Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion

News 03/07/2017

Social security goes digital: Quicker and easier exchange of social security information throughout the EU and beyond

Today the Commission launches the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information system (EESSI), a new IT platform that will connect electronically around 15.000 social security institutions of EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland

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The tool marks an important step forward in modernising social security coordination, as it will replace the current paper-based exchanges between social security institutions, to allow for a quicker, easier and secure exchange of social security information throughout the EU and beyond. This will make it easier to combat fraud and error, as national social security institutions will use standardised electronic documents in their own language, ensuring that the data they exchange is correct and complete.

The new tool will also benefit citizens who have lived and worked in several of the participating countries, and who will see their social security benefits calculated quicker and more efficiently. Countries will have two years to connect their national systems to the central IT platform. By July 2019 full electronic exchange of social security data in a simple, speedy and secure way will be a reality across Europe. The Commission will continue supporting Member States with the deployment and maintenance of the system over the next years.

Read more on the new electronic exchange system.

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