At its fourth meeting, held in Brussels on 19 May 2026, the Interoperable Europe Board advanced Europe’s work to make digital public services more interoperable, reusable and resilient. The Board discussed digital sovereignty from an interoperability perspective, adopted the new Guidelines on the sharing of interoperability solutions, and reviewed progress on the Interoperable Europe Agenda, the labelling of Interoperable Europe solutions and the revision of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF).
The discussion on digital sovereignty took a central place during the meeting.
In a video message to the Board, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen underlined that digital sovereignty is not only a technology debate, but a practical question for public administrations: how to process and protect data, keep services running under stress, and avoid dependency.
“Digital sovereignty for public administrations must translate into concrete action: interoperable systems, reusable solutions and procurement approaches that preserve choice, resilience and control,” said Veronica Gaffey, Director-General of DG DIGIT and Chair of the Interoperable Europe Board. “The Interoperable Europe Board has an important role in helping Member States turn these principles into practical cooperation across borders.”
As part of this exchange, Philippe Van Damme, Deputy Director-General of DG DIGIT, presented how digital sovereignty is driving IT choices and procurement in the Commission. He shared DIGIT’s experience with the cloud tender, and the application of the Commission’s Cloud Sovereignty Framework, which formally defines what digital sovereignty means and how it can be measured. The presentation illustrated how sovereignty objectives can be turned into concrete procurement requirements. Board members exchanged views on national approaches to digital sovereignty and possible follow-up actions for working together at EU level.
Board adopts Guidelines on the sharing of interoperability solutions
The Board adopted the Guidelines on the sharing of interoperability solutions, a key implementation support instrument under the Interoperable Europe Act.
The Guidelines offer practical support to Union institutions and public sector bodies in applying the Act’s provisions on sharing and reuse. They aim to promote a consistent, proportionate, and workable approach to implementing these provisions across varied administrative, legal and technical settings. They explain, for example, how to publish a solution on the Interoperable Europe Portal or a connected repository, how to respond to sharing requests, how to document adapted solutions, and how administrations can organise cost-sharing for future developments.
They also set out useful checks before sharing a solution, such as clarifying reuse rights, removing confidential or personal data where needed, documenting the solution properly, and providing information on ownership, maintenance, versions, licences and technical dependencies. The Guidelines also provide illustrative practices and examples based on experiences from Member States and Union entities, helping to clarify the provisions and support their practical application.
Following adoption, the Guidelines are expected to be published on the Interoperable Europe portal, together with supporting material such as FAQs, examples, case studies and templates.
Ongoing implementation work
The Board discussed the work of the Task force on Interoperable Europe solutions, which brings together Member State experts to support the identification and assessment of reusable interoperability solutions.
Following a request from the Board at its previous meeting, the task force has been working on an architectural mapping of the main enablers needed for cross-border interoperability. The model builds on the European interoperability reference architecture (EIRA) and organises interoperability needs around legal, organisational, semantic and technical enablers.
The Board was also updated on the revision of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF). Member States were invited to engage actively in the upcoming consultations, including the forthcoming call for evidence.
About the Interoperable Europe Board
The Interoperable Europe Board is the governance body established under the Interoperable Europe Act to steer cooperation on cross-border interoperability in the EU. It brings together high-level representatives from the European Commission and all Member States, with observers from relevant EU bodies and partner countries. The Board provides strategic guidance for the implementation of the Act, supports the development and reuse of interoperability solutions, contributes to the Interoperable Europe Agenda, and helps ensure that digital public services across Europe can work together more effectively.
Read more about the previous meetings of the Board:
First meeting of the Interoperable Europe Board, 06.12.2024
Second meeting of the Interoperable Europe Board, 20.05.2025