Legal provisions of COM(2017)256 - Establishing a single digital gateway to provide information, procedures, assistance and problem solving services - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2017)256 - Establishing a single digital gateway to provide information, procedures, assistance and problem solving services. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2017)256  |
| date | October 2, 2018 |
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Subject matter
1. This Regulation lays down rules for:
| (a) | the establishment and operation of a single digital gateway to provide citizens and businesses with easy access to high quality information, to efficient procedures and to effective assistance and problem-solving services with regard to Union and national rules applicable to citizens and businesses exercising or intending to exercise their rights derived from Union law in the field of the internal market, within the meaning of Article 26(2) TFEU; |
| (b) | the use of procedures by cross-border users and the implementation of the ‘once-only’ principle in connection with the procedures listed in Annex II to this Regulation and the procedures provided for in Directives 2005/36/EC, 2006/123/EC, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU; |
| (c) | the reporting on obstacles in the internal market based on the collection of user feedback and statistics from the services covered by the gateway. |
2. Where this Regulation conflicts with a provision of another Union act governing specific aspects of the subject matter covered by this Regulation, the provision of that other Union act shall prevail.
3. This Regulation shall not affect the substance of, or the rights granted through, any procedure laid down at Union or national level in any of the areas covered by this Regulation. Furthermore, this Regulation shall not affect measures taken in accordance with Union law to safeguard cybersecurity and to prevent fraud.
Article 2
Establishment of the single digital gateway
1. A single digital gateway (‘the gateway’) shall be established by the Commission and the Member States in accordance with this Regulation. The gateway shall consist of a common user interface managed by the Commission (‘the common user interface’), which shall be integrated into the Your Europe portal and shall give access to relevant Union and national webpages.
2. The gateway shall give access to:
| (a) | information on rights, obligations and rules laid down in Union and national law that are applicable to users exercising or intending to exercise their rights derived from Union law in the field of the internal market in the areas listed in Annex I; |
| (b) | information on online and offline procedures and links to online procedures, including procedures covered by Annex II, established at Union or national level in order to enable users to exercise the rights and to comply with the obligations and rules in the field of the internal market in the areas listed in Annex I; |
| (c) | information on, and links to, the assistance and problem-solving services listed in Annex III or referred to in Article 7 which citizens and businesses can refer to if they have questions or problems related to the rights, obligations, rules or procedures referred to in points (a) and (b) of this paragraph. |
3. The common user interface shall be accessible in all official languages of the Union.
Article 3
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
| (1) | ‘user’ means either a citizen of the Union, a natural person residing in a Member State or a legal person having its registered office in a Member State, and who accesses the information, the procedures, or the assistance or problem-solving services, referred to in Article 2(2), through the gateway; |
| (2) | ‘cross-border user’ means a user in a situation which is not confined in all respects within a single Member State; |
| (3) | ‘procedure’ means a sequence of actions that must be taken by users to satisfy the requirements, or to obtain from a competent authority a decision, in order to be able to exercise their rights as referred to in point (a) of Article 2(2); |
| (4) | ‘competent authority’ means any Member State authority or body established at national, regional or local level with specific responsibilities relating to the information, procedures, assistance and problem-solving services covered by this Regulation; |
| (5) | ‘evidence’ means any document or data, including text or sound, visual or audiovisual recording, irrespective of the medium used, required by a competent authority to prove facts or compliance with procedural requirements referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2). |
CHAPTER II
GATEWAY SERVICES
Article 4
Access to information
1. Member States shall ensure that users have easy, online access on their national webpages to the following:
| (a) | information about those rights, obligations and rules referred to in point (a) of Article 2(2) that are derived from national law; |
| (b) | information about those procedures referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2) that are established at national level; |
| (c) | information about those assistance and problem-solving services referred to in point (c) of Article 2(2) that are provided at national level. |
2. The Commission shall ensure that the Your Europe portal provides users with easy, online access to the following:
| (a) | information about those rights, obligations and rules referred to in point (a) of Article 2(2) that are derived from Union law; |
| (b) | information about those procedures referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2) that are established at Union level; |
| (c) | information about those assistance and problem-solving services referred to in point (c) of Article 2(2) that are provided at Union level. |
Article 5
Access to information not included in Annex I
1. The Member States and the Commission may provide links to information not listed in Annex I which is offered by competent authorities, the Commission or bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, provided that this information falls within the scope of the gateway as defined in point (a) of Article 1(1) and complies with the quality requirements laid down in Article 9.
