FAQs

The central goal of the Interoperable Europe Act is to improve digital public services in the EU that need cross-border data flows.  

To do so, the Act sets up a new cooperation framework between Member States and the Commission to work together on matters relating to cross-border interoperability and digital public services. In this framework, Member States and the Commission agree on priorities and common interoperability solutions.  

In addition, the Act requires European Institutions and public sector bodies and agencies to run interoperability assessments in order to identify and consider digital and interoperability aspects early in the design phase of policies and digital public services.  

The new legislation also facilitates the sharing and reuse of solutions and the exchange of data between administrations, by removing unnecessary administrative burden related to legal, organisational, semantical and technical interoperability obstacles. This helps to reduce cost and time for citizens, businesses and for the public sector itself. 

In pursuit of the EU’s digital targets for 2030 and a fully functioning Digital Single Market, improved cross-border interoperability will help to interconnect public administrations at European, national, regional and local level by working together closely to deliver trans-European digital public services and reduce fragmentation and silos. 

In the context of the EU public sector, cross-border interoperability is the ability of public sector bodies of Member States and Union entities to interact with each other across borders by sharing data, information and knowledge through digital processes that are in line with the legal, organisational, semantic and technical requirements related to such interaction. 

In practice, cross-border interoperability means that digital public services are able to exchange data across borders and sectors offering citizens and business a better user experience. Lack of interoperability means silo services, where data stays locked in, forcing citizens and businesses to spend more time interacting with the government.

Trans-European digital public services are digital services provided by Union entities or public sector bodies, either to one another or to natural or legal persons in the Union, and that require interaction across the borders of Member States, between Member States and Union entities, or between Union entities. 

Examples of such trans-European digital public services are services that, by means of cross-border exchanges of data, allow for the mutual recognition of academic diplomas or professional qualifications, exchanges of vehicle data for road safety, access to social security and health data, access to single window systems, exchange of information related to taxation, customs, public tender accreditation, digital driving license or commercial registers. 

In general, trans-European digital public services include all services that implement the “Once-Only” principle to access and exchange cross-border data. Also, any service that uses the EU Digital Wallet (e.g. to authenticate identity) can be considered as a Trans-European digital public service, since it automatically entails cross-border data exchange.

A high level of interoperability cannot be ensured solely by technical means. It needs agreements and established processes between different organisations, aligned data descriptions, laws that allow for those data exchanges and structured long-term cooperation. In practice, most barriers to interoperability or data sharing have rather more to do with legal, organisational and semantic aspects than technical. 

For this reason, the Interoperable Europe Act focuses on all interoperability layers that need to be taken into account: technical, semantic (e.g. data with the same meaning, the same structure), organisational (e.g. aligned business processes) and legal (e.g. enabling organisations operating under different legal frameworks, policies and strategies to work together). 

Citizens, businesses, and public administrations will benefit most of the new regulation when using interconnected digital public services that require cross-border exchange of data.  

In general, interoperability can contribute to economic growth, enhanced strategic and political independence as well as increased public trust in their governments. According to the respective impact assessment, the Act is expected to save up to 5 billion euro on a yearly basis, translated as time saved when interacting with government services. 

Next to quantifiable benefits for citizens, business and public administration, the Act creates the foundation for regulatory learning via interoperability regulatory sandboxes. It also stimulates public-private partnerships such as ‘GovTech’. These are elements that boost innovation in the public sector, which in turn has the potential to make public services more accessible, trustworthy and efficient and creates new business opportunities for technology companies and startups.

The main elements of the Act are: 

• The setup of a multi-level governance framework to define the interoperability agenda and an ecosystem of common interoperability solutions. This framework will be steered by the Interoperable Europe Board and supported by the Interoperable Europe Community. 
• The introduction of mandatory interoperability assessments for the interoperable-by-design public services. This will help public sector bodies to explore and, where appropriate, address cross-border interoperability aspects at the design phase. The Commission will provide the necessary guidelines and tools. 
• The ‘Interoperable Europe Portal’, a one-stop-shop to encourage the sharing and reuse of high quality and reliable interoperability solutions among public administrations.  
• A strengthened innovation and policy support, including training, regulatory sandboxes for policy experimentation, GovTech and policy implementation support projects, to develop, test and scale up solutions. 

