Once Only Technical System, the first European data space
Today, an increasing number of Europeans would like to use the Internet, websites and apps, for completing procedures also in another EU Member State. For example, students are applying to universities abroad, citizens are making the necessary arrangements before moving to another Member State, companies and the self-employed offer services and hire employees in countries across the EU.
Carrying out administrative procedures online is becoming the new normal. Therefore, most public authorities in the EU are already offering their services online or will do so very soon. However, despite working well in a national context, the same does not apply when citizens and businesses from other Member States try accessing these online services. This constitutes a barrier to cross-border mobility as it inhibits citizens and businesses to make the most of the Single Market. For example, in most Member States, citizens can already request a change of address or complete the registration of a vehicle online without the need for physical interactions. However, in cross-border situations, citizens and businesses still face significant difficulties in doing this because of lack of interoperability and trust within and between the Member States.
The Single Digital Gateway Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1724) (SDGR) is a multifaceted EU-wide initiative that strives to create the digital infrastructure required to overcome these challenges. It aims to help citizens and businesses make best of the Single Market. Three specific projects make this concrete.
First, since December 2020, the Your Europe portal implements the functionalities requested by the SDGR by providing reliable information about Single Market rights. It offers useful information about online public services available in each Member State and the associated administrative procedures required, e.g., for studying, working or retiring abroad. Furthermore, it provides online access to assistance and problem-solving services on how to carry out certain administrative procedures.
Second, by December 2023, 21 procedures listed in Annex II to this Regulation will have to be made available to users fully online, allowing citizens and businesses to identify themselves by electronic means, fill in the application, provide supporting evidence or request it through the OOTS, sign and submit the application to the competent authorities. The completion of an online procedure will be confirmed with an automatic acknowledgment of receipt. The output of the procedure will also have to be delivered electronically. Physical delivery will still be possible, if required by EU or national law. From the same date, cross-border users should have a non-discriminatory access to administrative procedures, that are available online for national users.
Third, the SDGR also provides the legal framework for the creation of a European data space for public administrations to share information in a trusted way. By December 2023, this government-to-government data space, known as the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS), will be rolled out in every Member State. It will significantly ease and speed up the cross-border administrative procedures covered by the SDGR. Thanks to the OOTS, it will be easier for citizens to study, move, work, retire or do business across the EU. The OOTS will connect public authorities across the EU, so they can exchange official documents and data at the citizen's request.
However, this information can be only retrieved after the user (citizen or business) has made an explicit request for it to be exchanged and has been given a chance to preview it, except where provided otherwise by Union or national law. For example, when a citizen is requested to provide a copy of their birth certificate, academic diploma, or a vehicle registration document, they will be able to request this information to be automatically retrieved from the relevant public authority in another Member State.
The OOTS will therefore greatly facilitate cross-border data exchange without the need for EU-wide standardisation. To this end, the "OOTS mapping service" will ensure that users will find the appropriate document to request from another Member State to complete an online procedure. This service will lower search-costs for everyone, in addition to making it easier and efficient to find the specific administrative requirements across Member States, which can continue to be the same as today. Citizens and businesses will no longer need to visit multiple public authorities’ websites to discern what the equivalent evidence (e.g., a document) is and where to find the right issuer of that evidence in another Member State.
The OOTS is not a monolithic system. Instead, it is a technical framework for data-sharing, governed by the Member States and the European Commission. The OOTS data space is a fully distributed data space for trusted data-sharing between independent systems in each Member State. To achieve this, the OOTS creates an interoperability layer based on common and mature “building blocks” coming from the Digital Europe Programme. For example, it will use the eIDAS cross-border electronic identification building block, known as eIDAS eID. In addition, the eDelivery access points will create a virtual secure network on top of the public Internet. The OOTS will also be fully compatible with the future European Digital Identity Wallet as a new means of authentication to public services offering the ‘once only’ option.
The favourable opinion from Member States on the Implementing Regulation on the OOTS marks a key milestone moving towards a cross-domain, cross-border data space where citizens and businesses will no longer have to supply the same data to public authorities more than once. The OOTS will become a reusable template for other data spaces that require data to flow securely within the EU, implementing privacy preserving functionality such as the user’s explicit request and preview, and supporting the European data strategy.
Other data space initiatives are exploring how to leverage the architecture and know-how of the OOTS. This is not only a great opportunity to accelerate the creation of other data spaces, based on common building blocks, but also a way to reduce costs and improve interoperability. The Once Only initiative can therefore serve as a keystone in the creation of a common European data space.