Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2014)367 - Programme on interoperability solutions for European public administrations, businesses and citizens (ISA2) Interoperability as a means for modernising the public sector - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2014)367 - Programme on interoperability solutions for European public administrations, businesses and citizens (ISA2) Interoperability ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2014)367  |
| date | 26-06-2014 |
The public sector plays a key role in the economy as regulator, service provider and employer. It accounts for over 25 % of total employment and a significant proportion of economic activity in the EU Member States. An efficient and productive public sector can be a strong driver of economic growth through its support for, and governance of, the private sector. At a time when governments are facing up to the challenge of ensuring financial consolidation while fostering growth, competitiveness and employment, there is strong justification for efficiency gains, better governance, faster delivery and more user involvement in the public sector.
Years of work around themes such as interoperability, eGovernment, open data, cloud computing and social innovation have brought within reach a suite of mature concepts and tools. The core novelty is the capacity of open data, participative tools and interoperable platforms to unleash unprecedented speed, efficiency and quality in the creation and delivery of public goods and services. The potential for interlinked and cooperative open governments joining together contributions from various sectors in an interoperable and secure manner is now high, and realising this ambition will be a crucial element for the successful building of the digital single market.
As mentioned in its 2013 annual growth survey, the Commission considers the cross-border interoperability of online services and the digitisation of European public administrations to be important contributors to growth and increased efficiency. Interoperability between administrations is a key enabler for more efficient and effective delivery of digital services, while sharing and re-using existing interoperability solutions could reduce the multiplication of costs. These are important productivity factors that could improve and modernise public administrations at EU, national, regional and local levels.
In response to the current economic crisis, the Commission has adopted another important initiative, the Europe 2020 Strategy, to turn the EU into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy, delivering high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. Certain key challenges addressed by the Strategy relate directly to the modernisation of European public administrations. As underlined in the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE), a Europe 2020 flagship programme, interoperability is essential to maximising the social and economic potential of ICT and, consequently, DAE can take off only if interoperability is ensured. The DAE’s ‘interoperability and standards’ pillar ties in with policy priorities under other relevant initiatives such as the European Interoperability Strategy (EIS), the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) and the 2012-15 e‑Commission Strategy[7].
On 24 and 25 October 2013, the European Council adopted conclusions stressing that the modernisation of public administrations should continue, with the swift implementation of services, such as e-government, e-health, e-invoicing and e-procurement that rely on interoperability. This will lead to more and better digital services for citizens and enterprises across Europe, cost savings and increased efficiency, transparency and quality of service in the public sector.
Interoperability programmes have come a long way since they were first introduced in 1995. The Commission has demonstrated its dedication to interoperability solutions over a remarkably long period. Today, strong commitment on all sides is essential if the Commission and the Member States are to transform and modernise services within and across Europe. In this context, interoperability, as a key enabler, has led the way to achieving ‘efficient and effective electronic cross-border and cross-sectoral interaction between […] administrations, […] enabling the delivery of electronic public services supporting the implementation of EU policies and activities’, as called for in the decision on the previous programme (ISA Decision Article 1(2)[8]).
Therefore, in responding to real needs, the current proposal for the continuation of the Commission’s interoperability programme will make a strong contribution to the modernisation of European public administrations.
The proposal ties in with other initiatives contributing to the modernisation of public administrations, such as the DAE, Horizon 2020[9], Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)[10] and networks like the European Public Administration Network (EUPAN), the Investment Funds and the European Structural Funds (in the latter two cases by ensuring that funded projects are aligned with the EU‑wide interoperability frameworks and specifications). In a recent report on powering European public‑sector innovation[11], interoperability and work under the previous programme are mentioned as factors conducive to digital innovation and overcoming barriers to public sector modernisation.
This new programme should therefore be a central point of reference and an instrument enabling the ICT-based modernisation of the public sector in Europe and, consequently, an invaluable contribution to achieve the digital single market.
In today’s Europe, citizens are free to work and re-locate and businesses are free to trade and operate within and across the Union. In doing so, they frequently have to interact electronically with Member State administrations. To facilitate this interaction, Member States are gradually modernising their administrations by improving business processes and ICT infrastructures, thereby reducing their administrative burden and costs while increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the services they provide.
However, because it takes place at national level and lacks European‑level interoperability, such change very often throws up electronic barriers (‘e-barriers’) that prevent citizens and businesses from using public services efficiently and impede the smooth functioning of the internal market.
