What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Added:HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Added:Subject matter and scope

Added:1. This 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 efficienncy of public administrations.

Added:2. This Regulation applies to public sector bodies of Member States and Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies ▌that provide or manage network or information systems▌.

Added:Definitions

Added:For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

Added:(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:(2) ‘network and information system’ means a network and information system as defined in Article46, point (1), of ▌ Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council7a;

Added:(3) ‘interoperability solution’ means a ▌reusable asset concerning legal, organisational, semantic or technical requirements to ▌enable cross-border interoperability, such as conceptual frameworks, guidelines, reference architectures, technical specifications, standards, services and applications, as well as documented technical components, such as source code;

Added:(4) ‘public sector body’ means a public sector body as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council7b;

Added:(5) ‘data’ means data as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of the European Parliament ▌and ▌of the Council;

Added:(6) ‘machine-readable format’ means a machine-readable format as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Directive (EU) 2019/1024;

Added:(7) ‘GovTech’ means a technology-based cooperation between public and private sector actors supporting public sector digital transformation;

Added:(8) ‘standard’ means a standard as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

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

Added:(9) ‘highest level of management’ means a manager, management or coordination and oversight body at the most senior administrative level, taking account of the high-level governance arrangements in each institution, body or agency of the Union.

Added:(9a) ‘cross-border public service’ means a service created or controlled by public authorities which involves data exchanges between information systems of public sector bodies in different Member States and institutions, bodies, and agencies of the Union across Member States, by means of dedicated functions and procedures.

Added:(9b) ‘key public services’ means key public services as defined in Article 2, point (8), of Decision (EU) 2022/24819a;

Added:(9c) ‘innovative public service’ means every new technique, solution, method, process or organisationnal procedure used to improve the provision of public services to citizens.

Added:Interoperability assessment

Added:1. 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:(a) where the intended set-up or modification affects one or more network and information systems used for the provision of cross-border public services or for public sector bodies across different Member States to interact with each other by sharing data by means of electronic communication ;

Added:(b) where the intended set-up or modification will most likely result in procurements for network and information systems ▌above the threshold set out in Article 4 of Directive 2014/24/EU;

Added:(c) where the intended set-up or modification concerns a network and information system ▌funded through Union programmes.

Added:▌2. The interoperability assessment shall be carried out before taking decisions on the legal, organisational, semantic or technical requirements for the new or modified network and information system in a binding manner. A single interoperability assessment may be carried out to address a set of requirements and several network and information systems.

Added: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 in a machine readable format, facilitating automated translation and share it electronically with the Commission. The Commission shall ensure that such reports are published on the Interoperable Europe portal and that a translation into any official language of the institutions of the Union is made available by means of an automated system.

Added:The publication shall not compromise intellectual property rights or trade secrets, public order or security.

Added:3. The national competent authorities and the interoperability coordinators shall advise local and regional authorities whether an interoperability assessment of an intended operation is required and shall provide the necessary support to carry out the interoperability assessment. The Commission shall provide technical tools to support the assessment.

Added:4. The interoperability assessment shall contain at least:

Added:(a) a description of the intended operation and its impacts on the cross-border interoperability of one or several network and information systems concerned, including anestimation of the complexity of the project for the adaptation of the network and information systems concerned;

Added:(b) a description of the level of alignment of the network and information systems concerned with the European Interoperability Framework, and with the Interoperable Europe solutions, after the operation and where it has improved compared to the level of alignment before the operation;

Added:(c) a description of the Application Programming Interfaces that enable machine-to-machine interaction with the data considered relevant for cross-border exchange with other network and information systems.

Added:5. The public sector body, or institution, body or agency of the Union concerned shall consult recipients of the services affected or their representatives on the intended operation if it directly affects the recipients. This consultation is without prejudice to the protection of commercial or public interests or the security of such systems.

Added:6. The Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt guidelines on the content of the interoperability assessment by … at the latest [six monthsafter the entry into force of this Regulation], including practical check lists.