2. The links to the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be provided in accordance with Article 19(2) and (3).
3. Before activating any links, the Commission shall verify that the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 are met and consult the gateway coordination group.
Article 6
Procedures to be offered fully online
1. Each Member State shall ensure that users can access and complete any of the procedures listed in Annex II fully online, provided that the relevant procedure has been established in the Member State concerned.
2. The procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall be considered to be fully online where:
| (a) | the identification of users, the provision of information and supporting evidence, signature and final submission can all be carried out electronically at a distance, through a service channel which enables users to fulfil the requirements related to the procedure in a user-friendly and structured way; |
| (b) | users are provided with an automatic acknowledgement of receipt, unless the output of the procedure is delivered immediately; |
| (c) | the output of the procedure is delivered electronically, or where necessary to comply with applicable Union or national law, delivered by physical means; and |
| (d) | users are provided with an electronic notification of completion of the procedure. |
3. Where, in exceptional cases justified by overriding reasons of public interest in the areas of public security, public health or the fight against fraud, the objective pursued cannot be fully achieved online, Member States may require the user to appear in person before the competent authority as a step in the procedure. In such exceptional cases, Member States shall limit such physical presence to what is strictly necessary and objectively justified and shall ensure that other steps of the procedure can be completed fully online. Member States shall also ensure that physical presence requirements do not result in discrimination against cross-border users.
4. Member States shall notify and explain, through a common repository accessible to the Commission and the other Member States, the grounds on which, and the circumstances in which, physical presence might be required for the procedural steps referred to in paragraph 3, and the grounds on which, and the circumstances in which, physical delivery is necessary, as referred to in point (c) of paragraph 2.
5. This Article shall not prevent Member States from offering users the additional possibility of accessing and completing the procedures referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2) by means other than an online channel, or from contacting users directly.
Article 7
Access to assistance and problem-solving services
1. The Member States and the Commission shall ensure that users, including cross-border users, have easy online access through different channels to the assistance and problem-solving services referred to in point (c) of Article 2(2).
2. The national coordinators referred to in Article 28 and the Commission may provide links to assistance and problem-solving services offered by competent authorities, the Commission or bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, other than those listed in Annex III, in accordance with Article 19(2) and (3), provided that such services comply with the quality requirements laid down in Articles 11 and 16.
3. Where necessary to meet the needs of the users, the national coordinator may propose to the Commission that links to assistance or problem-solving services provided by private or semi-private entities are included in the gateway, where those services meet the following conditions:
| (a) | they offer information or assistance within the areas, and for the purposes, covered by this Regulation and are complementary to services already included in the gateway; |
| (b) | they are offered free of charge or at a price which is affordable for micro-enterprises, non-profit organisations and citizens; and |
| (c) | they comply with the requirements laid down in Articles 8, 11 and 16. |
4. Where the national coordinator has proposed the inclusion of a link in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article, and provides such link in accordance with Article 19(3), the Commission shall assess whether the conditions in paragraph 3 of this Article are met by the service to be included through the link, and if so, shall activate the link.
Where the Commission finds that the conditions in paragraph 3 are not met by the service to be included, it shall inform the national coordinator of the reasons for not activating the link.
Article 8
Quality requirements related to web accessibility
The Commission shall make those of its websites and webpages through which it grants access to the information referred to in Article 4(2) and to the assistance and problem-solving services referred to in Article 7 more accessible by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
CHAPTER III
QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
SECTION 1
Quality requirements related to information on rights, obligations and rules, on procedures and on assistance and problem-solving services
Article 9
Quality of information on rights, obligations and rules
1. Where Member States and the Commission are responsible in accordance with Article 4 for ensuring access to information referred to in point (a) of Article 2(2), they shall make sure that such information complies with the following requirements:
| (a) | it is user-friendly, enabling users to easily find and understand the information and to easily identify which parts of the information are relevant to their particular situation; |
| (b) | it is accurate and sufficiently comprehensive to cover information that users need to know in order to exercise their rights in full compliance with applicable rules and obligations; |
| (c) | it includes references, links to legal acts, technical specifications and guidelines, where relevant; |
| (d) | it includes the name of the competent authority or entity responsible for the content of the information; |
| (e) | it includes the contact details of any relevant assistance or problem-solving services, such as a phone number, an email address, an online enquiry form or any other commonly used means of electronic communication that is most suitable for the type of service offered and for the target audience of that service; |
| (f) | it includes the date of the last update of the information, if any, or, where the information has not been updated, the date of publication of the information; |
| (g) | it is well-structured and presented, so that users can quickly find the information they need; |
| (h) | it is kept up-to-date; and |
| (i) | it is written in clear and plain language adapted to the needs of the target users. |
