more coordinated voice to channel public sector needs and public values into broader discussions.
(19) Many interoperability specifications used by the public sector could be derived from existing Union legislation. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a link between all specifications for public sector network and information systems that are mandatory to use due to Union legal provisions. It is not always easy for implementing authorities to find the requirements in the most recent and machine-readable format. A single point of entry and clear rules on the metadata of such information should help public sector bodies to have their digital service infrastructures comply with the existing and future rules.
(20) An Interoperable Europe portal should be established as a point of reference for interoperability solutions, knowledge and community. The portal should be established as a link to official sources but should also be open to input from the Interoperable Europe Community.
(21) The Interoperable Europe portal should make publicly available solutions that follow the EIF principles of openness, technical neutrality and security. As open source enables users to actively assess and inspect the interoperability and security of the solutions, it is important that open source supports the implementation of interoperability solutions. In this context, the use of open source licences should be promoted to enhance legal clarity and mutual recognition of licences in the Member States.
(22) At the moment, the Union’s public services delivered or managed electronically depend in many cases on non-Union providers. It is in the Union’s strategic interest to ensure that it retains and develops essential technological capacities to secure its Digital Single Market, and in particular to ensure service delivery, protect critical network and information systems, and to provide key services. The Interoperable Europe support measures should help public administrations to evolve and be capable of incorporating new challenges and new areas in cross-border contexts. Interoperability is a condition for avoiding technological lock-in, enabling technical developments, and fostering innovation, which should boost the global competitiveness of the Union.
(23) It is necessary to establish a governance mechanism to facilitate the implementation of Union policies in a way that ensures interoperability. This mechanism should focus on the interoperable digital implementation of policies once they have been adopted in the form of legal acts and should serve to develop interoperability solutions on a needs-driven basis. The mechanism should support public sector bodies. Projects to support public sector bodies should be proposed by the Interoperable Europe Board to the Commission who should decide whether to set up the projects.
(24) All levels of government should cooperate with innovative organisations, be it companies or non-profit entities, in design, development and operation of public services. Supporting GovTech cooperation between public sector bodies and start-ups and innovative SMEs, or cooperation mainly involving civil society organisations (‘CivicTech’), is an effective means of supporting public sector innovation and promoting use of interoperability tools across private and public sector partners. Supporting an open GovTech ecosystem in the Union that brings together public and private actors across borders and involves different levels of government should allow to develop innovative initiatives aimed at the design and deployment of GovTech interoperability solutions.
(25) Identifying shared innovation needs and priorities and focusing common GovTech and experimentation efforts across borders would help Union public sector bodies to share risks, lessons learnt, and results of innovation support projects. Those activities will tap in particular into the Union’s rich reservoir of technology start-ups and SMEs. Successful GovTech projects and innovation measures piloted by Interoperable Europe innovation measures should help scale up GovTech tools and interoperability solutions for reuse.
(26) Interoperable Europe support measures could benefit from safe spaces for experimentation, while ensuring responsible innovation and integration of appropriate risk mitigation measures and safeguards. To ensure a legal framework that is innovation-friendly, future-proof and resilient to disruption, it should be made possible to run such projects in regulatory sandboxes. Regulatory sandboxes should consist in controlled test environments that facilitate the development and testing of innovative solutions before such systems are integrated in the network and information systems of the public sector. The objectives of the regulatory sandboxes should be to foster interoperability through innovative solutions by establishing a controlled experimentation and testing environment with a view to ensure alignment of the solutions with this Regulation and other relevant Union law and Member States’ legislation, to enhance legal certainty for innovators and the competent authorities and to increase the understanding of the opportunities, emerging risks and the impacts of the new solutions. To ensure a uniform implementation across the Union and economies of scale, it is appropriate to establish common rules for the regulatory sandboxes’ implementation. The European Data Protection Supervisor may impose administrative fine to Union institutions and bodies in the context of regulatory sandboxes, according to Article 58(2)(i) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(27) It is necessary to provide a legal basis for the use of personal data collected for other purposes in order to develop certain interoperability solutions in the public interest within the regulatory sandbox, in accordance with Article 6(4) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Regulation aims only at establishing a legal basis for the processing of personal data in the context of the regulatory sandbox as such. Any other processing of personal data falling within the scope of this Regulation would require a separate legal basis.
