Let's modernise public administrations in Europe with the new European Interoperability Framework

Natalia ARISTIMUNO, Head of Interoperability Unit, DG Informatics, European Commission

All over Europe, EU countries are currently digitising their public administrations to be more efficient, save time, reduce costs, increase transparency, and improve the quality of services that they offer to citizens and businesses. This efforts however should be coordinated to address the risk that public services, although digital, are delivered in divergent ways. 

At the Directorate-General of Informatics at the European Commission we are very aware of this need. This is why we have intensively worked together with the EU countries to deliver the new European Interoperability Framework (EIF). The result of this collaboration is a framework closer to the EU Member States' needs. The recommendations have increased from 25 and 47, and they have been made more specific to facilitate their implementation, with a stronger focus on openness and information management, data portability, interoperability governance, and integrated service delivery.

In short, the new EIF puts more emphasis on how interoperability principles and models should apply in practice. At national level, EU countries should ensure that their National Interoperability Frameworks and strategies (NIFs), comply with the EIF. This way, existing digital fragmentation will be addressed and interoperability will apply all across the EU, supporting the realisation of the Digital Single Market.

We are aware of the complexity of the EIF implementation process but public administrations are not alone in their way to become more interoperable. The Commission will offer assistance to the Member States through the ISA² programme and the National Interoperability Framework Observatory (NIFO) to help them become more informed about 'digital and interoperability aspects' transposed by the EIF nationally and share experiences. 

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If you are in Malta on 15 June for the Digital Assembly, Director-General of DG Informatics at the European Commission, Gertrud Ingestad, will be talking about the new EIF and the benefits of having a more connected Europe.