2. Member States shall make the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.
Article 10
Quality of information on procedures
1. The Member States and the Commission shall, for the purposes of complying with Article 4, ensure that, before users have to identify themselves prior to launching the procedure, they have access to a sufficiently comprehensive, clear and user-friendly explanation of the following elements, where applicable, of the procedures referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2):
| (a) | the relevant steps of the procedure to be taken by the user, including any exception, under Article 6(3), to the obligation of Member States to offer the procedure fully online; |
| (b) | the name of the competent authority responsible for the procedure, including its contact details; |
| (c) | the accepted means of authentication, identification and signature for the procedure; |
| (d) | the type and format of evidence to be submitted; |
| (e) | the means of redress or appeal which are generally available in the event of disputes with the competent authorities; |
| (f) | the applicable fees and the online methods of payment; |
| (g) | any deadlines to be respected by the user or by the competent authority and where no deadlines exist, the average, estimated or indicative time that the competent authority needs to complete the procedure; |
| (h) | any rules concerning a lack of reply from the competent authority and the legal consequences thereof for the users, including tacit approval or administrative silence arrangements; |
| (i) | any additional languages in which the procedure can be carried out. |
2. If no tacit approval, administrative silence or similar arrangements exist, competent authorities shall, where applicable, inform users of any delays and of any extension of deadlines or any consequences thereof.
3. Where the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 is already made available for non-crossborder users, it may be used or reused for the purposes of this Regulation, provided that it also covers the situation of cross-border users, where applicable.
4. Member States shall make the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.
Article 11
Quality of information on assistance and problem-solving services
1. The Member States and the Commission shall, for the purposes of complying with Article 4, ensure that, before submitting a request for a service as referred to in point (c) of Article 2(2), users have access to a clear and user-friendly explanation of the following:
| (a) | the type, purpose and expected results of the service offered; |
| (b) | the contact details of the entities responsible for the service such as a phone number, an email address, an online enquiry form or any other commonly used means of electronic communication that is most suitable for the type of service offered and for the target audience of that service; |
| (c) | where relevant, the applicable fees and the online methods of payment; |
| (d) | any applicable deadlines to be respected and where none exist, an average, or estimated time required to deliver the service; |
| (e) | any additional languages in which the request can be submitted and which can be used in subsequent contacts. |
2. Member States shall make the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.
Article 12
Translation of information
1. Where a Member State does not provide the information, explanations and instructions set out in Articles 9, 10 and 11, and in point (a) of Article 13(2), in an official language of the Union broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, that Member State shall request the Commission to provide translations into that language, within the limits of the available Union budget referred to in point (c) of Article 32(1).
2. Member States shall ensure the texts submitted for translation under paragraph 1 of this Article cover at least the basic information in all areas listed in Annex I and that, where sufficient Union budget is available, they cover any further information, explanations and instructions referred to in Articles 9, 10 and 11, and in point (a) of Article 13(2), taking the most important needs of cross-border users into account. Member States shall provide to the repository for links referred to in Article 19 the links to such translated information.
3. The language referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the official language of the Union that is most widely studied as a foreign language by users across the Union. By way of exception, where the information, explanations or instructions to be translated are expected to be of predominant interest for cross-border users originating from one other Member State, the language referred to in paragraph 1 may be the official language of the Union used as the first language by those cross-border users.
4. Where a Member State requests a translation into an official language of the Union that is not the language most widely studied as a foreign language by users across the Union, it shall provide reasons for its request. Where the Commission finds that the conditions referred to in paragraph 3 for the choice of such other language are not met, it may refuse the request and shall inform the Member State of the reasons thereof.
SECTION 2
Requirements related to online procedures
Article 13
Cross-border access to online procedures
1. Member States shall ensure that, where a procedure referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2) and established at national level can be accessed and completed online by non-cross-border users, it can also be accessed and completed online by cross-border users in a non-discriminatory way by means of the same or an alternative technical solution.