(28) It is necessary to enhance a good understanding of interoperability issues, especially among public sector employees. Continuous training is key in this respect and cooperation and coordination on the topic should be encouraged. Beyond trainings on Interoperable Europe solutions, all initiatives should, where appropriate, build on, or be accompanied by, the sharing of experience and solutions and the exchange and promotion of best practices.
(29) To create a mechanism facilitating a mutual learning process among public sector bodies and sharing of best practices in implementing Interoperable Europe solutions across the Member States, it is necessary lay down provisions on the peer review process. Peer reviews can lead to valuable insights and recommendations for the public sector body undergoing the review. In particular, they could contribute to facilitating the transfer of technologies, tools, measures and processes among the Member States involved in the peer review. They create a functional path for the sharing of best practices across Member States with different levels of maturity in interoperability. In order to ensure that the peer review process is cost-effective and produces clear and conclusive results, and also to avoid the placement of unnecessary burden, the Commission may adopt guidelines on the best set-up for such peer reviews, based on the needs that occur and after consulting the Interoperable Europe Board.
(30) To develop the general direction of the Interoperable Europe structured cooperation in promoting the digital interconnection and interoperability of public services in the Union and to oversee the strategic and implementation activities related to that cooperation, an Interoperable Europe Board should be established. The Interoperable Europe Board should carry out its tasks taking into consideration cross-border interoperability rules and solutions already implemented for existing network and information systems.
(31) Certain Union bodies such as the European Data Innovation Board and the European Health Data Space Board have been created and tasked to, among others, enhance interoperability at specific domain or policy level. However, none of the existing bodies is tasked to address cross-border interoperability of network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services in the Union. The Interoperable Europe Board created by this Regulation should support the Union bodies working on policies, actions and solutions relevant for cross-border interoperability of network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services in the Union, for example on semantic interoperability for data spaces portability and reusability. The Interoperable Europe Board should interact with all relevant Union bodies in order to ensure alignment and synergies between cross-border interoperability actions and sector specific ones.
(32) Advancing public sector interoperability needs the active involvement and commitment of experts, practitioners, users and the interested public across Member States, across all levels of government and involving international partners and the private sector. In order to tap into their expertise, skills and creativity, a dedicated open forum (the ‘Interoperable Europe Community’) should help channel feedback, user and operational needs, identify areas for further development and help scope priorities for EU interoperability cooperation. The establishment of the Interoperable Europe Community should support the coordination and cooperation between the strategic and operational key players for interoperability.
(33) The Interoperable Europe Community should be open to all interested parties. Access to the Interoperable Europe Community should be made as easy as possible, avoiding unnecessary barriers and burdens. The Interoperable Europe Community should bring together public and private stakeholders, including citizens, with expertise in the field of cross-border interoperability, coming from different backgrounds, such as academia, research and innovation, education, standardisation and specifications, businesses and public administration at all levels.
(34) To ensure the rules laid down by this Regulation are efficiently implemented, it is necessary to designate national competent authorities responsible for its implementation. In many Member States, some entities have already the role of developing interoperability. Those entities could take over the role of competent authority in accordance with this Regulation.
(35) An Interoperable Europe Agenda should be established as the Union’s main instrument for the coordination of public investments in interoperability solutions. It should deliver a comprehensive overview of funding possibilities and funding commitments in the field, integrating where appropriate the related Union programmes. This should contribute to creating synergies and coordinating financial support related to interoperability development and avoiding duplication.
(36) Information should be collected in order to assess the performance of this Regulation against the objectives it pursues, and in order give feedback for an evaluation of this Regulation in accordance with paragraph 22 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making 37 . Therefore, the Commission should carry out a monitoring and evaluation of this Regulation. The evaluation should be based on the five criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and EU value added. The evaluation should also be the basis for impact assessments of possible further measures. The monitoring should integrate existing data sources and monitoring processes.
(37) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to set out rules and the conditions for the establishment and the operation of the regulatory sandboxes.
(38) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely interoperability within public administrations on a Union-wide scale, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in the same Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objectives of the Treaties, especially with regards to the strengthening of the Single Market.
(39) The application of this Regulation should be deferred to three months after the date of its entry into force in order to provide Member States and the institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union with sufficient time to prepare for the application of this Regulation. Such time is necessary to establish the Interoperable Europe Board and the Interoperable Europe Community and for the designation of national competent authorities and interoperability coordinators.
(40) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council 38 and delivered an opinion on …