Conforming to CEF eDelivery – What Do I Need to Do?
Thomas Fillis | 29 July 2016
On the 26 July 2016, the European Commission organised a webinar which looked at the service offering and adoption-journey of the CEF eDelivery Building Block, with a specific focus on the grant funding currently available.
The journey to securing grant funding and adopting CEF eDelivery only consists of a number of steps, outlined below (with a focus on the needs of software vendors and those wanting to deploy CEF eDelivery).
What is CEF eDelivery?
The CEF eDelivery Building Block enables Public Authorities and Businesses to exchange electronic data and documents with each other in a secure, reliable and interoperable way. As CEF eDelivery is domain-independent, it can be used in every policy domain of the EU. Furthermore, CEF eDelivery has strong links to Regulation (EU) 910/2014 on Electronic identification and trust services, commonly known as 'eIDAS'*. CEF eDelivery supports the same fundamental principles as eIDAS and it promotes the alignment between its technical specifications and the eIDAS regulatory framework. The deployment of eDelivery technology leads to the creation of eDelivery Messaging Infrastructures in the eHealth domain, eJustice domain, etc.
Grant Funding?
To promote the uptake and speed up the use of CEF eDelivery amongst both public and private entities established in the EU and EEA countries participating in the CEF Telecom programme, Generic Services are supported through grants under the 2016 budget. Of specific value to software vendors, applicants may receive grant funding to:
In addition, grant funding my be used to deploy eDelivery Access Points and/or operate them for one year and/or deploy eDelivery Service Metadata Publishers and/or operate Service Metadata Publishers for one year. More information can be found here
Successful applicants would join the growing number of conformant solutions, such as:
What do I need to do?
In order to successfully submit a proposal for grant funding, it is most important to understand who is expected to take action, understand the action, what output is required and see what core services from CEF eDelivery can best help you.
The diagram below walks you through it, and highlights the services available to help.
An increasing number of software vendors have become compliant with CEF eDelivery, more information is available on the CEF Digital 2018 Website. CEF eDelivery provides a range of support and services to support compliance. Compliant vendors are then also eligible for grant funding!
Where can I find out more?
A breakdown of the information and rationale of applying for CEF eDelivery grants can be found here.
See the CEF eDelivery call on the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) website.
Check the INEA call FAQ.
*eIDAS establishes the principle that an electronic document should not be denied legal effect on the grounds that it is in an electronic form. Having this objective in mind, it introduces Electronic Registered Delivery Service (ERDS) as a new trust service. eIDAS defines ERDS as a service that makes it possible to transmit data between third parties by electronic means and provides evidence relating to the handling of the transmitted data, including proof of sending and receiving the data, and that protects it against the risk of loss, theft, damage or any unauthorised alterations
Deploying CEF eDelivery – What do I Need to Do?
Thomas Fillis | 29 July 2016
On the 26 July 2016, the European Commission organised a webinar which looked at the service offering and adoption-journey of the CEF eDelivery Building Block, with a specific focus on the grant funding currently available.
The journey to securing grant funding and adopting CEF eDelivery only consists of a number of steps, outlined below (with a focus on the needs of Public Administrations and Business).
What is CEF eDelivery?
The CEF eDelivery Building Block enables Public Authorities and Businesses to exchange electronic data and documents with each other in a secure, reliable and interoperable way. As CEF eDelivery is domain-independent, it can be used in every policy domain of the EU. Furthermore, CEF eDelivery has strong links to Regulation (EU) 910/2014 on Electronic identification and trust services, commonly known as 'eIDAS'*. CEF eDelivery supports the same fundamental principles as eIDAS and it promotes the alignment between its technical specifications and the eIDAS regulatory framework. The deployment of eDelivery technology leads to the creation of eDelivery Messaging Infrastructures in the eHealth domain, eJustice domain, etc.
Grant Funding?
