Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added(k) review reports from innovation measures, on the use of the innovation sandbox and on the peer reviews and propose follow-up measures, if necessary;

Added(l) propose measures to enhance interoperability capabilities of public sector bodies, such as trainings;

Added(la) propose measures to support the public administrations in development and deployment of interoperability solutions, that meets the EIF requirements, including for open source solutions;

Added(m) adopt the Interoperable Europe Agenda;

Added(n) provide advice to the Commission on the monitoring and reporting on the application of this Regulation;

Added(o) propose measures to relevant standardisation organisations and bodies to contribute to European standardisation activities, in particular through the procedures set out in Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012;

Added(p) propose measures to collaborate with international bodies and research and educational institutions that could contribute to the development of the cross-border interoperability, especially international communities on open source solutions, open standards or specifications and other platforms without legal effects;

Added(q) coordinate with the European Data Innovation Board, referred to in Regulation (EU) No 2022/686 on interoperability solutions for the common European Data Spaces, as well as with any other Union institution, body, or agency of the Union working on interoperability solutions relevant for the public sector;

Added(r) inform regularly and coordinate with the interoperability coordinators and the Interoperable Europe Community on matters concerning cross-border interoperability of network and information systems and on relevant Union funded projects and networks;

Added(ra) provide guidance and support to Member States in establishing a common and harmonised Union cross-border procurement for interoperable solutions;

Added(rb) propose new functionalities for the European Interoperability portal.

Added5. The Interoperable Europe Board may set up working groups to examine specific points related to the tasks of the Interoperable Europe Board. Working groups shall involve members of the Interoperable Europe Community.

Added6. The Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

AddedInteroperable Europe Community

Added1. The Interoperable Europe Community is established. It shall contribute to the activities of the Interoperable Europe Board by providing expertise and advice.

Added2. Public and private stakeholders as well as civil society organisations and academic contributors residing or having their registered office in a Member State may register on the Interoperable Europe portal as a member of the Interoperable Europe Community. Registration and membership shall be free of charges and fees. In order to promote participation, the Commission may establish support programmes for individuals, civil society organisations, research and educational institutions, SMEs and start-ups, and regional and local administrations.

Added3. After confirmation of the registration, the membership status shall be made public on the Interoperable Europe portal. Membership shall not be limited in time. It may however be revoked by the Interoperable Europe Board at any time for proportionate and justified reasons, especially if a person is no longer able to contribute to the Interoperable Europe Community or has abused its status as a member of the Community.

Added4. The members of the Interoperable Europe Community may be invited to among other:

Added(a) contribute to the content of the Interoperable Europe portal;

Added(aa) contribute to the development of interoperability solutions;

Added(b) participate in the working groups;

Added(c) participate in the peer reviews;

Added(ca) support public sector bodies, institutions, agencies or bodies of the Union in carrying out interoperability assessments;

Added(cb) attend the Interoperable Europe Board meetings and activities as observers;

Added(cc) promote the use of interoperability standards and frameworks.

Added5. The Interoperable Europe Board shall organise at least once a year an online assembly of the Interoperable Europe Community.

Added6. The Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt the code of conduct for the Interoperable Europe Community that shall be published on the Interoperable Europe portal.

AddedNational competent authorities

Added1. By … at the latest [the date of application of this Regulation], each Member State shall designate one or more competent authorities as responsible for the application of this Regulation. Member States may designate an existing authority to that effect.

Added2. The competent authority shall have the following tasks:

Added(a) appoint a member to the Interoperable Europe Board;

Added(b) coordinate within the Member State all questions related to this Regulation;

Added(c) support public sector bodies within the Member State to set up or adapt their processes to do interoperability assessment referred to in Article 3;

Added(d) foster the share and reuse of interoperability solutions through the Interoperable Europe portal or other relevant portal;

Added(e) contribute with country-specific knowledge to the Interoperable Europe portal;

Added(f) coordinate and encourage the active involvement of a diverse range of national, regional and local entities in the Interoperable Europe Community and their participation in policy implementation support projects as referred to in Article 9 and innovation measures referred to in Article 10;

Added(g) support public sector bodies in the Member State to cooperate with the relevant public sector bodies in other Member States on topics covered by this Regulation.

Added3. The Member States shall ensure that the competent authority has adequate competencies and resources to carry out, in an effective and efficient manner, the tasks assigned to it. In this regard, the Commission shall put forward proposals aiming to ensure that competent authorities of Member States receive appropriate funding and guidance to support the performance of related tasks.

Added4. The Member States shall set up the necessary cooperation structures between all national authorities involved in the implementation of this Regulation. Those structures may build on existing mandates and processes in the field.

Added5. Each Member State shall notify to the Commission, without undue delay, the designation of the competent authority, its tasks, and any subsequent change thereto, and inform the Commission of other national authorities involved in the oversight of the interoperability policy. Each Member State shall make public the designation of their competent authority. The Commission shall publish the list of the designated competent authorities.

AddedInteroperability coordinators for institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union

Added1. All institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union that provide or manage network and information systems that enable public services to be delivered or managed electronically shall designate an interoperability coordinator under the oversight of its highest level of management to ensure the contribution to the implementation of this Regulation.

Added2. The interoperability coordinator shall support the concerned departments to set up or adapt their processes to implement the interoperability assessment.

AddedInteroperable Europe Agenda

Added1. After organising a public consultation process through the Interoperable Europe portal that involves, among others, the members of the Interoperable Europe Community, the Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt each year a strategic agenda to plan and coordinate priorities for the development of cross-border interoperability of network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services to be delivered or managed electronically. (‘Interoperable Europe Agenda’). The Interoperable Europe Agenda shall take into account the Union’s long-term strategies for digitalisation, existing Union funding programmes and ongoing Union policy implementation.

Added2. The Interoperable Europe Agenda shall contain:

Added(a) a needs assessment for the development of interoperability and infrastructure solutions;

Added(b) a list of ongoing and planned Interoperable Europe support measures;

Added(c) a list of proposed follow-up actions to innovation measures;

Added(d) identification of synergies with other relevant Union and national programmes and initiatives;

Added(da) indications of available financial opportunities in support of the priorities included;

Added(db) the main objectives and key performance indicators for measuring the achievement of those objectives.

Added3. The Interoperable Europe Agenda shall not constitute financial obligations and further administrative burden. After its adoption, the Commission shall publish the Agenda on the Interoperable Europe portal and provide regular updates on its implementation.

AddedMonitoring and evaluation

Added1. The Commission and the Interoperable Europe Board shall monitor the progress of the development of cross-border interoperable public services to be delivered or managed electronically in the Union. The monitoring shall make use of the indicators set by the Interoperable Europe Board and reuse of existing international, Union and national monitoring data and to automated data collection in order to achieve an accurate reflection of actions and activities on national, local and regional level.

Added2. As regards topics of specific interest for the implementation of this Regulation, the Commission shall monitor:

Added(a) the implementation of the EIF by the Member States;

Added(b) the take-up of the interoperability solutions in different sectors, across the Member States, and at local level;

Added(c) the development of open source solutions for the public services, public sector innovation and the cooperation with GovTech actors, including SMEs and start-ups, in the field of cross-border interoperable public services to be delivered or managed electronically in the Union;

Added(ca) the impact of the Regulation on advancing transparency, good governance, accessibility, social inclusion and good-quality public services, especially with regards to the reduction of the administrative burden, to the benefit of citizens, public sector workers and businesses, in particular SMEs;