The Interoperability Test Bed will be used for Member State conformance testing of the Reporting Interface Module integrated in national infrastructure in the framework of the European Maritime Single Window environment.

The European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe) is a legal and technical framework for the electronic transmission of information in relation to reporting obligations for port calls in the Union defined by Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 establishing interoperability and reducing the administrative burden for shipping companies. The EMSWe facilitates the transmission of information between declarants, relevant authorities and other Member States through the definition of common dataset, harmonisation of the front facing interfaces of maritime National Single Windows and following the once-only principle for the fulfilment of reporting obligations.

 From a technical point of view this communication is based on the exchange of formalities using the Reporting Interface Module (RIM), with eDelivery as the transport layer, which is a component installed by each Maritime National Single Window (MNSW) that harmonises the exchange of messages. The RIM ensures messages are valid and received from trusted sources, before recording their metadata for audit purposes and forwarding them to the receiving MNSW. The implementation of the RIM is led by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), and executed by the Directorate-General for Digital Services (DIGIT).

A key step in ensuring seamless communications is the correct set up in each Member State, in particular the installation and setup of the RIM. For this purpose, DIGIT foresees a conformance testing service focusing on the RIM, which Member States will be expected to successfully integrate before engaging in message exchanges. Besides testing for conformance, Member States will also be able to use the testing service to facilitate their ongoing development work.

In view of the conformance testing needs for the EMSWe RIM and the upcoming test campaigns, DIGIT will use the services and solutions of the Interoperability Test Bed, which has been used successfully over several years in similar cross-border solutions based on eDelivery exchanges. Conformance testing will be based on the use of the European Commission (EC) Test RIM instance, orchestrated through scenario-based test cases from the Test Bed, to trigger exchanges with MNSWs and cover all testing needs.

Work is currently progressing to elaborate the full set of tests, with the complete conformance testing service being planned for launch at the beginning of 2024. 

The conformance testing for the EMSWe RIM is another use case of the Test Bed’s support for cross-border solutions and particularly solutions based upon eDelivery. If you find this interesting, more details on similar testing activities can be found in the Test Bed’s case study for the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS) which is representative of the needs and testing architecture for such solutions. More information on the Test Bed itself as well as general details on its services can be found in its Joinup space, with its value proposition being a good starting point for newcomers. Remember to also subscribe to the Test Bed on Joinup to stay updated on its latest news and releases.

The Interoperability Test Bed is a service provided by the European Commission’s DIGIT offering conformance testing and validation solutions in support of IT systems’ cross-border interoperability.