Council of the EU Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth welcomes progress on Europe’s Single Digital Gateway
21 February 2024 | 4 minutes read
On 19 February 2024, representatives from the European Commission, David Blanchard representing DG GROW and Joao Rodrigues Frade representing DIGIT, updated the Council Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth on the achievements and status of the Single Digital Gateway at the close of 2023 and strategic priorities for 2024. At a moment when EU competitiveness is the top priority, this working party meeting was a crucial moment for EU Member States and the Commission to agree on the importance of being aligned on priorities at both the EU and national levels to make the Single Digital Gateway effectively contribute to the reduction of administrative burden.
The Single Digital Gateway means that certain specific procedures (allowing individuals to move, study, work, live and retire, and for businesses to open, operate, and close in different EU countries) must be offered online. The Single Digital Gateway underpins the YourEurope portal, which facilitates online access to information, administrative procedures, and assistance services that EU citizens and businesses may need in another EU country. YourEurope is now become the most visited EU (Europa.eu) website.
The Once Only Technical System is another element of the Single Digital Gateway. It will facilitate access to authentic data (evidence) by citizens and businesses when completing an administrative procedure in another Member State. By enabling these tools, the Single Digital Gateway allows EU citizens, residents, and businesses to make better use the opportunities offered by the EU Single Market.
December 2023 was the legal deadline for EU Member States to realise central elements of the Single Digital Gateway, including the digitalisation of critical cross-border procedures and to establish OOTS as a way to cut the search costs associated to cross-border admin procedures. On system eliminates the costs involved in searching and providing the data used as evidence in cross-border administrative procedures, promoting the European digital principles of user-centricity and market efficiency.
The Commission noted that EU Member States have made significant achievements in terms of digitalising public services and successfully establishing the Once-Only Technical System, and that the Commission will continue to support national authorities to build on this. During 2023 and continuing in 2024, the Commission organised a series of technical events during which EU Member States could come together, test and advance their Once-Only implementations. This will continue in 2024.
Members of the Council Working Party thanked the Commission for its support and reaffirmed their commitment to contributing more to the Single Digital Gateway initiative in 2024.
Download the Commission’s presentation from 19 February 2024