Presentation of the Interoperable Europe Act by EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn in the European Parliament’s ITRE Committee

On 25 April, European Commissioner Johannes Hahn presented the European Commission proposal for an Interoperable Europe Act at the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research & Energy (ITRE). During the meeting, a strong support from MEPs for the act was noticeable.

“The cross-border activities of people, not to say companies, have increased. And what we try to achieve with the Interoperability Act is to support these activities.”

While negotiations between the Council and European Parliament about the Interoperability Act are at full speed, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn reminded Members of the European Parliament (MEPS) of the main goal the Act. “We should never lose sight of who we are working for, and this is for our people. I know that this is close to your hearts too.”

Hahn stressed that the Act answers the need for better connected, human-centered and interoperable public services in several ways

Firstly, the Act sets up a cooperation framework on interoperability between Member States and EU-institutions. Europe is characterized by an enormous landscape of multiple IT systems at various levels – EU, national, regional and local. Commissioner Hahn stated that it would be impossible and undesirable to change that, but that it is necessary that these systems cooperate with each other much more. Hahn also assured that the Act will not intervene in the sovereignty of Member States in order to do this.

Secondly, while the Act can’t cover every aspect of daily life, it would encourage lawmakers in the future to consider relevant interoperability aspects when they develop new legislation. This is called the provision of ‘interoperability by design’. In a clarifying manner, Hahn stated that he himself primarily had cross-border interoperability aspects between countries in mind. Nevertheless, he also noticed that insufficient interoperability between regions is still a large problem in several big countries due to a lack of awareness of the structural importance of interoperability. 

For these reasons, the Commissioner stated that the Act introduces ‘interoperability assessments’ to help lawmakers to detect – early on – any barriers to cross-border interoperability. “Doing this early, when introducing a digital public service, paves the way for smoother implementation at a lower cost.”

Lastly, Hahn indicated that the Act would give strong impetus for the development of an ecosystem of reusable interoperability solutions and for the stimulation of innovative use of digital technologies. According to the Commissioner, new technologies and experimentation have a huge potential to bring personalised public services to the next level, but it all needs to happen in full respect of data protection and European values.

Strong support from MEPS

The support to make the Act a reality appeared to be strong among rapporteur Ivars Ijabs (Renew Europe, Latvia) and other MEPs. Ijabs stated that there is a clear visible need for the initiative. “It is really intended to help our citizens and local communities.” Josianne Cutajar (S&D,Malta) called connectivity and interoperability important to remove barriers and to bring public services closer to citizens in areas with isolating geographical factors or where local administrations have insufficient digital infrastructure. She also described connectivity and interoperability as potential inclusive factors for persons with a disability or the elderly.

The main questions of the MEPs had to do with the budgetary aspects of the Act. In response to this, the Commissioner stated that the Act should not be seen as a one-off activity, but as a series of joint efforts of an idea that has to be applied step by step by the Member states. Hahn added that the Act should be seen as an investment and not as a cost. “It will pay off much more in the end.It reduces time and burden, and it helps to regain the trust of citizens."

Learn more about the Interoperable Europe Act here. 

Watch the full session of the ITRE-Committee on the Interoperable Europe Act on our Youtube channel!