Enhancing eDelivery: Insights from the eDelivery Informal Cooperation Network (ICN)
On the 11th of May 2023, Member State representatives met in Brussels and online for the 8th meeting of the eDelivery Informal Cooperation Network. The day was full of idea-exchange, discussion of advancements and exploration of possibilities for eDelivery networks. Key topics of the event were learning about Member States’ eDelivery implementations, the use of European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDIC) for large eDelivery networks and discussing the role of standards within eDelivery.
The event attracted a significant number of first-time attendees which demonstrated the growing interest in eDelivery: with many organisations starting new data exchange projects, there is an increasing demand for reusable eDelivery networks. To serve this need, attendees were invited to explore the possibilities of leveraging the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) instrument, which provides a legal Framework for Multi-Country Projects. Presenters shared their experience on the process of establishing an EDIC for the European Blockchain Infrastructure Service (EBSI) and for public administrations collaborating across various Member States.
The update on recent developments in eDelivery informed on planned changes to eDelivery AS4 and SMP profiles, the increasing market development for conformant solutions and updates to the eDelivery sample software Domibus, DomiSMP and DomiSML.
In the afternoon, ICN members learned about pending changes in eIDAS 2.0 and the comprehensive European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Standards Framework that serves as a valuable resource for guiding stakeholders in their pursuit of creating eDelivery-based Electronic Registered Delivery Services (ERDS) in compliance with eIDAS. Member States shared that for many of their projects it would be necessary to provide ERDS and that this framework would be a good way forward to achieve this.
The presentation of Member States’ eDelivery projects rounded off the event. The participants heard about practical implementation of eDelivery in Norway, including detailed reflections on the implementation and planned projects. A recently finalised study on the benefits and potential of eDelivery for interoperability was presented by the representative from Luxembourg. And lastly, the Swedish representative showcased a recently built national eDelivery platform, emphasising the need to establish trust and enable seamless message transmission.
The reflections shared in the presentations and discussions shed light on the challenges and opportunities surrounding eDelivery implementation. The eDelivery team took note of recommendations from Member States, demonstrating the commitment to driving innovation and continuous improvement in the field.
As eDelivery continues to evolve and gain prominence, this event serves as a catalyst for further advancements, enabling Member States to exchange thoughts in an informal environment and unlock new possibilities for growth and innovation.
The next eDelivery ICN will take place later this year – if you are interested in joining, or if you have any other questions regarding eDelivery, don’t hesitate to message EC-EDELIVERY-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu
Stay tuned for the latest updates on eDelivery services by checking the building block's Twitter and web page. For more information, do not hesitate to register for personalised news or contact us via our portal or by e-mail: EC-EDELIVERY-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu.
The eDelivery Building Block
eDelivery is a building block that provides technical specifications and standards, installable software and ancillary services to allow projects to create a network of nodes for secure digital data exchange.
Domibus is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery AS4 Access Point for the interoperable, secure and reliable data exchange. It is based on the eDelivery AS4 profile, an open technical specification for the secure, web-based, payload-agnostic exchange of data or documents.
DomiSMP is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Publisher for publishing and retrieving data necessary for an eDelivery party to dynamically configure its system for message exchange with counterparties using eDelivery. It is based on the eDelivery SMP profile, an open technical specification for publishing service metadata within a 4-corner network.
DomiSML is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Locator for an eDelivery party to discover the URLs of other counterparties using eDelivery Access Points and their corresponding metadata. It is based on the eDelivery BDXL profile, an open technical specification for locating Access Points within a network, and on the PEPPOL SML Specification, a technical specification defining a BDXL administration API.
Picture by eDelivery SMCO
Unlocking the future of eInvoicing: Upcoming webinar to shape the future of electronic invoicing in Sweden
The European Commission is pleased to announce that an eInvoicing webinar with Swedish authorities will take place on 15 June 2023. This webinar will offer a unique opportunity to contribute to discussions surrounding EU initiatives and national developments that will shape the future of electronic invoicing in Sweden. This virtual event aims at bringing together industry experts, authorities, and leading Swedish organisations, fostering collaboration and driving innovation in the evolving landscape of electronic invoicing.