To promote the uptake and speed up the use of CEF eDelivery amongst both public and private entities established in the EU and EEA countries participating in the CEF Telecom programme, the deployment of eDelivery technology is supported through grants under the 2016 budget to:
In addition, grant funding is available for software vendors to upgrade of B2B / B2G/ G2G messaging solutions (Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS), Open-Source Software (OSS) and other to support, and therefore fully comply with, the CEF eDelivery standards. More information can be found here
It's important to highlight that CEF eDelivery promotes the deployment of Access Points conformant to the following technical specifications:
What Do I Need to Do?
CEF eDelivery promotes the use of existing technical specifications and standards rather than to trying to define new ones. Organisations adopting these technical specifications are free to select any software conformant to them. In short, there are three alternative scenarios for Public Authorities and Business interested in deploying a CEF eDelivery Access Point they can buy, build or reuse.
In order to successfully submit a proposal for grant funding, it is most important to understand who is expected to take action, understand the action, what output is required and see what core services from CEF eDelivery can best help you. The diagram below walks you through it, and highlights the services available to help. Every service is described in the services page of eDelivery Services.
Where can I find out more?
A breakdown of the information and rationale of applying for CEF eDelivery grants can be found here.
See the CEF eDelivery call on the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) website.
Check the INEA call FAQ.
*eIDAS establishes the principle that an electronic document should not be denied legal effect on the grounds that it is in an electronic form. Having this objective in mind, it introduces Electronic Registered Delivery Service (ERDS) as a new trust service. eIDAS defines ERDS as a service that makes it possible to transmit data between third parties by electronic means and provides evidence relating to the handling of the transmitted data, including proof of sending and receiving the data, and that protects it against the risk of loss, theft, damage or any unauthorised alterations.
Still Time to Apply for CEF eDelivery Grant Funding!
Growth, jobs and a secure sustainable future are part of the European Commission's vision for Europe. Ten priorities have been defined to achieve this, among them the creation of a Digital Single Market. The digitisation of the Single Market is foreseen to add up to EUR 415 billion to the European economy, as well as benefit citizens, businesses and the public sector.
Funded by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), secure message and data exchange between European organisations is a cornerstone of the Digital Single Market, and is achieved by the CEF eDelivery building block (one of the five CEF building blocks, alongside eID, eSignature, eInvoicing and eTranslation).
But it gets even better. Grant funding is available to help you adopt CEF eDelivery in your own organisation, covering up to 75% of the costs of implementation. There's still time to apply, but don't delay, as applications close on September 15th 2016.
Who is the funding available for? Public and private entities can apply in order to:
* Find related documents here.
** To help you find consortium partners, we have created a LinkedIn group, here.
Best of luck with your application & let's Connect Europe together!
Still Time to Apply for CEF eID Grant Funding!
Thomas Fillis | 27 July 2016
Funded by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the mutual recognition of nationally-issued eIDs becomes possible with the deployment of CEF eID (one of the five CEF building blocks, alongside eDelivery, eSignature, eInvoicing and eTranslation).
CEF eID helps public administrations and private online service providers to easily extend the use of their online services to citizens from other EU Member States, a key component of a functioning Digital Single Market. The digitisation of the Single Market is foreseen to add up to EUR 415 billion to the European economy, as well as benefit citizens, businesses and the public sector.
Projects throughout Europe have expressed a desire to re-use the CEF eID solution in various domains, such as:
CEF eID is also built in total compliance with relevant EU legislation concerning the Digital Single Market (namely, the eIDAS Regulation).
But it gets even better. Grant funding (administrated by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency, INEA) of up to EUR 4.5 million* is available to help you adopt CEF eID your own organisation, covering up to 75% of the costs of implementation. There's still time to apply, but don't delay, as applications close on September 15th 2016.
Who is the funding available for? Public and private entities can apply in order to increase the widespread uptake and use of eID by the private sector, in particular banking, electronic/internet payment services, other financial services, insurance, and aviation which have the highest potential for take up in domestic and cross border scenarios and which are potentially the largest users and contributors to the Digital Single Market.