Added:Share and reuse of interoperability solutions between public sector bodies, institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union

Added:1. A public sector body or an institution, body or agency of the Union shall make available to any other such entity that requests it, interoperability solutions that ▌include all the elements of the interoperability solution including:

Added:(a) the list of the open standards and common technical specifications that will be used;

Added:(b) the list of the potential re-usable solutions created, or of the use of such existing solutions;

Added:(c) the technical documentation, version history and, where applicable, the documented source code of the intended network and information system;

Added:This obligation to share shall not apply to any of the following interoperability solutions:

Added:(a) thosesupport processes which fall outside the scope of the public task of the public sector bodies or institutions, bodies, or agencies of the Union concerned as defined by law or by other binding rules, or, in the absence of such rules, as defined in accordance with common administrative practice in the Member State or Union administrations in question, provided that the scope of the public tasks is transparent and subject to review;

Added:(b) for which third parties hold intellectual property rights and do not allow sharing;

Added:(c) access to which is excluded or restricted on grounds of:

Added:(i) sensitive critical infrastructure protection related information as defined in Article 2, point (d) of Council Directive 2008/114/EC;

Added:(ii) the protection of defence interests, or public security.

Added:2. To enable the reusing entity to manage the interoperability solution autonomously, the sharing entity shall specify the guarantees that will be provided to the reusing entity in terms of cooperation, support and maintenance. Before adopting the interoperability solution, the reusing entity shall provide to the sharing entity an assessment of the solution covering its ability to manage autonomously the cybersecurity and the evolution of the reused interoperability solution.

Added:3. The obligation in paragraph 1 of this Article may be fulfilled by publishing the relevant content on the Interoperable Europe portal or a portal, catalogue or repository connected to the Interoperable Europe portal. In that case, paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply to the sharing entity. The publication on the Interoperable European portal shall be made by the Commission, at the request of the sharing entity.

Added:4. A public sector body, an institution, body or agency of the Union or a third party using an interoperability solution may adapt it to its own needs. If the interoperability solution was made public as set out in paragraph 3, the adapted interoperability solution shall be made public in the same way.

Added:5. The sharing and reusing entities may conclude an agreement on sharing the costs for future developments of the interoperability solution.

Added:5a. Public sector bodies, institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union shall prioritise implementation of interoperability solutions that do not carry restrictive licensing terms, such as open source solutions. The Commission shall provide support in identifying, developing and deploying such solutions, as provided for in Article 9.

Added:5b. The Interoperable Europe Board shall adopt guidelines on the sharing of interoperability solutions by … [six months after the entry into force of this Regulation], including practical check lists.

Added:General principles

Added:1. The Commission shall 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 in line with Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council10a and Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council10b findable and re-usable, if applicable, together with their documented source code and metadata. Machine translated versions of the publication, shall be made available in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union.

Added:2. The Interoperable Europe Board shall monitor the overall coherence of the developed or recommended interoperability solutions, and propose measures to ensure, where appropriate, their compatibility with other interoperability solutions that share a common purpose, while supporting, where relevant, the complementarity with or transition to new technologies.

Added:European Interoperability Framework and specialised interoperability frameworks

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

Added:2. The EIF shall provide a model and a set of recommendations on legal, organisational, semantic and technical interoperability, addressed to all entities falling within the scope of this Regulation for interacting with each other through their network and information systems. The EIF shall be taken into account in the interoperability assessment in accordance with Article 3(4), point (b) and Article 3(6).

Added:3. The Commission, after consulting the Interoperable Europe Board, may adopt other interoperability frameworks (‘specialised interoperability frameworks’) targeting the needs of specific sectors or administrative levels. The specialised interoperability frameworks shall be based on the EIF. The Interoperable Europe Board shall assess the alignment of the specialised interoperability frameworks with the EIF. The Commission shall publish the specialised interoperability frameworks on the Interoperable Europe portal.

Added:4. Where a Member State develops a national interoperability framework and other relevant national policies, strategies or guidelines, it shall take into outmost account the EIF.

Added:Interoperable Europe solutions