The Interoperable Europe Board will steer the Interoperable Europe Agenda and oversee the strategic and implementation activities related to cross-border interoperability. 

Among others, the Board will have the mandate to agree on common reusable interoperability solutions/resources, support and innovation measures and update the European Interoperability Framework (EIF). The priorities for coordinated public investments in interoperability solutions and support will be set on the Interoperable Europe Agenda. 

The Interoperable Europe Board will be composed of representatives from the EU Member States and the Commission. The Committee of the Regions, the EU Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA) and the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre will each designate one expert, who will be invited to participate as observers. 

Co-ownership with the Member States through the Board is essential because they are the ones responsible for interoperability at national level and for implementing interoperable EU-wide policy tools and systems. Common agreement on priorities for cross-border interoperability solutions and the related support (through the ‘Interoperable Europe Agenda’) will speed up their development and uptake.

The Interoperable Europe Community will be a dedicated open forum for the channelling of feedback, user and operational needs, and to identify areas for further development and priorities for interoperability cooperation in the Union. It will bring together public and private stakeholders, including citizens, with expertise in the field of cross-border interoperability. These stakeholders can come from different backgrounds, such as academia, research and innovation institutes, education, standardisation and specifications, businesses and public administration from all levels.  

Once the Community is established, access will be open to all the interested parties free of charge. Registration will be made available via the newly established Interoperable Europe portal, which will be a rebrand of the existing Joinup website.

Interoperability assessments constitute a tool to assess cross-border interoperability aspects and discover barriers to cross-border interoperability early in the design phase of policies and public services. The assessment is also a tool to discover existing solutions that could be reused in order to reduce cost and complexity. 

The rationale behind interoperability assessments is to ensure the sharing of cross border data and to enhance the quality and accessibility of public services. The added value of such interoperability assessments lies in the timely consideration of interoperability aspects and the gradual implementation of the “interoperability by design” approach in practice. Therefore, the obligation to carry out such assessments should be seen as a tool for informed decision-making and anticipating implementation.   

In terms of the content of interoperability assessments, the Interoperable Europe Regulation (in the Articles 3 and annex) provides minimum requirements for carrying out an interoperability assessment.

Public sector bodies and Union entities are obliged to carry out an interoperability assessment prior to taking decisions on new or substantially modified binding requirements concerning trans-European digital public services that have an effect on cross-border interoperability.  

The assessment is triggered by the establishment of binding requirements that impact the design, procurement, development, and implementation of trans-European digital public services, thereby influencing the data flows of these services. A binding requirement can take different forms and can have a variety of effects on trans-European digital public services (see recital 18 in the regulation for further clarification). 

The entity making the binding decision (e.g. policy, IT investment, or procurement decision involving digital requirements) is responsible for conducting the interoperability assessment. 

The EU entities and public sector bodies are free to decide how they want to carry out the assessments under the supervision of the interoperability coordinators and national competent authorities. However, the regulation requires that the results of the assessment are to be published electronically in the form of a report. The annex of the Interoperable Europe Act provides for a common checklist for such reports. 

The approach to interoperability assessments should be proportionate and differentiated in accordance with the level and scope at which they are undertaken. Notably, if an interoperability assessment has already been carried out or where binding requirements are implemented by solutions provided by Union entities, the assessment does not need to be repeated.  

In cases where an interoperability assessment is not required by law, Union entities and public sector bodies are encouraged to conduct such assessments and use the related interoperability tools voluntarily. 

The Interoperable Europe Board has been tasked to develop guidelines on the content of the interoperability assessments nine months after the adoption (by January 12th, 2025, the latest). Preparatory activity to develop such guidelines have started by the Commission and the expert group on public sector interoperability, together with volunteers.  

