Frequently Asked Questions

An interoperability solution is a reusable asset that supports cross-border interoperability. It may be legal, organisational, semantic or technical. Examples can include frameworks, reference architectures, technical specifications, standards, semantic assets, services, applications, documented source code and technical documentation.

The Guidelines are presented in two complementary versions: a short version, which focuses on the operational pathways for applying Articles 4 and 8 in practice, and an extended version, which provides fuller guidance on governance, procurement, examples from practice, and supporting annexes. The short version offers a streamlined entry point for day-to-day use, while the extended version provides additional context and detail where needed.

No. Solutions without restrictive licensing terms must be prioritised where they are equivalent against relevant objective criteria. If a non-restrictively licensed option is not equivalent in the specific context, the organisation may select another solution and document the reasons.

In practice, this will often be an open source software solution. It may also include openly licensed documentation, semantic assets, reference architectures, standards-related materials or other reusable artefacts, depending on the asset concerned.

No. The assessment should also consider functionality, total cost, user-centricity, cybersecurity and any other relevant objective criteria.

No. The assessment should be proportionate. A concise matrix and decision record may be sufficient where the decision is simple.

No, except in specific contexts addressed elsewhere in the Guidelines. The EUPL may be suitable for many public-sector solutions, but it is not mandatory for all open source solutions.

Publication can fulfil the Article 4(1) obligation where the relevant content is published through the Interoperable Europe Portal or a connected portal, catalogue or repository. Direct sharing remains a separate route where publication is not used or is not suitable.

No. Where the obligation is fulfilled by publication under Article 4(3), Article 4(2) does not apply to the sharing entity.

They may be published where this supports transparency, discoverability or collaboration, provided that the publication conditions are met and the maturity of the solution is clearly stated.

No. A Portal entry may point to an authoritative source, such as a repository or national catalogue, provided the information remains accurate, stable and maintainable.

The owner of the solution remains responsible for ensuring that the information made accessible through the Portal remains accurate enough for reuse.

Direct sharing under Article 4(1) concerns requests from another Union entity or public sector body within the scope of the Act.

No. The obligation concerns making the interoperability solution and relevant materials available. It does not require the sharing entity to upgrade, adapt or improve the solution as part of sharing.

No default obligation to provide ongoing support or maintenance is created. The sharing entity must specify any conditions applying to reuse, including any guarantees provided regarding cooperation, support or maintenance.

The Article 4(1) obligation does not apply where one of the Article 4(1) exceptions applies. These concern public task scope, third-party intellectual property rights and specified security grounds.

Before adoption, the reusing entity must provide an assessment of its ability to manage cybersecurity and evolution of the reused solution if the sharing entity requests it.

An adaptation is a modification of an interoperability solution to meet specific needs. It may concern software, documentation, technical specifications, semantic assets, processes, configurations or a combination of these.

A reusing entity may adapt an interoperability solution unless third-party intellectual property rights restrict adaptation. Applicable licensing and contractual conditions must be checked.

If the original solution was made public under Article 4(3), the adapted solution must be made public in the same way.

Not necessarily. It refers to the Article 4(3) publication route. The adapted solution should be made public through the Interoperable Europe Portal or through a connected portal, catalogue or repository.

The owner of the adapted solution is responsible for its maintenance. The upstream owner is not responsible for maintaining adaptations made by reusing entities.

No. Article 4(5) permits sharing and reusing entities to conclude agreements on sharing the costs of future developments. It does not require them to do so.

No. Article 4(5) concerns future developments. It should not be used to condition access to a baseline solution that is already shareable or publishable under the Act.

A future development may include a new feature, module, interoperability extension, security hardening, localisation or other enhancement going beyond the baseline solution already made available.

That depends on the relevant pathway and the conditions that apply. Where outputs are published through Article 4(3), the publication pathway and Article 8(3) conditions should be followed.

No. A connected portal, catalogue or repository requires an operational arrangement that makes relevant interoperability solutions accessible through the Interoperable Europe Portal in a stable and maintainable way.

No. Measures must be necessary and proportionate. The model may range from stable linking and manual curation to federation.

Yes. A curated subset may be appropriate where only some entries meet the conditions for being accessible through the Interoperable Europe Portal.

No. Where a platform with similar functions collects open source solutions, it must allow for the use of the EUPL. This is a non-exclusion requirement, not a rule that makes the EUPL mandatory for all open source solutions.

No. Publication of an individual solution is covered by the publication pathway. This pathway concerns platform-level interoperability between portals, catalogues or repositories and the Interoperable Europe Portal.