What is the application process?
* Find related documents here.
** To help you find consortium partners, we have created a LinkedIn group, here.
Best of luck with your application & let's Connect Europe together!*The indicative amount to be allocated on the basis of this call for proposals to projects of common interest in the field of trans-European telecommunications for eID & eSignature generic services is EUR 4.5 million. Out of this budget, EUR 0.5 million is indicatively expected to be allocated to eSignature proposals.
CEF eInvoicing Self-Assessment Tool Workshop
Thomas Fillis | 26 July 2016
An all-day workshop on the ongoing development of the CEF eInvoicing self-assessment tool was held with representatives of public entities, solution and service providers in Brussels on Wednesday 15th June. Participants focused on brainstorming what they considered as important elements of the self-assessment before reviewing and providing feedback on the draft that had been developed. Participants contributed enthusiastically in the workshop with ideas and suggestions to enhance the tool, elaborating on this in more detail in the afternoon session.
A series of calls with participants was held in July in order to follow up on this input and finalise the development of the tool, expected by the end of the summer.
Please consult the page on this workshop and contact CEF BUILDING BLOCKS for more information.
CEN - Working Towards a European Standard
Thomas Fillis | 26 July 2016
The European Committee for Standardization’s (CEN) Technical Committee 434 was established in 2014 to define the Electronic Invoicing standard in the context of the EU Directive 2014/55. A public consultation on the Standardization Request assigned to CEN PC434 ran from December 2015 to March 2016, generating more than 600 comments (185 editorial, 133 general, 310 technical) of which numerous comments related to national legal matters.
The weighted percentage of national members approving the Standardization Request was 66,07%, less than the 70% required for approval. CEN TC 434 is currently addressing the comments and has established a schedule to finalise its work on the draft European Standard. The final stages of the test preparation are currently ongoing and will occur from the middle of July until the end of October. Once the formal vote for approval takes place and the required 70% weighted approval rate is attained, the European e-Invoicing Standard will be published during 2017.
For more information, please contact Antonio Caccia.
Register now for the fifth annual conference on innovative public procurement
Thomas Fillis | 20 July 2016
The European Commission is organizing a conference focusing on public procurement of innovation and the potential of innovative procurement on 26 October in Berlin.
In addition to opening speeches from the European Commission, this event will focus in particular on:
- Public procurement of innovation
- The potential of innovative procurement
- Simplifying the procurement process – implementing the 'once only' principle
- Applying e-procurement
Registration
Organizations interested in attending the conference should pre-register by 25 September 2016. The conference organisers aim to confirm registration of selected participants by 30 September 2016.
New CEF eDelivery self-assessment tool
Thomas Fillis | 15 July 2016
We are happy to announce that we have created a new version of the CEF eDelivery self-assessment tool.
The CEF eDelivery self-assessment tool is an important first step for your project to discover CEF eDelivery and its potential re-usability. By completing the survey and assigning scores to your relevant requirements, your requirements will be assessed and mapped to our CEF eDelivery Service Offering. As a result, the tool indicates what goals you can achieve by re-using eDelivery, and even more, which services of the CEF eDelivery Service Offering will be your key enablers to do so.
2016 CEF Telecom calls for proposals: Support the Uptake of CEF eInvoicing
Thomas Fillis | 12th July 2016
For 2016 the European Commission made an indicative budget of EUR 70 million - EUR 7 million for CEF eInvoicing - available under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), through grants, to improve the interoperability and interconnectivity of the European digital service ecosystem.
The CEF eInvoicing Call for Proposals will open from 13 September until December 15 September 2016. The grants under CEF Telecom will help European public administrations and businesses to hook up to the core platforms of the digital services that are the object of the calls (see list below).
According to the CEF regulation, the grants should not exceed 75% of the eligible costs. Proposals can be submitted by one or more Member State(s) or a consortium consisting of at least five entities from one or more Member State(s) composed of public or private entities.