During the three-hour webinar, participants will delve into a wide array of topics. In the first part of the webinar, the latest key EU initiatives will be addressed by representatives from the European Commission, including DG GROW and DG TAXUD. They will provide valuable insights into pivotal initiatives such as the evaluation of Directive 2014/55/EU on eInvoicing in public procurement, the legislative proposal on Value Added Tax in the Digital Age (ViDA), and the maintenance of the European eInvoicing Standards. Moreover, Swedish authorities, such as the Agency for Digital Government (Digg), the Swedish Tax Agency, and the Company Reg. Office, will share their expertise on the legislative framework's evolution and the technical implementation of eInvoicing in Sweden. This session will also include a dedicated Q&A session, allowing participants to seek clarifications and gain deeper insights into the topics presented
After the coffee break, participants will gather again to get to know about Business-to-Business (B2B) eInvoicing from well-known Swedish industry leaders like Volvo and Spotify that will take the stage to share their experiences and perspectives on Business-to-Business (B2B) eInvoicing, providing firsthand accounts of their successful eInvoicing practices. Furthermore, Företagarna, Sweden's largest network for entrepreneurs, will contribute their informed perspective on B2B eInvoicing.
The European Commission eInvoicing webinars will be offering a remarkable opportunity for stakeholders, not only in Sweden but also in other Member States such as Greece, Belgium and Spain to shape the future of eInvoicing actively and collaboratively.
Domibus 5.0.5 is out!
We are happy to announce the release of Domibus 5.0.5. Domibus is the sample implementation of an eDelivery Access Point maintained by the European Commission.
The Domibus 5.0.5 includes improvements and bug fixes, including:
- Improved upload time for large (MB) pMode files
- Add interval partitioning over the existing range partition by reference
- Add support for TLSv1.3 in DSS extension
- Handle receipts with the same message id
- New properties to enable printing the remote and local certificates used to encrypt, decrypt, sign or verify trust for outgoing and incoming messages
- Disabled metrics features by default (logging, memory, garbage collector, cached threads and jms queues)
- Added a new sanitising job to check for messages stuck in ongoing statuses and trigger alerts
- Reverse index on UserMessage table to improve the performance of the Admin Console
- Fix issue with growing number of open files on the system
- Analysed and fixed OWASP reported security vulnerabilities
Domibus 5.0.5 is backward compatible with 5.0.4 and the upgrade is not mandatory but highly recommended. More information on the release is available here.
Stay tuned for the latest updates on eDelivery services by checking the building block's Twitter and web page. For more information, do not hesitate to register for personalised news or contact us via our portal or by e-mail: EC-EDELIVERY-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu.
The eDelivery Building Block | Domibus
eDelivery is a building block that provides technical specifications and standards, installable software and ancillary services to allow projects to create a network of nodes for secure digital data exchange.
Domibus is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery AS4 Access Point for the interoperable, secure and reliable data exchange. It is based on the eDelivery AS4 profile, an open technical specification for the secure, web-based, payload-agnostic exchange of data or documents.
DomiSMP is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Publisher for publishing and retrieving data necessary for an eDelivery party to dynamically configure its system for message exchange with counterparties using eDelivery. It is based on the eDelivery SMP profile, an open technical specification for publishing service metadata within a 4-corner network.
DomiSML is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Locator for an eDelivery party to discover the URLs of other counterparties using eDelivery Access Points and their corresponding metadata. It is based on the eDelivery BDXL profile, an open technical specification for locating Access Points within a network, and on the PEPPOL SML Specification, a technical specification defining a BDXL administration API.
Photo by Richard Horvath on Unsplash
eDelivery DomiSMP version 5.0 Release Candidate published
A new version of the Service Metadata Publisher DomiSMP 5.0 RC is available to use. DomiSMP enables the process of dynamic discovery of service metadata information by storing, exchanging and performing lookups of the service metadata (e.g., the URL, certificate and capabilities) of participants in an eDelivery messaging infrastructure.
DomiSMP 5.0 RC has got a new UI look and feel and role management is now flexible. Important new features are multi-document type support (SMP 1.0, SMP 2.0, CPPA 3.0/CPP) and support for SpringBoot and OpenJDK 11. Further, this version supports different security algorithms, it includes more flexible management of Access Point administrators by DomiSMP administrator via multiple management layers and it enables the possibility to restrict access to Access Point metadata only to authorized users.
