Simplified cross-border administrative procedures

On 14 January, the European Commission has announced the gradual release of its Once-Only Technical System (OOTS), a digital framework that ensures that citizens and businesses provide information to public authorities only once, with subsequent sharing among authorities minimising administrative burdens by simplifying cross-border administrative procedures. The source code is now available under the European Union Public Licence (EUPL) at code.europa.eu. This release includes the OOTS Common Services and the EMREX Bridge components, marking significant progress in the Commission’s commitment to transparency and interoperability.

The EUPL licence ensures comprehensive distribution while maintaining openness and legal compliance within EU regulations. As a reasonably copyleft licence, EUPL retains derivative works' openness and compatibility with other licences such as GPL and LGPL.

The release process will be incremental, with distinct repositories created to clearly separate publications from core technical components.

By making cross-border administrative procedures simple, digital, and seamless, the EU can dramatically lower associated costs, enabling businesses to scale faster across borders, accelerating innovation, and allowing citizens to work and move freely within the Single Market.

More information here and here.