CEF Telecom Calls for Proposals are administrated by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA):
New to eInvoicing?
Learn more about eInvoicing on CEF Digital 2018.
eInvoicing Maturity Model Workshop
Thomas Fillis | 5th July 2016
As services are digitalised, the benefits can be felt by citizens, businesses and public entities alike. The following is an overview of a recent workshop and details of how to get involved, if you want to influence to future of electronic invoicing in Europe.
What's going on?
CEF eInvoicing is currently developing support services to enable the roll-out of the CEF eInvoicing building block and support the adoption of electronic invoicing in the EU.
As a result, an all-day workshop on the ongoing development of the CEF eInvoicing self-assessment tool was held with representatives of public entities, solution and service providers in Brussels on Wednesday 15th June.
The assembled stakeholders and experts were present to discuss the development of a self-assessment tool – enabling public entities to assess their awareness of and readiness for the eInvoicing standard – and the CEF eInvoicing Match-Making Website.
The workshop opened with a morning session focussing on brainstorming the approach of the self-assessment tool and Match-Making Website; and concluded with afternoon breakout sessions on: awareness of the eInvoicing Directive (2014/55/EU), the level of ambition needed to assess the way the public entities comply with the Directive and the Gap Analysis.
Participants focused on brainstorming what they considered as important elements of the self-assessment before reviewing and providing feedback on the draft that had been developed.
What's going to happen?
In order to both ensure that the self-assessment tool is quantifiable it was agreed that the self-assessment tool asks respondents specifically of their level of awareness, basic metrics, their readiness and stakeholder management and on-boarding activities. In sum, those who respond to the questionnaire should self-assess their knowledge of the eInvoicing Directive and ask weather they can process eInvoicing with their current system.
This workshop's output is being used by the CEF eInvoicing team as the basis of its ongoing development of the tool. A number of further follow-up activities have been planned in order to finalise this self-assessment during the summer.
Participants agreed that it was also of great importance to the uptake of eInvoicing that the self-assessment tool needs to stimulate a debate inside public entities.
Finally, a number of indicative next steps were defined:
How can I get involved?
The CEF Digital 2018 Portal provides comprehensive information on CEF eInvoicing, news and events and collaborative spaces.
Should you wish to become a member of this Advisory Group, or for more information, please send an email to CEF-BUILDING-BLOCKS@ec.europa.eu.
European Standard On E-invoicing Is On Its Way
Thomas Fillis | 1st July 2016
In April 2014, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2014/55/EC on electronic invoicing in public procurement. By 2018, all contracting authorities and contracting entities within the EU will be mandated to receive and process e-Invoices complying with the European standard. Member States can grant an extra year to their local authorities to comply with the standard.
The CEN Technical Committee on Electronic Invoicing (CEN TC 434) is currently consolidating the results. In parallel, work on syntaxes is taking place - a core component of the European Standard.
For 2016, the European Commission has made available an indicative budget of EUR 7 million for CEF eInvoicing under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), through grants. The grants seek to improve the interoperability and interconnectivity of the European digital service ecosystem. The CEF eInvoicing Call for Proposals will open from 13 September until 15 December 2016.
Visit the CEF eInvoicing User Community now, to see more and discuss the development and ramifications of the European eInvoicing Standard.
New to eInvoicing?
Learn more about eInvoicing on CEF Digital 2018.
CEF Digital 2018 at CeBIT 2016 in Hannover, Germany
Thomas Fillis | 31 March 2016
CEF Digital 2018 made its second appearance at CeBIT with a booth entitled "Digital Public Service across Borders" positioned in the Public Sector Park hall. The booth presented information on EU legislation relating to the digital economy, various interoperable IT solutions in development and a number of large scale pilot projects.
Participants met experts showcasing various digital solutions (so-called building blocks), explaining how these solutions can help businesses and public administrations better deliver cross-border digital public services and what that means for citizens. Elements of the Connecting Europe Facilities' catalogue of building blocks, and the electronic identification and trust services regulation (eIDAS) were also among those topics on display.