At the same time, the challenges facing Europe increasingly require common policy responses and consequently the joining of Member States’ forces in implementing these. Applying a broad range of legislative acts is the shared responsibility of the Member States and the Commission and requires interaction across borders and sectors by means of ICT interoperability solutions, which are now an integral part of most legislative acts and a key instrument for such interaction.
The 1995-99 Interchange of Data between Administrations (IDA) Programme[12] aimed to promote the development and operation of trans-European telematic networks through which Member State administrations could exchange data with each other and/or the EU institutions.
The follow-on programme, IDA II (1999-2004) [13][14], aimed to make the delivery of e‑Government services to European businesses and citizens more efficient.
The 2005-09 IDABC Programme[15] aimed at the interoperable delivery of pan-European e‑Government services to public administrations, businesses and citizens.
The 2010-15 ISA Programme[16] on interoperability solutions for European public administrations had as its objective to support cooperation between European public administrations by facilitating efficient and effective electronic cross-border and cross-sector interaction enabling the delivery of electronic public services to help implement Union policies and activities.
Activities under the above programmes have contributed significantly to ensuring interoperability in the electronic exchange of information between European public administrations. In its Resolution on a competitive digital single market — e-Government as a spearhead (3 April 2012), the European Parliament recognised the contribution and overarching role of the ISA Programme in defining, promoting and supporting the implementation of interoperability solutions and frameworks for European public administrations, achieving synergies, promoting the re-use of infrastructure, digital services and software solutions, and translating public administrations’ interoperability requirements into specifications and standards for digital services. The Parliament also called for an increase in the financial allocations for interoperability solutions between the EU public administrations for 2014-20.
With the ISA Programme coming to an end on 31 December 2015, a new EU programme on interoperability solutions for European public administrations, businesses and citizens is needed in order to:
· map and analyse the overall interoperability landscape in Europe and avoid its fragmentation;
· enable, promote and support a holistic approach to the collection, assessment, development, establishment, industrialisation, operation, improvement and maintenance of interoperability solutions, including solutions that facilitate the re-use of data as well as its exchange, in support of cross-border or cross-sector interaction for European public administrations and between them and enterprises and citizens; and
· promote and support the re-usability, integration and convergence of existing solutions, including those from other Union policy areas.
The new programme will contribute to meeting challenges and ensuring continuity while providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and experience.
In the wider context, action under the previous ISA Programme was continuously coordinated and aligned with the ongoing work under the ICT Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP) of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and/or with the Commission’s internal ICT strategy, and with action in the context of the 2011-15 European e-Government Action Plan. The ISA Programme supported these and similar initiatives whenever they contributed to interoperability between EU public administrations.
ISA was also well aligned with the CEF Programme, the Union’s funding instrument for trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and telecommunications. CEF supports the deployment and operation of key cross-border digital services. The proposed programme is complementary to CEF by including in its scope bringing-up services to operational level, as required, before being taken on board by CEF. It is also one of the enabler and contributor programmes for public sector innovation in Europe.
Interoperability has also made a significant contribution in the area of cloud computing. As stated in the Commission communication ‘Unleashing the Potential of Cloud Computing in Europe’[17], interoperability plays an important role in supporting the “creation of public services based on standards, scalable, and in line with the needs of a mobile population and businesses that want to benefit from the European digital single market”. The proposed programme will take into account the activities of the European Cloud Initiative regarding interoperability.