The Commission will also provide user-friendly technical tools that administrations may use to conduct the assessments. In addition, there will be an online tool to provide a simple and user-friendly interface to produce and publish interoperability assessment reports. Where possible, these tools will be conceptualised in a way that they can be adapted to existing procedures and processes.  

The report must be published in a machine-readable format that could also be used for monitoring purposes. The reporting tool will thus also facilitate automated translation and will be integrated in the Interoperable Europe portal. 

While public sector bodies and Union entities will have the obligation to publish a public report presenting the outcome of the interoperability assessment, the use of the online tool is voluntary. 

A Member State, especially the competent authorities, can decide on the internal resources and the collaboration between its public sector bodies necessary to support carrying out those interoperability assessments. EU entities will get guidance through their interoperability coordinator.

Interoperability solutions can be conceptual frameworks and guidelines, and more technical solutions such as reference architectures, technical specifications.  
Moreover, concrete services and applications, as well as documented technical components such as source code, including artificial intelligence models can be interoperability solutions, if they address legal, organisational, semantic, or technical aspects of cross-border interoperability.   

The Interoperable Europe Act creates a clear and easily recognisable label for certain interoperability solutions to ensure increased coordination of public investment in such solutions and support their reuse. Interoperable Europe Solutions will be recommended by the Board on the basis of agreed criteria. The Board will agree upon the process and those general criteria that interoperability solutions are to meet. Details on the criteria and process will be published in due time at the Interoperable Europe Portal.

The Act itself does not have a dedicated programme. However, the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) currently provides funding for developing and maintaining of EU public sector interoperability, such as interoperability assessment tools, semantic vocabularies, and GovTech.  

Under the Digital Europe Work Programme 2023-2024, the Commission supports, among others, the capacity building of Member States’ public administrations to implement the obligations of the future Interoperable Europe Act on the ground (the Coordination and Support Action), as well as the further piloting innovative, cross-border solutions under the GovTech4all Framework Partnership Agreement. 

Furthermore, the Interoperable Europe Act establishes the Interoperable Europe Agenda as the Union’s main instrument for coordinating public investments in interoperability solutions, support measures and setting out the roadmap for implementing this Regulation. It is expected that the Agenda will deliver a comprehensive overview of funding possibilities and funding commitments in the field and will contribute to creating synergies. While the Agenda does not impose financial obligations, it is expected that it will improve transparency and coherence of public investments into interoperability.

The Interoperable Europe Act reinforces support and innovation measures, focusing on knowledge exchange and training on digital-ready policy making, and promoting the development and uptake of innovative interoperability solutions in cross-border contexts.  

To support innovative interoperability solutions, the Commission can set up interoperability regulatory sandboxes that will allow for testing of new technological solutions and regulatory learning. The Interoperable Europe Board is tasked to advise on policy implementation or innovation support measures deemed necessary for the achievement of higher level of interoperability in the EU.

The crises over the last few years, from the Covid-19 pandemic to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis, have put pressure on governments to respond quickly to the increasing needs of citizens and businesses.  

Expectations have grown to provide stability and good governance, and respond to the increasing demands for digital services, especially related to work, studying, or setting up businesses abroad. As today’s challenges are not confined to a single country, these services also need to seamlessly work across borders, and be aligned with EU values and principles, such as the once-only principle and user-centricity. At the same time, governments become more data-driven and AI-enabled.  

To guarantee a smooth cross-border data flow and a fully functioning Digital Single Market, it is necessary to have an EU coordinated approach to cross-border interoperability, to break down organisational and legal silos and to avoid the creation of new digital barriers.

The EU and Member States have been working for more than two decades to support the modernisation of public administrations through digital transformation and to foster the deep interconnections needed for a truly European digital space. 

In its communication ‘2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade’, the Commission underlined the need to speed up the digitalisation of public services by 2030, including by ensuring interoperability across all levels of administration and across public services. Moreover, the EU has set a clear target of 100 % online accessible provision of key public services by 2030. 

