In October 2022, European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly invited nominations for the 2023 ‘Award for Good Administration’ in the EU institutions, with the deadline for submissions on 31 January 2023.

The Award is open to any EU project and any team in any EU institution, agency or body. Nominations can be made by EU staff, citizens, businesses, associations, or by civil society groups.

In this instalment of the award, the project team behind the adoption of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1463, which sets out the technical and operational specifications of the Once-Only Technical System submitted this Implementing Regulation, paving the way for the implementation of the Technical System.

The Once-Only Technical System securely connects the authentic sources of EU public authorities, so they can exchange official documents and data (evidence), at the request of citizens and businesses as part of cross-border administrative procedures e.g., when registering an address or vehicle or when moving abroad. You simply click ‘request’, and away you go. This innovative system eliminates the complicated manual search, mapping and fetching of evidence between Member States.

In 2022, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1463 stipulating technical and operational specifications for the Once-Only Technical System. This is a major step forward in realising this ambition pan-European digital infrastructure.

The Implementing Regulation is a comprehensive framework to help the Member States implement the Once-Only Technical System by the legal deadline of 12 December 2023 as specified in the Single Digital Gateway Regulation, and nicely matches the 30th anniversary of the Single Market, highlighting Europe’s commitment to the Digital Decade.

Thes Once-Only Technical System will increase the efficiency of the Single Market by drastically reducing red tape. It will also make the life of citizens and businesses easier and reduce the cost of mobility (i.e., time and money spent in administrative procedures). As an innovative digital infrastructure, the Once-Only Technical System contributes significantly to the twin green and digital transitions, reducing energy consumption through the digitalisation process and reducing administrative burdens within the Union. As an EU data space, the OOTS contributes to exploiting the authentic sources of all Member States by making access to their data across borders much easier.

The Once-Only Technical System demonstrates European innovation. Beyond that, it removes obstacles while imposing no obligations on citizens or businesses. In other words, the manual upload of evidence is still possible. Once operational, the Once-Only Technical System will make it much easier for citizens to study, move, work, retire or do business across the EU. Through the digital innovation of public service in the Single Market, the Once-Only Technical System will significantly improve the experience of those seeking to utilise their EU rights and benefit from the latest technological advancements.

The Once-Only Technical System contributes to overcoming existential challenges like climate change through digital transformation, but moreover the Once-Only Technical System brings citizens and businesses a Single Market that is more open and accessible than ever.

Furthermore, the Implementing Regulation drives Member States to reuse existing EU digital solutions, based on EU regulations (eIDAS, GDPR, procurement etc.) to entrench EU values (trust, good governance, and smart investment). Reuse of mature, standards-based solutions stands to save EU Member States significant financial and human resources.

Nominated projects should concern the period January 2021 - December 2022. An award ceremony will take place in June 2023 in Brussels.

To learn more about the Once-Only Technical System, visit the Once-Only Hub