2. Member States shall ensure that, for the procedures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, at least the following requirements are met:
| (a) | users are able to access the instructions for completing the procedure in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12; |
| (b) | cross-border users are able to submit the required information, including where the structure of such information differs from similar information in the Member State concerned; |
| (c) | cross-border users are able to identify and authenticate themselves, sign or seal documents electronically, as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, in all cases where this is also possible for non-crossborder users; |
| (d) | cross-border users are able to provide evidence of compliance with applicable requirements and to receive the outcome of the procedures in electronic format in all cases where this is also possible for non-crossborder users; |
| (e) | where the completion of a procedure requires a payment, users are able to pay any fees online through widely available cross-border payment services, without discrimination based on the place of establishment of the payment service provider, the place of issue of the payment instrument or the location of the payment account within the Union. |
3. Where the procedure does not require electronic identification or authentication, as referred to in point (c) of paragraph 2, and where competent authorities are allowed under applicable national law or administrative practices to accept digitalised copies of non-electronic evidence of identity, such as identity cards or passports, in respect of non-crossborder users, those authorities shall also accept such digitalised copies in respect of cross-border users.
Article 14
Technical system for the cross-border automated exchange of evidence and application of the ‘once-only’ principle
1. For the purpose of the exchange of evidence for the online procedures listed in Annex II to this Regulation and the procedures provided for in Directives 2005/36/EC, 2006/123/EC, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU, a technical system for the automated exchange of evidence between competent authorities in different Member States (‘the technical system’) shall be established by the Commission in cooperation with the Member States.
2. Where competent authorities lawfully issue, in their own Member State and in an electronic format that allows automated exchange, evidence that is relevant for the online procedures referred to in paragraph 1, they shall also make such evidence available to requesting competent authorities from other Member States in an electronic format that allows automated exchange.
3. The technical system shall, in particular:
| (a) | enable the processing of requests for evidence at the explicit request of the user; |
| (b) | enable the processing of requests for evidence to be accessed or exchanged; |
| (c) | allow the transmission of evidence between competent authorities; |
| (d) | allow the processing of the evidence by the requesting competent authority; |
| (e) | ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the evidence; |
| (f) | enable the possibility for the user to preview the evidence to be used by the requesting competent authority and to choose whether or not to proceed with the exchange of evidence; |
| (g) | ensure an adequate level of interoperability with other relevant systems; |
| (h) | ensure a high level of security for the transmission and processing of evidence; |
| (i) | not process evidence beyond what is technically necessary for the exchange of evidence, and then only for the duration necessary for that purpose. |
4. The use of the technical system shall not be obligatory for users and shall only be permitted at their explicit request, unless otherwise provided under Union or national law. The users shall be permitted to submit evidence by means other than the technical system and directly to the requesting competent authority.
5. The possibility of previewing the evidence, referred to in point (f) of paragraph 3 of this Article shall not be required for procedures where the automated cross-border data exchange without such preview is allowed under applicable Union or national law. That possibility of previewing the evidence shall be without prejudice to the obligation to provide the information under Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
6. Member States shall integrate the fully operational technical system as part of the procedures referred to in paragraph 1.
7. The competent authorities responsible for the online procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall, upon an explicit, freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous request of the user concerned, request evidence directly from competent authorities issuing evidence in other Member States through the technical system. The issuing competent authorities referred to in paragraph 2 shall, in accordance with point (e) of paragraph 3, make such evidence available through the same system.
8. The evidence made available to the requesting competent authority shall be limited to what has been requested and shall only be used by that authority for the purpose of the procedure for which the evidence was exchanged. The evidence exchanged through the technical system shall, for the purposes of the requesting competent authority, be deemed to be authentic.
9. By 12 June 2021, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts to set out the technical and operational specifications of the technical system necessary for the implementation of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
10. Paragraphs 1 to 8 shall not apply to procedures established at Union level which provide for different mechanisms for the exchange of evidence, unless the technical system necessary for the implementation of this Article is integrated into those procedures in accordance with the rules of the Union acts that establish those procedures.
11. The Commission and each of the Member States shall be responsible for the development, availability, maintenance, supervision, monitoring and security management of their respective parts of the technical system.
Article 15
Verification of evidence between Member States
Where the technical system, or other systems for the exchange or verification of evidence between Member States are not available or are not applicable, or where the user does not request the use of the technical system, competent authorities shall cooperate through the Internal Market Information System (IMI) where this is necessary in order to verify the authenticity of evidence that was submitted to one of them in an electronic format by the user for the purpose of an online procedure.