Interoperability is an enabler of EU policy-making and successful implementation at sectoral level. The following policy areas, among others, rely on interoperability for their effective and efficient implementation:
· Internal market: Directive 2006/123/EC on services in the internal market[18] requires Member States to offer service providers the possibility of completing electronically and across borders all procedures and formalities needed to provide a service outside their home country. In addition, in the area of company law, Directive 2012/17/EU[19] requires the interoperability of Member States’ central, commercial and companies registers via a central platform. Interconnecting company registers will ensure cross-border exchange of information between registers and will facilitate EU-level access for citizens and businesses to data on companies, thus improving the legal certainty of the business environment in Europe;
· Environment: The INSPIRE Directive[20] requires the adoption of common implementing rules laying down technical interoperability arrangements and national infrastructures to be adapted so as to ensure that spatial data and services are interoperable and accessible across borders in the Union;
· Home affairs and Justice: Effectiveness relies on enhanced interoperability and synergies among European databases via, for example, the Visa Information System (VIS), the Schengen Information System II (SIS II), the European Dactyloscopy system (Eurodac) and the e‑Justice portal;
· Customs, taxation and excise duties: with more than 20 years of experience in operating trans-European ICT systems spanning all Member States supporting business services funded by the Fiscalis 2013[21] and Customs 2013[22] programmes, implemented and operated by the Commission and national administrations, interoperability has proven a key success factor. The assets created under Fiscalis 2013 and Customs 2013 programmes are available for sharing and re-use from other policy areas on ‘as is’ basis;
· Health: Directive 2011/24/EU on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare provides rules for facilitating access to safe, high-quality cross-border healthcare. The Directive sets explicit provisions for achieving wider interoperability of national ICT systems for the electronic exchange of health data. In pharmaceuticals, the European Telematics network is managed by the European Medicines Agency, the national authorities and the Commission. It delivers practical solutions to streamlining the authorisation of medicinal products and an interoperable European pharmacovigilance network.
· Animal Health and Food safety: Effective solutions supporting the full chain of animal and animal product traceability and alerts have been applied for the past 10 years with steady improvements. All actors in the chain (from business to administrations) are involved in the TRACES system. Electronic exchanges between the actors (including third countries) are based on international standards (UNCEFACT) and a system of electronic signatures is being introduced to enable e-processing of almost all official documents.
· European funds: All exchanges of information in relation with the European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, between beneficiaries and managing authorities, certifying authorities, audit authorities and intermediate bodies are carried out by means of electronic data exchange systems[23], so as to facilitate interoperability with national and EU frameworks and allow beneficiaries to submit all requisite information only once;
· Public sector information: Directive 2013/37/EU[24] provides that, where possible and appropriate, public sector bodies make documents available in open and machine‑readable formats together with their metadata, at the best level of precision and granularity, in a format that ensures interoperability, re-use and accessibility;
· Electronic identity: The Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market[25] stresses that the EU needs an enabling framework to address cross‑border interoperability and improve the coordination of national supervision schemes on EU‑wide accepted electronic identification and electronic authentication;
· ICT standardisation: Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 on European standardisation[26] refers to interoperability as an essential outcome of standardisation and states that, in order to ensure interoperability in the single market and improve freedom of choice for EU users in the field of ICT, it is appropriate to encourage the use of, or require compliance with, relevant technical specifications at Union level. In this context, the present programme should promote and, where appropriate, support the partial or full standardisation of existing interoperability solutions.
· Production of European Statistics: In Regulation (EC) No 223/2009[27] on European Statistics setting up the basis of the European Statistical System (ESS) and the subsequent Commission Communication 404 (2009)[28] on ‘the production of EU statistics: a vision for the next decade’, interoperability is a key enabler for achieving efficiency gains, reducing the administrative burden reduction and improving the quality of EU statistics for EU citizens, enterprises and policy makers.
· In the area of Public Procurement, Directives 2014/25/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 March 2014 require Member States to implement electronic procurement. They state that the tools and devices to be used for communicating by electronic means, as well as their technical characteristics, have to be interoperable with the information and communication technology products in general use. The Directive 2014/55/EU[29] on electronic invoicing in public procurement adopted by the Parliament on 11 March 2014concerns the development of a European standard for electronic invoicing in public procurement to ensure interoperability between electronic invoicing systems across the EU.
However, for all the above sectorial initiatives to unleash their full potential, cross-sector interoperability has to be considered and placed within the scope of the present programme.
To enable efficient and effective interaction with citizens and businesses, Member States should modernise their administrations and provide interoperable digital services at national and European level.
Issues faced by public administrations still include internal organisational complexity, lack of frameworks, ICT architectures and tools enabling interoperability, cultural fragmentation and a lack of cooperation among dispersed institutional entities.
The 2012 interim evaluation of the ISA Programme found that it was relevant[30] in responding to Member States’ needs, on the basis that those addressed by past and current Commission programmes, i.e. IDA, IDABC and ISA, still apply to European public administrations.
The present programme is therefore needed to:
– facilitate cooperation among Member States and the Commission;
– map and analyse the overall interoperability landscape in Europe;
– enable, promote and support a holistic approach to collecting, assessing, developing, establishing, industrialising, operating, improving and maintaining interoperability solutions, including solutions that facilitate the re-use of data as well as its exchange, in support of cross-border or cross-sector interaction between European public administrations, businesses and citizens; and
– at the same time, promote and support the re-usability, integration and convergence of existing solutions, including those derived from other EU policy areas.
