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European Commission and Belgian EU Presidency discuss future of European Single Market, March 2024 

20 March 2024 | 5 minutes read

On 19 March 2024, the European Commission organised a conference on the Single Digital Gateway under the patronage of the 2024 Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

‘Boosting the EU Single Market: Towards the Single Digital Gateway 2.0’ was an opportunity to take stock of the Single Digital Gateway, which four years into its implementation, offers a range of practical information, advice and access to various administrative procedures to help businesses expand abroad and citizens to exercise their rights when living, travelling, working or studying in the EU.

Recognising this momentum, the Commission also laid out plans for the next stage in the development of the Single Digital Gateway, with the objective of helping to consolidate the Single Market’s integration and to support Europe’s competitiveness.

The single digital gateway facilitates online access to information, administrative procedures, and assistance services that EU citizens and businesses may need in another EU country. Practically, users can access the Single Digital Gateway through its user-centric portal Your Europe and the recently launched Once-Only Technical System.

The conference consisted of three panel discussions that in turn looked at the successes of the Single Digital Gateway to date, how the Single Digital Gateway can utilise existing digital tools for increased efficiency and, finally, how to design a Single Digital Gateway 2.0.

The event included a keynote opening speech by Mathieu Michel, Secretary of State for Digitalisation, Administrative Simplification, Privacy Protection and the Buildings Agency. Secretary of State Michel observed that “Imagine being an entrepreneur full of innovative ideas but hindered by a mountain of administrative paperwork, or perhaps you are a citizen simply seeking quick and efficient access to public services, but you find yourself overwhelmed by complex bureaucratic procedures. This is where we are helping citizens and businesses, through a concrete user-friendly and accessible single digital portal.”

Words of welcome were also delivered by Maive Rute, Deputy Director-General & Chief Standardisation Officer at the European Commission.