SECTION 3
Quality requirements related to assistance and problem-solving services
Article 16
Quality requirements related to assistance and problem-solving services
The competent authorities and the Commission shall, within their respective competences, ensure that the assistance and problem-solving services listed in Annex III and those that have been included in the gateway in accordance with Article 7(2), (3) and (4) comply with the following quality requirements:
| (a) | they are provided within a reasonable timeframe taking into account the complexity of the request; |
| (b) | when deadlines are extended, users are informed in advance of the reasons thereof and of the new deadline given; |
| (c) | where the provision of a service requires a payment, users are able to pay any fees online through widely available cross-border payment services without discrimination based on the place of establishment of the payment service provider, the place of issue of the payment instrument or the location of the payment account within the Union. |
SECTION 4
Quality monitoring
Article 17
Quality monitoring
1. The national coordinators referred to in Article 28 and the Commission shall, within their respective competences, regularly monitor the compliance of the information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services available through the gateway with the quality requirements laid down in Articles 8 to 13 and 16. The monitoring shall be carried out on the basis of the data gathered in accordance with Articles 24 and 25.
2. In the event of a deterioration in the quality of the information, of the procedures and of the assistance or problem-solving services referred to in paragraph 1 provided by the competent authorities, the Commission shall, taking into account the seriousness and persistence of the deterioration, take one or more of the following measures:
| (a) | inform the relevant national coordinator and ask for remedial action; |
| (b) | submit for discussion in the gateway coordination group recommended actions to improve compliance with the quality requirements; |
| (c) | send a letter with recommendations to the Member State concerned; |
| (d) | temporarily disconnect the information, the procedure, or the assistance or problem-solving service from the gateway. |
3. Where an assistance or problem-solving service to which links are provided in accordance with Article 7(3) consistently does not comply with requirements laid down in Articles 11 and 16, or no longer meets the needs of the users as indicated by the data gathered in accordance with Articles 24 and 25, the Commission may, after consultation with the relevant national coordinator and, where necessary, with the gateway coordination group, disconnect it from the gateway.
CHAPTER IV
TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS
Article 18
Common user interface
1. The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, provide a common user interface, integrated into the ‘Your Europe’ portal, to ensure the proper functioning of the gateway.
2. The common user interface shall give access to the information, procedures and assistance or problem-solving services by means of links to the relevant Union and national level websites or webpages included in the repository for links referred to in Article 19.
3. The Member States and the Commission, acting in accordance with their respective roles and responsibilities, as provided for in Article 4, shall ensure that the information on rules and obligations, on procedures and on assistance and problem-solving services is organised and marked in a way that makes it easier to find through the common user interface.
4. The Commission shall ensure that the common user interface complies with the following quality requirements:
| (a) | it is easy to use; |
| (b) | it is accessible online through various electronic devices; |
| (c) | it is developed and optimised for different web browsers; |
| (d) | it meets the following web accessibility requirements: perceivability, operability, understandability and robustness. |
5. The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down interoperability requirements to make it easier to find the information on rules and obligations, on procedures and on assistance and problem-solving services through the common user interface. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
Article 19
Repository for links
1. The Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States, shall establish and maintain an electronic repository for links to the information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services referred to in Article 2(2) allowing the connection between such services and the common user interface.
2. The Commission shall provide the repository for links with the links to the information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services accessible on the webpages managed at Union level, and it shall keep those links accurate and up-to-date.
3. The national coordinators shall provide the repository for links with the links to the information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services accessible on the webpages managed by competent authorities, or by private or semi-private entities as referred to in Article 7(3), and they shall keep those links accurate and up-to-date.
4. Where technically possible, the provision, referred to in paragraph 3, of the links may be carried out automatically between the relevant systems of the Member States and the repository for links.
5. The Commission shall make the information included in the repository for links publicly available in an open and machine-readable format.
6. The Commission and the national coordinators shall ensure that the links to information, procedures and assistance or problem-solving services offered through the gateway do not contain any unnecessary full or partial duplication and overlaps that are likely to confuse users.
7. Where the making available of information referred to in Article 4 is provided for in other provisions of Union law, the Commission and the national coordinators may provide links to that information in order to comply with the requirements of that Article.
