The European Parliament and Council have agreed on the Interoperable Europe Act, a regulation designed to enhance cross-border interoperability and collaboration within the EU's public sector. This development is crucial to achieving the EU's 2030 digital targets, ensuring equal online access to critical public services for all EU residents. It establishes a cooperation framework for EU public administrations to facilitate cross-border data exchange and ensure agreement on interoperable digital solutions.

The Interoperable Europe Act is set to usher in a new era of seamless data exchange, accelerating the digital transformation of Europe's public sector and paving the way for a more interconnected Digital Single Market. The following steps involve approval and adoption of the legal text before the Regulation takes effect.

Why does it matter?

The EU has been increasingly focused on ensuring service interoperability among its members to facilitate the Digital Single Market. The successful management of COVID-19 is a notable instance of this. The introduction of the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate eased cross-border travel within the EU during the pandemic. Digital experts adopted interoperability practices under the European Interoperability Framework, but recent evaluations exposed the limitations of this voluntary approach. This regulation now emphasizes the need to strengthen European interoperability cooperation.