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EU Member States moving forward with the Once-Only Technical System



On 14 October 2022, national experts met in the Single Digital Gateway (SGD) coordination group to discuss the implementation of the Once-Only Technical System between the EU Member States. The Once-Only Technical System will connect EU public authorities to allow them to securely share official documents and data at the citizen’s request. It puts into practice the Once-Only concept, which states that citizens and businesses should not be forced to provide information to authorities if another authority already holds that information in digital format.

To support the Member States, an implementing regulation sets out technical and operational specifications of the technical system ((EU) 2022/1463). 

The European Commission offers common services as part of the Once-Only Technical Architecture, namely:

  • the Data Service Directory (a catalogue of evidence types that can be provided upon request);
  • the Evidence Broker (an authoritative system that maps specific data sets as evidence types that prove specific requirements);
  • the Semantic Repository (a common service that acts as a data portal for the technical system).

In order to reduce the costs involved in building the Once-Only Technical System, the implementing regulation notes that national implementation plans should, as much as possible, rely on reusable solutions known as “building blocks”. A building block is a digital solution based on open standards that is ready for deployment. It can take the shape of a framework, a standard, a piece of software or software-as–a-service (SaaS), or any combination of these. Reuse saves time, investment and ensures interoperability between IT systems. Notably for the Once-Only Technical System, the Member States will use the eID building block to authenticate users from different countries, and the eDelivery building block for the automated cross-border sharing of data (legally referred to as “evidence”), achieving maximum efficiency games.

In the spirit of large-scale cooperation and co-development, several Member States presented their national implementation plans, including their planned investments and respective strategic approaches. The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss and decide how Member States will test together while building the technical system. Experts, representing the national administrations, expressed their commitment to work together and adopt the approach of large testing events, including Connectathons as practiced in the eHealth sector. The Commission will support the Member States with a dedicated Once-Only Hub website, allowing national teams of implementers to collaborate and co-create the technical system and access testing and support services.

At a strategic level, the creation of the Once-Only Technical System is mandated in Regulation (EU)2018/1724, which establishes a Single Digital Gateway.

Visit here to learn more about the Once-Only Technical System, the Once-Only Principle and the digital building blocks.