Article 20
Common assistance service finder
1. In order to facilitate access to the assistance and problem-solving services listed in Annex III or referred to in Article 7(2) and (3), the competent authorities and the Commission shall ensure that users can access them through a common assistance and problem-solving service finder (‘the common assistance service finder’) available through the gateway.
2. The Commission shall develop and manage the common assistance service finder, and decide on the structure and format in which the descriptions and contact details of the assistance and problem-solving services need to be provided, to enable the proper functioning of the common assistance service finder.
3. The national coordinators shall provide the descriptions and contact details as referred to in paragraph 2 to the Commission.
Article 21
Responsibilities for the ICT applications supporting the gateway
1. The Commission shall be responsible for the development, availability, monitoring, updating, maintenance, security and hosting of the following ICT applications and webpages:
| (a) | the Your Europe portal, referred to in Article 2(1); |
| (b) | the common user interface, referred to in Article 18(1), including the search engine or any other ICT tool that enables searchability of web information and services; |
| (c) | the repository for links, referred to in Article 19(1); |
| (d) | the common assistance service finder, referred to in Article 20(1); |
| (e) | the user feedback tools, referred to in Article 25(1) and point (a) of Article 26(1). |
The Commission shall work in close cooperation with the Member States to develop the ICT applications.
2. The Member States shall be responsible for the development, availability, monitoring, updating, maintenance and security of ICT applications related to the national websites and webpages that they manage and that are linked to the common user interface.
CHAPTER V
PROMOTION
Article 22
Name, logo and quality label
1. The name by which the gateway is to be known and promoted to the general public shall be ‘Your Europe’.
The logo by which the gateway is to be known and promoted to the general public shall be decided by the Commission in close cooperation with the gateway coordination group by 12 June 2019 at the latest.
The logo of the gateway and a link to the gateway shall be made visible and available on the relevant Union-level and national-level websites that are connected to the gateway.
2. As proof of adherence to the quality requirements referred to in Articles 9, 10 and 11, the name and the logo of the gateway shall also serve as a quality label. However, the logo of the gateway shall only be used as a quality label by webpages and websites included in the repository for links referred to in Article 19.
Article 23
Promotion
1. The Member States and the Commission shall promote the awareness and the use of the gateway amongst citizens and businesses and shall ensure that the gateway and its information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services are visible to the public and can be easily found through search engines which are accessible to the public.
2. The Member States and the Commission shall coordinate their promotion activities referred to in paragraph 1 and shall refer to the gateway and use its logo in such activities, along with any other brand names, as appropriate.
3. The Member States and the Commission shall ensure that the gateway can be easily found through the related websites for which they are responsible, and that clear links to the common user interface are available on all relevant websites at Union and national level.
4. The national coordinators shall promote the gateway to the national competent authorities.
CHAPTER VI
COLLECTION OF USER FEEDBACK AND STATISTICS
Article 24
User statistics
1. The competent authorities and the Commission shall ensure that statistics are collected in relation to users’ visits on the gateway and on the webpages to which the gateway links in a way that guarantees anonymity of the users, in order to improve the functionality of the gateway.
2. The competent authorities, the providers of assistance or problem-solving services as referred to in Article 7(3) and the Commission shall collect and exchange, in an aggregated way, the number, the origin and the subject matter of requests for assistance and problem-solving services and their response times.
3. The statistics collected in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 in relation to the information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services to which the gateway links shall include the following data categories:
| (a) | data related to the number, origin and type of users of the gateway; |
| (b) | data related to the user preferences and user journeys; |
| (c) | data related to the usability, findability and quality of the information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services. |
Those data shall be made available to the public in an open and commonly used, machine-readable format.
4. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down the method of collecting and exchanging the user statistics referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
Article 25
User feedback on the services of the gateway
1. In order to gather direct information from users about their satisfaction with the services provided through the gateway and the information made available therein, the Commission shall provide users through the gateway with a user-friendly feedback tool that enables them, immediately after using any of the services referred to in Article 2(2), to comment anonymously on the quality and availability of the services provided through the gateway, of the information made available therein and of the common user interface.
2. The competent authorities and the Commission shall ensure that users can access the tool referred to in paragraph 1 from all webpages that are part of the gateway.
3. The Commission, the competent authorities and the national coordinators shall have direct access to the user feedback collected through the tool referred to in paragraph 1 for the purpose of addressing any problems raised.