The Release Candidate for DomiSMP 5.0 is already available on our website and the Final Release will be available soon. The support for the previous version SMP 4.2 will end on 31st October 2023 therefore users are encouraged to upgrade to the new version DomiSMP 5.0 RC.
Keen followers of eDelivery may have noticed that we have updated our branding with the aim to distinguish the eDelivery SMP and SML sample software product from the description of their function. We have named them DomiSMP and DomiSML respectively, in line with our other sample product, Domibus. The change to the product names will be implemented on the Website over time.
The eDelivery Building Block
eDelivery is a building block that provides technical specifications and standards, installable software and ancillary services to allow projects to create a network of nodes for secure digital data exchange.
Domibus is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery AS4 Access Point for the interoperable, secure and reliable data exchange. It is based on the eDelivery AS4 profile, an open technical specification for the secure, web-based, payload-agnostic exchange of data or documents.
DomiSMP is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Publisher for publishing and retrieving data necessary for an eDelivery party to dynamically configure its system for message exchange with counterparties using eDelivery. It is based on the eDelivery SMP profile, an open technical specification for publishing service metadata within a 4-corner network.
DomiSML is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Locator for an eDelivery party to discover the URLs of other counterparties using eDelivery Access Points and their corresponding metadata. It is based on the eDelivery BDXL profile, an open technical specification for locating Access Points within a network, and on the PEPPOL SML Specification, a technical specification defining a BDXL administration API.
Save the date! The eDelivery Interoperability Forum returns on the 27th of June
The next edition of the eDelivery Interoperability Forum is fast approaching. After the Forum’s relaunch last month, the eDelivery team is excited to invite interested service and solution providers to another appointment with the community!
During the first post-pandemic edition of the eDelivery Interoperability Forum last May, software and solution providers came together to discuss key updates and developments on the future of the building block, such as the new conformance testing platform, software updates, and eDelivery’s role in the dataspace ecosystem. More information and slides from the event are available here.
Given enthusiastic reviews from stakeholders, the eDelivery team has been working behind the scenes to prepare another touchpoint with the community. To this end, we are excited to announce that the date for the eDelivery Interoperability Forum has been set – the 27th of June 2023 at 11:00 CEST! The event will take place in a virtual format, and more information (along with the registration link) are available on this page.
As the eDelivery team received an overwhelming number of comments, feedback and requests from its stakeholders, the next edition of the Forum will be crafted around the needs of the eDelivery community! The meeting will be an invaluable chance for service and solution providers to express their views, suggestions and best practices around future activities organised by the team. The eDelivery team is looking forward to growing the number of participants to the Forum! If you are a service and solutions provider and would like to be a point of contact for the Forum, you can apply here. More information on past editions of the eDelivery Interoperability Forum is available here.
The eDelivery Building Block
eDelivery is a building block that provides technical specifications and standards, installable software and ancillary services to allow projects to create a network of nodes for secure digital data exchange.
Domibus is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery AS4 Access Point for the interoperable, secure and reliable data exchange. It is based on the eDelivery AS4 profile, an open technical specification for the secure, web-based, payload-agnostic exchange of data or documents.
DomiSMP is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Publisher for publishing and retrieving data necessary for an eDelivery party to dynamically configure its system for message exchange with counterparties using eDelivery. It is based on the eDelivery SMP profile, an open technical specification for publishing service metadata within a 4-corner network.
DomiSML is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Locator for an eDelivery party to discover the URLs of other counterparties using eDelivery Access Points and their corresponding metadata. It is based on the eDelivery BDXL profile, an open technical specification for locating Access Points within a network, and on the PEPPOL SML Specification, a technical specification defining a BDXL administration API.
Commission launches survey to collect additional feedback on electronic invoicing
Calling all electronic invoicing stakeholders! The European Commission has launched a survey to collect additional input from electronic invoicing stakeholders on the current and future needs of eInvoicing. This initiative is undertaken in the context of the evaluation of the eInvoicing Directive 2014/55/EU to review the effects of the Directive on the single market and on the uptake of eInvoicing in public procurement.