A key factor in the success of any interoperability, especially in the area of ICT, is to address it at the right legal level for maximum effect. It should be ensured that the ICT impact of proposed legislation is assessed and measured early in the EU legislative process and that ICT needs are identified in time, allowing for smooth implementation of the legislation when it comes into force.
The present programme will support and promote the assessment of the ICT implications of proposed or adopted Union legislation and planning for the introduction of solutions to support the implementation of such legislation.
Contents
- RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
- LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL
- BUDGETARY IMPLICATION
- 1.1 Political context
- 1.2 The importance of interoperability
- 1.3 Background
- 1.4 Related EU initiatives and interoperability in other policy areas
- 1.5 Grounds for the proposal
- 2.1 Consultation of interested parties
- 2.2 Impact assessment
- 3.1 Summary of the proposed legislation
- 3.2 Legal basis
- 3.3 Subsidiarity principle
- 3.4 Proportionality principle
- 3.5 Choice of instruments
- 5. OPTIONAL ELEMENTS
- Candidate countries
Stakeholders’ views on the future of the ISA Programme (the present proposal) were collected between March 2013 and January 2014 in five rounds of formal consultations with Member States. Twelve Commission DGs[31] were also consulted and their comments were taken into account in the proposal.
The Commission presented the ‘state of play’ on preparation of the legal basis for the new ISA Programme to Member States in two official ISA Committee meetings and three ISA Coordination Group meetings. This iterative process enabled it to gather Member States’ feedback on the proposed legislation.
The Commission first informed the Member States of its intention to introduce a new legal decision for the successor ISA Programme in March 2013. It presented a draft of the legislation in an ISA Coordination Group meeting in October 2013 and asked the Member States to provide feedback.
The feedback received from 16 Member States[32] in November 2013 indicated that:
· the new legislation should focus on avoiding duplication of effort and coordinating with other EU programmes (mentioned by 10 Member States);
· the monitoring of results should continue and include quantification of the programme benefits (mentioned by seven Member States);
· the new ISA Programme should contribute to the interoperability ‘big picture’ by using an architecture model/tool such as the European Interoperability Cartography (mentioned by six Member States); and
· the Programme should be driven by a needs-based approach (mentioned by six Member States).
Other, more minor comments were that:
· there is a need to involve different stakeholder groups in the review of the legislation (e.g. citizens, businesses, academia) and to ensure that it addresses their situation;
· the new legislation should stress the importance of re-using data, services and solutions;
· specific references in the legislation should encourage the simplification of processes in the context of the modernisation of public administrations; and
· the new programme should play the role of a facilitator/incubator for Member State and inter-institutional cooperation so as to ensure that solutions are not only put in place but are also sustainable, without efforts being duplicated.
The latest feedback from Member States was gathered in the 16 January 2014 meeting of the ISA Committee, when the time plan for adoption of the new programme was presented and agreed. It was also agreed that, although the legislation should extend to citizens and businesses, public administrations should remain the focal point to ensure end-to-end interoperability.
The impact assessment for the present programme was based on a meta-evaluation from the previous programme’s evaluations (2012 interim evaluation for the ISA Programme and the EIS implementation review) and on Member States’ feedback.
The largely positive ISA interim evaluation concluded that the ISA Programme was aligned with the Commission’s policy priorities and Member States’ needs and was implemented efficiently and coherently, delivering results that were re-used by Commission services and Member States. However, it also identified some shortcomings and made recommendations for action with regard to:
· communication and awareness‑raising;
· stakeholder involvement and project management continuity; and
· avoiding overlaps and duplication of work, increasing re-usability and ensuring sustainability.
Also, the evaluators considered that four out of the eleven recommendations from the final evaluation of the predecessor programme (IDABC) were still applicable to the ISA Programme.
The present programme takes the recommendations of the interim report into account and addresses the shortcomings with specific activities, while aiming to consolidate, promote and expand existing ISA Programme activities. In particular, the new programme will help identify, create and operate interoperability solutions, which will then be provided for unlimited use to other Union’s institutions and bodies, and national, regional and local public administrations, thus facilitating cross-border or cross-sector interaction between them. The programme will also develop interoperability solutions autonomously or complement and support other Union initiatives by piloting interoperability solutions as a ‘solution incubator’ or ensuring their sustainability as a ‘solution bridge’.