4. The competent authorities shall not be required on those of their webpages that are part of the gateway to give users access to the user feedback tool referred to in paragraph 1, where another user feedback tool with similar functionalities to the user feedback tool referred to in paragraph 1 is already available on their webpages for the purpose of monitoring service quality. The competent authorities shall collect the user feedback received through their own user feedback tool and shall share it with the Commission and the national coordinators of the other Member States.
5. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down rules for the collection and sharing of the user feedback. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
Article 26
Reporting on the functioning of the internal market
1. The Commission shall:
| (a) | provide users of the gateway with a user-friendly tool to signal and give feedback anonymously on any obstacles encountered by them in exercising their internal market rights; |
| (b) | collect aggregated information from the assistance and problem-solving services that form part of the gateway about the subject matter of requests and responses. |
2. The Commission, the competent authorities and the national coordinators shall have direct access to the feedback collected in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 1.
3. The Member States and the Commission shall analyse and investigate the problems raised by users pursuant to this Article and address them, wherever possible, by appropriate means.
Article 27
Online summary overviews
The Commission shall publish in an anonymised form online summary overviews of the problems emerging from the information collected in accordance with Article 26(1), the main user statistics referred to in Article 24, and the main user feedback referred to in Article 25.
CHAPTER VII
GOVERNANCE OF THE GATEWAY
Article 28
National coordinators
1. Each Member State shall appoint a national coordinator. In addition to their obligations in accordance with Articles 7, 17, 19, 20, 23 and 25, the national coordinators shall:
| (a) | act as a contact point for their respective administrations for all matters relating to the gateway; |
| (b) | promote the uniform application of Articles 9 to 16 by their respective competent authorities; |
| (c) | ensure that the recommendations referred to in point (c) of Article 17(2) are properly implemented. |
2. Each Member State may, in accordance with its internal administrative structure, appoint one or more coordinators in order to carry out any of the tasks listed in paragraph 1. One national coordinator for each Member State shall be responsible for contacts with the Commission in respect of all matters relating to the gateway.
3. Each Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of the name and contact details of its national coordinator.
Article 29
Coordination group
A coordination group is hereby established (‘the gateway coordination group’). It shall be composed of one national coordinator from each Member State and shall be chaired by a representative of the Commission. It shall adopt its rules of procedure. The Commission shall provide the secretariat.
Article 30
Tasks of the gateway coordination group
1. The gateway coordination group shall support the implementation of this Regulation. In particular it shall:
| (a) | facilitate the exchange and regular updating of best practices; |
| (b) | encourage the uptake of fully online procedures beyond those included in Annex II to this Regulation, and of online means of authentication, identification and signatures, in particular those provided for in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014; |
| (c) | discuss improvements to the user-friendly presentation of information within the areas listed in Annex I, in particular on the basis of the data collected in accordance with Articles 24 and 25; |
| (d) | assist the Commission in developing the common ICT solutions supporting the gateway; |
| (e) | discuss the draft annual work programme; |
| (f) | assist the Commission in monitoring the execution of the annual work programme; |
| (g) | discuss additional information provided in accordance with Article 5 with a view to encouraging other Member States to provide similar information, where relevant to the users; |
| (h) | assist the Commission in monitoring compliance with the requirements set out in Articles 8 to 16, in accordance with Article 17; |
| (i) | inform about the implementation of Article 6(1); |
| (j) | discuss and recommend actions to the competent authorities and the Commission with a view to avoiding or eliminating unnecessary duplication of the services available through the gateway; |
| (k) | provide opinions on procedures or measures to address efficiently any problems with the quality of the services raised by users or suggestions for its improvement; |
| (l) | discuss the application of the principles of security by design and privacy by design in the context of this Regulation; |
| (m) | discuss issues related to the collection of the user feedback and statistics referred to in Articles 24 and 25, so that the services offered at Union and national level are continuously improved; |
| (n) | discuss issues related to the quality requirements of the services offered through the gateway; |
| (o) | exchange best practices and assist the Commission in the organisation, structuring and presentation of services referred to in Article 2(2), to enable the proper functioning of the common user interface; |
| (p) | facilitate the development and implementation of the coordinated promotion; |
| (q) | cooperate with the governance bodies or networks of information services, and of assistance or problem-solving services; |
| (r) | provide guidance on the additional official language, or languages, of the Union to be used by competent authorities in accordance with Articles 9(2), 10(4) and 11(2), and point (a) of Article 13(2). |
2. The Commission may consult the gateway coordination group on any matter relating to the application of this Regulation.