The survey intends to cover all stakeholders’ views on a wide variety of topics, particularly among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), accountants and large corporations. Through this survey, eInvoicing stakeholders are invited to share their experiences and provide feedback on the following:
- synergies with other EU initiatives
- uptake of eInvoicing in public procurement
- effects of the Directive on the internal market
- efficiency of the Directive in meeting its objectives
- future needs of eInvoicing in Europe
Your input will be used to inform a report on the evaluation of the Directive. This feedback will help the Commission further understand the benefits and challenges of eInvoicing and help identify potential improvement opportunities.
All relevant organisations and citizens are encouraged to participate in the survey by accessing this link. The survey will remain open until the end of June 2023. In case your feedback is specific or falls outside of the scope of the questions of the survey, feel free to share your views via email at EC-EINVOICING-SUPPORT@EC.EUROPA.EU.
In addition, you can stay updated on the latest news of eInvoicing by subscribing to the Building Blocks newsletter in this form.
eDelivery continues supporting the OOTS implementation
eDelivery continues to be instrumental in the development, testing, and deployment of the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS).
With the go-live date of December 2023 fast approaching, the eDelivery team has been tirelessly supporting implementers in setting up eDelivery-conformant Access Points, which are key elements in the OOTS’ architecture.
From the second Implementers café in December 2022 to the dedicated hands-on webinars last January, the eDelivery team has provided implementers with technical knowledge on achieving a secure and reliable message exchange within the OOTS ahead of crucial events for the community.
One of these events was the first OOTS projectathon, which welcomed Member States’ teams in Brussels from the 19th to the 21st of April. Over 120 implementers – attending both in-person and remotely – participated in the projectathon, when different systems were connected to perform a marathon of peer-to-peer interoperability and compliance tests in a structured environment with the continuous support provided by the monitors.
Having completed the requirement of installing eDelivery-conformant Access Points ahead of the event, most Member States participated in the projectathon as active participants. Meanwhile, a smaller number of implementers participated with the status of observers, ready to take advantage of the technical guidance provided during the event, and half of them successfully managed to set up their access points and exchange messages with the participants.
The chances for knowledge exchange hit the peak on the second day of the projectathon when the eDelivery team engaged with implementers providing essential support. In a dedicated session on the 21st of April, Member States and National representatives met eDelivery experts in an ‘open door’ setting, raising key technical questions relating to eDelivery.
The exchange with the eDelivery team proved instrumental for several reasons. Firstly, during the session, Member States shared best practices on implementing Domibus-conformant Access Points, achieving a technical level playing field set to accelerate the Once-Only Technical System's implementation. The results speak for themselves: 92% percent of the test cases performed during the projectathon were "verified" (successful and verified by attending monitors from OOTS and eDelivery support teams). At the end of the projectathon, thanks to the technical support provided by the eDelivery team, over 16 Member States successfully adopted the technology for operating eDelivery AS4 message exchange. Similarly, the interaction with implementers helped the eDelivery team to become aware of existing European success stories implementing eDelivery-conformant technologies for a reliable and secure data exchange.
The cooperation with the Once-Only Technical System's implementers is proceeding full steam. In preparation for the second OOTS projectathon in June, the eDelivery team is working on several requests from the community for tailored support with setting up eDelivery-conformant Access Points. Stay tuned for more eDelivery events!
Do you have any questions or suggestions for upcoming dedicated webinars? You can contact us via our portal or by e-mail: EC-EDELIVERY-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu.
The eDelivery Building Block
eDelivery is a building block that provides technical specifications and standards, installable software, and ancillary services to allow projects to create a network of nodes for secure digital data exchange.
Domibus is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery AS4 Access Point for the interoperable, secure and reliable data exchange. It is based on the eDelivery AS4 profile, an open technical specification for the secure, web-based, payload-agnostic exchange of data or documents.
DomiSMP is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Publisher for publishing and retrieving data necessary for an eDelivery party to dynamically configure its system for message exchange with counterparties using eDelivery. It is based on the eDelivery SMP profile, an open technical specification for publishing service metadata within a 4-corner network.
DomiSML is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Locator for an eDelivery party to discover the URLs of other counterparties using eDelivery Access Points and their corresponding metadata. It is based on the eDelivery BDXL profile, an open technical specification for locating Access Points within a network, and on the PEPPOL SML Specification, a technical specification defining a BDXL administration API.