By doing so, the programme will help reduce the cost and administrative burden of cross‑border interaction for all concerned, further improve the internal market and freedom of movement in the EU without administrative e-barriers, and contribute to the swift implantation of ICT systems supporting EU legislation.
In the event of the present programme not being adopted, existing support for effective and efficient interaction between European public administrations would be dropped, leading to multiplied costs and additional effort. Furthermore, the proliferation of disparate solutions could inadvertently result in new or worse e-barriers, thus impeding the smooth functioning of the internal market and freedom of movement, i.e. the opposite of the objective of modernising European public administrations.
Similarly, the establishment and operation of new interoperability solutions would no longer contribute to ensuring an efficient and effective exchange of data between European public administrations. With no new programme, far fewer EU initiatives would be taken in support of interoperability, which is a pre‑condition for the delivery of cross-border or cross-sector online digital services of European public administrations.
By launching the present programme, the EU will make an important contribution to ensuring smooth interaction between European public administrations to the direct benefit of Member States, businesses and citizens.
The programme will add economic value by supporting the proper functioning of the internal market through solutions that will ensure:
(a) shorter response times in public administrations’ interaction with citizens and businesses;
(b) the identification and re-use of existing solutions to serve similar business needs; and
(c) the automation of cross-border and cross-sector transactions, thus saving resources and time.
Social value would be added in as far as the programme activities will eventually benefit citizens and businesses as users of cross-border and cross-sector electronic public services making use of such common and shared solutions.
The present programme succeeds the ISA Programme and will consolidate, promote and expand its activities.
In particular, the new programme will:
· help to identify, create and operate interoperability solutions, which will then be provided for unlimited use to other Union institutions and bodies, and national, regional and local public administrations, thus facilitating cross-border or cross-sector interaction between them;
· develop interoperability solutions autonomously or complement and support other Union initiatives by piloting interoperability solutions as a ‘solution incubator’ or ensuring their sustainability as a ‘solution bridge’; and
· assess the ICT implications of existing and proposed EU legislation.
In accordance with Article 170 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), to help achieve the objectives referred to in Articles 26 and 174 TFEU and to enable citizens of the European Union, economic operators and regional and local communities to derive full benefit from the setting‑up of an area without internal frontiers, the Union should contribute to the establishment and development of trans-European networks by means of actions to promote the interconnectivity and interoperability of national networks, as well as access to them.
In accordance with Article 172 TFEU (previously Article 156 of Treaty Establishing the European Community), ‘the guidelines and other measures referred to in Article 171 shall be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Guidelines and projects of common interest which relate to the territory of a Member State shall require the approval of the Member State concerned.’
The subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the EU.
The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting independently, as this could not produce the interoperability effects necessary for cross-border or cross-sector electronic public services or establish common and shared solutions in support of the interaction between European public administrations.
EU action will achieve the objectives of the proposal more effectively, as the programme will establish and operate interoperability solutions in support of smooth interaction between public administrations across borders or sectors, enabling the delivery of electronic public services supporting the implementation of EU policies and activities.
Therefore, the programme has a clear inherent EU dimension. The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle.
The programme will support the provision of common and shared solutions, i.e. common frameworks, generic tools and common services, to be applied, as appropriate, by European public administrations for the exchange of information across borders or sectors. In the absence of other provisions, the application of such solutions is subject to Member States’ discretion.
The establishment and improvement of common frameworks and generic tools will be financed via the programme, while the use of such frameworks and tools is to be financed by the users at the administrative level in question. The programme will finance the establishment, industrialisation (i.e. bringing to a state of operational maturity) and improvement of common services, but will finance their actual operation only where this may serve the EU interests. In other cases, the use of the services, including their operation on a decentralised basis, will be financed by the users.
The solutions established by the programme will reduce the financial and administrative burden on European public administrations in interacting with each other. The proposal therefore complies with the proportionality principle.
As with the previous ISA Programme, the legal act proposed is a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council, since in this particular case, a decision is the most appropriate means for complying with the proportionality principle.
The financial envelope for implementation of the new ISA2 Programme for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020 is EUR 130 928 000. The proposed envelope is consistent with the current Multiannual Financial Framework for the years 2014-2020.
Further details are provided in the legislative financial statement accompanying the proposal.
European Economic Area
The proposed act concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area.
The proposed act is open to participation by candidate countries.