Starting from 12 January 2025, public administrations across the European Union must conduct interoperability assessments when introducing new or revised requirements for trans-European digital public services. Interoperability assessments are one of the most important obligations of the Interoperable Europe Act, designed to identify and address barriers to cross-border interoperability early in the policymaking and design processes. By embedding these assessments into decision-making workflows, the Act aims to enable seamless cross-border data exchange and the implementation of interoperable digital public services.
Felicitas Bitzenhofer joined the Commission for the implementation of the Interoperable Europe Act. With a background in International Relations and digital governance, she is now focused on implementing the interoperability assessments, a key component of the Act.
Q: What are interoperability assessments, and who are they for?
A: Interoperability assessments are a mechanism to identify and address the impacts of planned binding requirements on cross-border interoperability. These assessments act as a discovery tool, helping public sector bodies evaluate how their decisions affect interoperability. This is crucial because often, interoperability challenges are introduced at the decision-making stage, even before implementation begins. By considering interoperability from the beginning, the Act aims to make policies more sustainable and thus future-proof.
The assessments are particularly focused on ensuring that those setting requirements, in this case Union entities and public sector bodies, consider the implications of their decision on trans-European digital public services. This refers to services that exchange data across borders, for example for the mutual recognition of academic diplomas or professional qualifications or the exchange of vehicle data for road safety. As a next step, the assessments also help discover reusable solutions, which in themselves are enablers of interoperability.
Q: How does the Act define and mandate interoperability assessments?
A: Under the Interoperable Europe Act, interoperability assessments became mandatory from 12 January 2025 for all decisions introducing or modifying binding requirements for trans-European digital public services. This is one of the more binding elements of the Act, ensuring that interoperability considerations are integrated at the earliest stages of policy and service design. As the European Interoperability Framework should serve as a reference, the assessments could specifically evaluate the effects on legal, organisational, semantic, and technical interoperability. Reports summarising the findings are to be published in machine-readable formats on the Interoperable Europe Portal and shared with the Interoperable Europe Board. Publishing these reports fosters mutual learning and transparency, helping administrations collaborate more effectively.
Q: What are the key steps in conducting an interoperability assessment?
A: There are four main steps.
1) Identifying and listing requirements: This involves breaking down the decision to uncover binding requirements that might impact interoperability. These requirements can be obvious, such as prescribing the format of specific data, but they can also be hidden and then need to be explicitly identified.
2) Identify affected stakeholders: the assessments should also identify those who will be impacted by the binding requirements, including other organisations as well as the end-users of the service for which the requirements are being set.
3) Evaluating requirements: The identified requirements are then assessed, using the four layers of the EIF – legal, organisational, semantic, and technical interoperability – as reference.
4) Exploring reusable solutions: The final step is to identify existing interoperability solutions that can be reused or adapted, which not only ensures compliance but also saves resources.
Q: Are there guidelines or tools to support Member States in conducting these assessments?
Yes, the Commission has been working closely with Member States to develop guidelines, that are available online. These guidelines provide a flexible, step-by-step approach that can be adapted to existing national processes. The aim is to integrate interoperability assessments seamlessly into existing workflows rather than create additional administrative burdens. Additionally, the Commission is developing technical tools, including tools for preparing and publishing assessment reports. For now, this tool offers the possibility to either upload your own report or use the provided online form to write your report. In the future, the tool will aim to offer more functionalities such as more individually tailored templates to easily cross-reference with related assessments and legal acts. These resources will be available on the Interoperable Europe Portal.
Q: What challenges do you foresee for public administrations?
A: New processes always come with challenges. However, many of the tasks required for interoperability assessments are things administrations already do. The challenge lies in rethinking and reordering processes to incorporate these assessments at the right stage. Understanding the benefits is key. When administrations see how interoperability assessments can reduce costs, enhance service delivery, and improve efficiency, it becomes less about fulfilling a legal obligation and more about achieving better outcomes for citizens and businesses.
Q: What role does the community play in this process?
A: The Interoperable Europe Community will play a vital role. We are building a space on the Interoperable Europe Portal where stakeholders can share best practices, raise questions, and collaborate on solutions. Regular webinars and discussions will further support this exchange. The Act envisions a cooperative approach, where Member States and EU bodies work together to overcome interoperability challenges. By publishing reports and engaging in dialogue, we can collectively advance interoperability across Europe.