Photo by eDelivery SMCO
The eDelivery Interoperability Forum has been relaunched!
On the 3rd of May, the eDelivery Interoperability Forum has been relaunched! The Forum is one of the most important platforms for information and feedback sharing between the eDelivery team and the entities interested in the eDelivery building block.
The Interoperability Forum was an invaluable occasion to take stock of past accomplishments while charting the road ahead for the building block. The meeting kicked off with an introduction of policy updates on eDelivery and the Digital Europe Programme by Maya Madrid, the Policy Officer in charge of eDelivery. It was followed by IT Project Officer Bogdan Dumitriu’s presentation (slides available here) highlighting key news and product developments from eDelivery.
Firstly, he showcased the increasing success in adopting eDelivery by several key projects and the future market opportunities using eDelivery as a dataspace co-creator. In this context, eDelivery's prominent role as a provider of open standards is recognised by the European Commission and businesses: over 84 EU projects across all sectors - from logistics to the judiciary - are adopting eDelivery solutions. Similarly, eDelivery’s tested and reliable standards are recognised as a good solution for current and future data spaces. For example, thanks to its flexibility and reliability, eDelivery was selected among the reusable solutions for the European Health Data Space (EHDS) pilot for the exchange of secondary health data.
The highlight of the Interoperability Forum was marked by key announcements, specifically on profile enhancement, public consultations, and updates in the conformance testing services. The planned release of the AS4 and SMP profile enhancement is expected to be completed after the eDelivery public consultation, scheduled to be launched in Q2 2023. The process will be an invaluable occasion for service and solution providers to provide input on the current specifications and feedback on the suggested changes. The drafts for the new profiles are already available online (click here for AS4 2.0 and here for SMP 2.0). Moreover, with the family of eDelivery conformant solutions steadily growing, the team has devised a new way to display them on a new conformance testing platform, showcasing AS4, SMP, and SML solutions and ensuring that the recently tested ones appear clearer to the users. The platform is based on Interoperable Europe’s GITB (Generic Interoperability Test Bed), and is set to go live on the 19th of May 2023. It will present several advantages for the users, it will be more modern and allow the project team to expand the test suite much faster. To highlight the user-friendly nature of the platform, the eDelivery team showed a live-in demo to the attendees, which concluded this edition of the Interoperability Forum.
The relaunch of the eDelivery Interoperability Forum has been the most attended to date, and its success would not have been possible without the help of the community!
Following enthusiastic feedback from stakeholders, the eDelivery team is excited to announce that the next edition of the eDelivery Interoperability Forum will take place on the 27th of June 2023 at 11:00 CEST in a virtual format. What's more - the next Forum will revolve around the needs and requests of our community! The event will be an invaluable chance for service and solution providers to express their views, suggestions and share best practices around future activities organised by the eDelivery team. For this reason, on top of inviting existing stakeholders to share feedback on the past edition of the forum through dedicated surveys, the eDelivery team is looking forward to growing the number of participants to the Forum! If you are a service and solutions provider and would like to be a point of contact for the Forum, you can apply here. More information on past editions of the eDelivery Interoperability Forum is available here.
The eDelivery Building Block
eDelivery is a building block that provides technical specifications and standards, installable software and ancillary services to allow projects to create a network of nodes for secure digital data exchange.
Domibus is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery AS4 Access Point for the interoperable, secure and reliable data exchange. It is based on the eDelivery AS4 profile, an open technical specification for the secure, web-based, payload-agnostic exchange of data or documents.
DomiSMP is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Publisher for publishing and retrieving data necessary for an eDelivery party to dynamically configure its system for message exchange with counterparties using eDelivery. It is based on the eDelivery SMP profile, an open technical specification for publishing service metadata within a 4-corner network.
DomiSML is the sample software provided by the European Commission to implement an eDelivery Service Metadata Locator for an eDelivery party to discover the URLs of other counterparties using eDelivery Access Points and their corresponding metadata. It is based on the eDelivery BDXL profile, an open technical specification for locating Access Points within a network, and on the PEPPOL SML Specification, a technical specification defining a BDXL administration API.
Photo by Jakob Dalbjörn on Unsplash