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. This Regulation aims to significantly contribute to those Union objectives. 

While Member States have made progress in putting public services online, strengthened by the declaration of digital rights and principles and other relevant legislative initiatives, the overall result has been fragmented and government centred, with unclear cross-border data exchange initiatives, and standardised specifications and reference tools. Significant work is still needed to achieve a fully-fledged digital government that prioritises people’s needs, fosters interconnectivity across sectors and borders and supports the digital-ready policymaking.

According to the principle of subsidiarity, action at EU level should be taken only when the aims envisaged cannot be achieved sufficiently by Member States alone and can therefore, because of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the EU. Member States and other stakeholders have identified this element in the consultation process regarding the need for a more substantial level of European interoperability. 

For this reason, the Act focuses on cross-border interoperability, and the related governance framework to agree on common interoperability solutions. It does not require harmonisation of the fundamental way public administrations work and it is without prejudice to the competence of the Member States to define what constitutes public services.

The Interoperable Europe Act will help Union entities and public sector bodies to explore and address cross-border interoperability aspects, as well as to increase the reuse of common interoperability solutions to reduce the multiplicity of tools and related efforts and costs.  

The Act foresees the creation of a portfolio of tools, trainings and support measures to support the implementation and uptake of interoperability solutions. Interoperability solutions that can be reused by public administrations will in the future be findable (also in machine readable format) on the Interoperable Europe portal. 

Apart from the incentives to implement the commonly agreed interoperability solutions, the main obligations for EU institutions, bodies, offices, agencies and public administrations are: 

• to share interoperability solutions with other public sector bodies upon request; 
• to perform a mandatory assessment prior to taking binding requirements on cross- border interoperability 
• to contribute to the monitoring of interoperability.

The European Interoperability Framework contains generally accepted interoperability guidelines in the form of common principles, models and recommendations on all different levels of interoperability – technical, semantic, organisational and legal – in an integrated governance approach. The EIF is now the commonly accepted reference framework for interoperability in the EU, and beyond. 

The Interoperable Europe Act mandates the Interoperable Europe Board to develop the EIF and ensure its future evolution. Furthermore, it ensures that the EIF is applied in its operational and policymaking practice. The EIF must be considered in particular when performing interoperability assessments and when specialised or national interoperability frameworks are developed.

On the level of the EU, several entities (such as the European Data Innovation Board and the European Health Data Space Board) have been created and tasked, among others, to enhance interoperability at a specific domain or policy level. However, none of the existing entities are tasked to address interoperability in the public sector.  The Interoperable Europe Act aims to create a common denominator for interoperability in the public sector, as the basis for sectoral interoperability.  

The Interoperable Europe Board will interact with all relevant Union entities in order to ensure alignment and synergies between cross-border interoperability actions and sector specific ones. To that end, the Commission, as Chair of the Board, may invite experts with specific competence in a subject on the agenda, including representatives from regional and local authorities and from the open source and standardisation communities

Article 20 of the Act sets out the monitoring and evaluation of the regulation. The aim of the monitoring is to guide the effective and efficient implementation of the regulation and to inform strategic discussions on the provision of interoperable cross-border digital public services in the EU. The Commission has been tasked to prepare the methodology, process, and indicators for monitoring and to consult it with the Board. The Commission is also tasked to submit and present an annual report to the European Parliament and to the Council on interoperability in the Union. 

The new monitoring mechanism will be designed to minimise the administrative burden on Member States by reusing, to the extent feasible, existing data sources and by creating synergies with existing monitoring mechanisms, such as the Digital Economy and Society Index, the eGovernment Benchmark and the trajectories of the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030.  

The Commission has started preparatory work on the new monitoring mechanism in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre and the expert group on interoperability of public services. An agreement with the Board on the new indicators is expected on Q4 2024. The first monitoring report is expected to be published in 2025.