The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted the report by Ivars IJABS (Renew, LV) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act).
The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:
Subject matter and scope
The proposed regulation lays down measures to promote the cross-border interoperability of network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services in the Union by establishing common rules and a framework for coordination and cooperation on public sector interoperability, with the aim of fostering the development of interoperable trans-European digital public services infrastructure and enhancing the efficiency of public administrations. It applies to public sector bodies of Member States and Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies that provide or manage network or information systems.
Interoperability solutions
Members considered that the Commission should publish Interoperable Europe solutions and the European Interoperability Framework on the Interoperable Europe portal, by electronic means, in formats that are open, machine-readable, accessible, for persons with disabilities. Machine translated versions of the publication, should be made available in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union.
Interoperable Europe solutions
Members considered that value of the recommendation as a mark of excellence could be better guaranteed if the Interoperable Europe Board can also remove the Interoperable Europe solution label, when necessary.
Establishment of innovation sandboxes
The amended text suggested the establishment of innovation sandboxes which should provide a controlled environment for the development, testing and validation of innovative interoperability solutions for a limited period of time before putting them into service, with the aim of offering innovative public services to citizens and businesses.
Interoperable Europe Board
Members proposed that the Commission should organise free of charge training courses on interoperability issues at Union level to enhance cooperation and the exchange of best practices between the staff of public sector bodies, institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union. The courses targeted at decision-makers and practitioners should be announced in all official languages of the institutions of the Union on the Interoperable Europe portal.
The report called for the European Parliament and the EU Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA) to be represented on the Interoperable Europe Board.
Interoperable Europe Agenda
The Interoperable Europe Agenda should contain:
- a needs assessment for the development of interoperability and infrastructure solutions;
- indications of available financial opportunities in support of the priorities included;
- the main objectives and key performance indicators for measuring the achievement of those objectives.
The Interoperable Europe Agenda should not constitute financial obligations and further administrative burden. After its adoption, the Commission should publish the Agenda on the Interoperable Europe portal and provide regular updates on its implementation.
Monitoring and evaluation
The report stressed that the Commission and the Interoperable Europe Board should monitor the progress of the development of cross-border interoperable public services to be delivered or managed electronically in the Union. The monitoring should 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.
All monitoring and evaluation activities should take into account the different starting points of the Member States and of regions with lower levels of connectivity, of rural and peripheral areas and islands.