Article 31
Annual work programme
1. The Commission shall adopt the annual work programme which shall specify, in particular:
| (a) | actions to improve the presentation of specific information within the areas listed in Annex I and actions to facilitate the timely implementation, by competent authorities at all levels, including municipal level, of the requirement to provide information; |
| (b) | actions to facilitate compliance with Articles 6 and 13; |
| (c) | actions required to ensure the consistent compliance with the requirements set out in Articles 9 to 12; |
| (d) | activities related to the promotion of the gateway in accordance with Article 23. |
2. When preparing the draft annual work programme, the Commission shall take account of the user statistics and feedback collected in accordance with Articles 24 and 25 and of any suggestions made by Member States. Prior to adoption, the Commission shall submit the draft annual work programme to the gateway coordination group for discussion.
CHAPTER VIII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 32
Costs
1. The general budget of the European Union shall cover the costs of:
| (a) | development and maintenance of the ICT tools supporting the implementation of this Regulation at Union level; |
| (b) | promotion of the gateway at Union level; |
| (c) | translation of information, explanations and instructions in accordance with Article 12 within a maximum annual volume per Member State, without prejudice to possible reallocation where this is necessary in order to enable full use of the available budget. |
2. The costs related to national webportals, information platforms, assistance services and procedures established at Member State level shall be met from the respective budgets of the Member States, unless otherwise provided for in Union legislation.
Article 33
Protection of personal data
The processing of personal data by competent authorities within the framework of this Regulation shall comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Processing of personal data by the Commission within the framework of this Regulation shall comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.
Article 34
Cooperation with other information and assistance networks
1. After consulting the Member States, the Commission shall decide which existing informal governance arrangements for any of the assistance or problem-solving services listed in Annex III or for any of the areas of information covered by Annex I are to become the responsibility of the gateway coordination group.
2. Where the information and assistance services or networks have been created by a legally binding Union act for any of the areas of information covered by Annex I, the Commission shall coordinate the work of the gateway coordination group and the governance bodies of such services or networks with a view to achieving synergies and avoiding duplication.
Article 35
Internal Market Information System
1. The Internal Market Information System (IMI), established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012, shall be used for the purposes of, and in accordance with, Article 6(4) and Article 15.
2. The Commission may decide to use IMI as the electronic repository for links referred to in Article 19(1).
Article 36
Reporting and review
By 12 December 2022 and once every two years thereafter, the Commission shall review the application of this Regulation and submit to the European Parliament and to the Council an assessment report on the functioning of the gateway and on the functioning of the internal market on the basis of the statistics and feedback collected in accordance with Articles 24, 25 and 26. The review shall, in particular, evaluate the scope of Article 14, taking into account technological, market and legal developments concerning the exchange of evidence between competent authorities.
Article 37
Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 38
Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012
Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 is amended as follows:
| (1) | Article 1 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 1 Subject matter This Regulation lays down rules for the use of an Internal Market Information System (“IMI”) for administrative cooperation among the IMI actors, including the processing of personal data.’; |
| (2) | in Article 3, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. IMI shall be used for exchanges of information, including of personal data, among the IMI actors and for the processing of that information for the purposes of either of the following:
|
| (3) | in Article 5, the second paragraph is amended as follows:
|
| (4) | in Article 8(1), the following point is added:
|
| (5) | in Article 9, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: ‘4. Appropriate means shall be put in place by the Member States, the Commission and Union bodies, offices and agencies to ensure that IMI users are allowed to access personal data processed in IMI only on a need-to-know basis and within the internal market area or areas for which they were granted access rights in accordance with paragraph 3.’; |
| (6) | Article 21 is amended as follows:
|
| (7) | in Article 29, paragraph 1 is deleted; |
| (8) | in the Annex, the following points are added:
(*2) OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1." (*3) OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39’." |
Article 39
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 2, Article 4, Articles 7 to 12, Article 16, Article 17, Article 18(1) to (4), Article 19, Article 20, Article 24(1), (2) and (3), Article 25(1) to (4), Article 26 and Article 27 shall apply from 12 December 2020.
Article 6, Article 13, Article 14(1) to (8) and (10) and Article 15 shall apply from 12 December 2023.
Notwithstanding the date of application of Articles 2, 9, 10 and 11, municipal authorities shall make the information, explanations and instructions referred to in those Articles available by 12 December 2022 at the latest.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.