Visitors to the stand enjoyed a number of interesting gimmicks such as a big multi-touch screen, RFID-based information spots, a sliding monitor, games and quizzes, presentations, cartoon videos, click-through live demonstrations, experts’ statements and other gadgets. Interactive elements provided guests with hands-on access to information and data relating to the stand’s slogan “Digital Public Services across Borders”.
The booth was organised by cooperation between the European Commission and the Large Scale Pilots e-SENS, piloting the use of general-purpose building blocks and e-CODEX, which is working to create interoperability between legal authorities and improve the access to legal means for citizens and businesses.
CEF Digital 2018 at the Trust Services Forum 2016
Thomas Fillis | 24 May 2016
Today the European Commission Directorate General for Informatics (DIGIT) presented a state-of-play of the CEF building blocks to the ENISA Trust Services Forum 2016.
The forum focused on emerging issues related to trust services across Europe, as the date for entry in force of the provisions related to trust services of the eIDAS Regulation, July 1st 2016, approaches.
The CEF building block digital service infrastructures (DSI) and Sector Specific DSI (such as eHealth, eJustice), known collectively as CEF Digital 2018, work together to interconnect digital services and IT systems across Europe. The EU's trust services regulation (the eIDAS regulation) plays a crucial role in a number of CEF building blocks (such as CEF eDelivery, CEF eID and CEF eSignature).
ENISA (the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) organised the Trust Service Forum in partnership with the eIDAS Task Force of the European Commission Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG CONNECT).
You can find all the information you need to discover and implement the CEF building blocks on this website. More information can also be found via the links below:
First Release of the CEF Digital 2018 Single Web Portal
Today (31st March 2016), the European Commission Directorate General for Informatics (DIGIT) has released the CEF Digital 2018 Single Web Portal.
The Single Web Portal is more than just a website. The Portal will be the central online hub for information and tools related to the CEF building blocks and provide information on the Sector Specific Digital Service Infrastructures (DSI). CEF building blocks offer basic capabilities that can be used in any European project to facilitate the delivery of digital public services across borders, while the Sector Specific DSI are projects that are supported by the CEF building blocks across policy domains. These are known collectively as CEF Digital 2018.
The first release of the Portal enables users to discover the catalogue of building blocks, understand how they work and provides the software and services to successfully (re)use them.
Forthcoming releases will allow for enhanced collaboration between users and user groups and an effective management of information about projects. This will include different levels of access to the platform, depending on the user group and ensure user-friendly information exchange.
The building blocks have been developed and piloted over a number of years within the EU. The Portal, having been devised in close collaboration with the CEF Digital 2018 community, will assist in the continued development and reuse of the CEF building blocks across Europe.
CEF Digital 2018 at the Bund-Länder-Kommission für Informationstechnik in der Justiz
On 10th May 2016, Mr Thomas Fillis of the European Commission Directorate General for Informatics presented the CEF Digital 2018 building block digital service infrastructures (DSI) and Sector Specific DSI, collectively known as CEF Digital 2018, to the Bund-Länder-Kommission für Informationstechnik in der Justiz (BLK) (Federation-State Commission for ICT in Justice) in Darmstadt, Germany.
The CEF building blocks are basic digital service infrastructures, which are key enablers to be reused in more complex digital services infrastructures. The European Commission presented the CEF building blocks as re-usable digital solutions with the potential to be implemented in both national and cross-border contexts.
Founded in 1969, the BLK consists of representatives of judicial branches of the German-State ('Länder') governments with the Federal Ministry of Justice serving in an advisory capacity. The Federal Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Austria has observer status. The BLK fulfils a number of roles, such as assisting the policy process in the justice domain, coordination around relevant projects, exchange of experiences and best practice and testing the viability of new technical developments in judicial policy.
On this website, you can find all you need to know to discover and adopt the CEF building blocks. You can find additional information via the following: