What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

5 unchanged paragraphs

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)

(COM(2022)0720 – C90387/2022 – 2022/0379(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2022)0720),

Changed:– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 172 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90387/2022),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Changed:– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of ...,23 March 2023,

Changed:– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of ...,24 May 2023,

– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A90000/2023),(A9-0254/2023),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

Removed:Recital 11: (11) The organisation should publish the outcome of the interoperability assessment on its website and should share it electronically with the Commission for publication on the Interoperable Europe portal. The publication of the outcome should not compromise intellectual property rights or trade secrets, and should be restricted where justified on the grounds of public order or security. The provisions of Union law governing the protection of personal data should be observed.

Added:AMENDMENTS BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT*

Removed:Recital 15: (15) The European Interoperability Framework (EIF) should ensure coherence and be recognised as the single point of reference for the Union’s approach to interoperability in the public service sector. In addition, specialised interoperability frameworks can address the needs of specific sectors, domains or administrative levels. Those frameworks should further promote the implementation of interoperability solutions. They should take due account of the interoperability requirements provided for in Regulation [XX] (Data Act)].

Added:to the Commission proposal

Removed:Recital 15 a (new): (15a) The EIF should apply the principle of multilingualism in the public service sector and should encourage the use of the most advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to preserve linguistic diversity, while enhancing the efficiency of the exchanges between information systems across language boundaries.

Added:---------------------------------------------------------

Removed:Recital 20: (20) An Interoperable Europe portal should be established as an easily accessible point of reference for interoperability solutions, assessments, knowledge and community. The portal should be established as a link to official sources but should also be open to input from the Interoperable Europe Community.

Added:REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

Removed:Recital 21: (21) The Interoperable Europe portal should make publicly available, free of charge, solutions that follow the EIF principles of openness, technical neutrality and security. As open source enables users to actively assess and inspect the interoperability and security of the solutions, it is important that open source supports the implementation of interoperability solutions. In this context, the use of open source licences should be promoted to enhance legal clarity and mutual recognition of licences in the Member States.

Added:of

Removed:Recital 35: (35) An Interoperable Europe Agenda should be established as the Union’s main instrument for the coordination of public investments in interoperability solutions. It should deliver a comprehensive overview of funding possibilities and funding commitments in the field, integrating where appropriate the related Union programmes. This should contribute to creating synergies and coordinating financial support related to interoperability development and avoiding duplication. The Interoperable Europe Agenda should set clear objectives and should introduce key performance indicators for measuring the achievement of those objectives.

Added:laying down measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act)

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 2: 2. This Regulation applies to public sector bodies of Member States and institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union that provide or manage network or information systems.

Added:THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Removed:The scope of this regulation should not be limited only to those systems that electronically are delivering public services. All public sector IT systems interacting across borders with each-other should be interoperable not depending on the reason for interaction – providing public service (G2C and G2B) or administration’s internal needs (G2G).

Added:Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 172 thereof,

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1: (1) ‘cross-border interoperability’ means the ability of the public sector bodies in different Member States and institutions, bodies, and agencies of the Union to interact with each other by sharing data by means of electronic communication;

Added:Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3: (3) ‘interoperability solution’ means a technical specification, a standard, a conceptual framework, a guideline, an application, or similar guidance, describing legal, organisational, semantic or technical requirements to be fulfilled by a network and information system in order to enhance cross-border interoperability;

Added:After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new): (8a) ‘ICT technical specification’ means a technical specification as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012;

Added:Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new): (9a) ‘public services’ mean services provided to Union citizens and businesses by public sector bodies including the areas of information in Annex I and the procedures in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a; / 1a Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October 2018 establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance and problem-solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 1).

Added:Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 b (new): (9b) ‘cross-border services’ means public services that natural and legal persons access across different Member States or public services which are supported by data exchange between information systems, by means of dedicated functions and procedures across national jurisdictions.

Added:Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part: Where a public sector body or an institution, an agency or body of the Union intends to set up a new or significantly modify an existing network and information system, it shall carry out an assessment of the impacts of the planned action on cross-border interoperability (‘interoperability assessment’) in the following cases:

Added:Whereas:

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a: (a) where the intended set-up or modification affects one or more network and information systems used for the provision of cross-border services across several sectors or administrations or used by public sector bodies across different Member States to interact with each other by sharing data by means of electronic communication;

Added:(1) It is necessary to strengthen the development of cross-border interoperability of network and information systems which are used to provide or manage public services in the Union, to allow public administrations in the Union to cooperate and make public services function across borders. The existing informal cooperation should be replaced with a clear legal framework to enable interoperability across different administrative levels and sectors and to facilitate seamless cross-border data flows for truly European digital services that strengthen the single market, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity. Public sector interoperability has an important impact on the right to free movement of goods and services, capital and citizens laid down in the Treaties, as burdensome administrative procedures can create significant obstacles, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’).

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2: The public sector body or the institution, body or agency of the Union concerned shall publish a report presenting the outcome of the interoperability assessment on its website and shall share it electronically with the Commission. The Commission shall ensure that such reports are published on the Interoperable Europe portal and that automated translations into any official languages of the institutions of the Union are available.

Added:(1a) Cross-Border cooperation between public administrations in Member States can address common challenges in the border regions and ensure interoperability and seamless cross-border data flows, while allowing citizens and businesses to access tools that facilitate democratic processes and growth.

Removed:The regulation should include provisions for sharing reports from interoperability assessments using a single repository managed by the Commission. The Commission shall then ensure that such reports are published and made automatically translated into any official EU language through means of an automated translation. This should lead to lower costs for interoperability assessments by sharing good practice and by sharing experiences from such assessments.

Added:(2) Member States and the Union have been working for more than two decades to support the modernisation of administrations through digital transformation and foster the deep interconnections needed for a truly European digital space. The use of electronic data should be considered as an important strategic activity and policy to improve the public sector connection. The communication from the Commission ‘2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade’ (COM(2021) 118) underlines the need to speed up the digitalisation of public services by 2030, including by ensuring interoperability across all levels of government and across public services. Additionally, the Digital Decade Policy Programme4a gives a clear target of 100% online accessible provision of key public services for Union citizens and businesses by 2030. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the speed of digitalisation, pushing public administrations to adapt to the online paradigm, including for cross-border digital public services, as well as for the smarter and greener use of technologies in accordance with the climate and energy targets set in the European Green Deal and the Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council. This Regulation aims to significantly contribute to these Union goals and to further enhance Europe's digital sovereignty by creating a structured cooperation framework on cross-border interoperability amongst Member States and the Commission to support the setup of digital public services, helping to reduce cost and time for citizens, businesses and for the public sector.

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 3: 3. The national competent authorities and the interoperability coordinators shall provide the necessary support to carry out the interoperability assessment. The Commission shall provide technical tools to support the assessment.

Added:(2b) The development of cross-border organisational, semantic and technical interoperability set out in this Regulation should in particular focus on legal interoperability, in order to facilitate the necessary swift access of businesses and citizens to legal information, faster procedures and services, which is crucial for the reduction of expensive administrative obstacles and for the strengthening of the proper functioning of the single market and the associated freedoms of movement.

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. A public sector body or an institution, body or agency of the Union shall make interoperability solutions available to any other such entity that requests it. This obligation to share shall not apply to any of the following interoperability solutions:

Added:(3) The new governance structure should have a legal mandate to drive the further development of the European Interoperability Framework and other common interoperability solutions, such as specifications and applications.

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. The Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt guidelines on the sharing of interoperability solutions by ... [one year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], including practical check lists.

Added:Local and regional authorities should have an active role in decisions related to interoperable solutions, including on design, financing and implementation. They should also seek to involve SMEs, research and educational organisations and civil society. To this end, local and regional authorities may conduct direct consultations with citizens, business, in particular SMEs and share the results of the consultations with the Interoperable Europe Board and the Interoperable Europe community.

Removed:These guidelines are essential because they provide practical checklists that can help ensure that all parties can share and use interoperability solutions effectively. The practical checklists will provide clear and concise instructions on how to share interoperability solutions. Ultimately, this will reduce the risk of errors and interoperability issues, leading to a smoother and more efficient exchange of data and services across the EU.

Added:Furthermore, this Regulation should establish a clear and easily recognisable label for some interoperability solutions. ▌

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 1: 1. The Interoperable Europe Board shall develop a European Interoperability Framework (EIF)43 and propose to the Commission to adopt it. The Commission may adopt the EIF. In the event that the Commission adopts the EIF, the Commission shall publish the EIF in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Added:(4) It is in the interest of a coherent approach to public sector interoperability throughout the Union, of supporting the principle of good administration and the free movement of personal and non-personal data within the Union, to align the rules as far as possible for all public sectors that are controllers or providers of network and information systems used to facilitate or manage public services. In the establishment, improvement or operation of common solutions all initiatives should, where appropriate, build on or be accompanied by the sharing of experience and solutions and the exchange and promotion of good practices, technological neutrality and adaptability, while principles of security, privacy and protection of personal data should always be applied. This objective includes the Commission and other institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union, as well as public sector bodies in the Member States across all levels of administration: national, regional and local. Agencies are playing an important role in collecting regulatory reporting data from Member States. Therefore, the interoperability of this data - should also be in scope of this Regulation.