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National Once-Only journeys on show during the #5 OOTS Projectathon

<p>5 December 2024 | 8 minutes read</p>

<p><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/illu-news-oots-28-11-2024.jpg"></p>

<p>From 20-22 November 2024, teams from 26 EU Member States met in Brussels for the <a class="link external" target="_blank" href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/display/OOTS/Projectathon5"><span>fifth OOTS Projectathon</span><span class="sr-only">(opens in a new tab)</span><span class="ico-external"></span></a>. These large-scale testing events have proved crucial in helping EU countries swiftly progress in implementing the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS).</p>

<p>The Once-Only Technical System allows public authorities in the EU to securely exchange official documents and data as part of cross-border administrative procedures, e.g., when registering an address or vehicle when moving abroad – only ever at the users’ explicit request.</p>

<p>The adoption of Once-Only means the creation of "search-free" administrative procedures, where data comes to individuals and businesses automatically without the need to search for it online. By eliminating the need for searching, Once-Only lays the foundation for shifting from document-centric to data-centric processes, driven by strong collaboration and shared expertise between EU countries.</p>

<p>The #5 Projectathon concluded with 494 completed tests, consisting of higher-quality transactions than before.</p>

<p><a class="btn primary" href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/781287497/OOTS_P5_Projectathon_Event_Report_2024November_v1.00.pdf" onclick="_paq.push(['trackEvent','conversion','oots-article-success-stories-report','button-download-report'])"><span>Download the event report (PDF)</span><span class="ico-download"></span></a></p>

<p>On 21 November 2024, an evening one-year anniversary celebration included examples of Once-Only implementations from several EU countries.</p>

<h2>Recognising the Member States' efforts</h2>
<p>During the first part of the evening, representatives of the European Commission’s senior management thanked the Member States for their efforts.</p>

<div class="article-quote">
<q>You are making cross-border administration easier for businesses, students, pensioners and everyone else. This brings the Single Market closer to them than ever before. This is really inspiring, and all I can do is say well done!</q>
<p class="article-quote-author">Veronica Gaffey, Director-General for Digital Services (DIGIT) of the European Commission</p>
</div>

<div class="article-quote">
<q>I want to acknowledge the herculean effort that has gone into making the Single Digital Gateway and Once-Only Technical System initiatives a reality. Building the OOTS, as you know very well, is no small task. The technical and administrative challenges have been titanic. And it’s all taken a huge collaborative effort.</q>
<p class="article-quote-author">Hubert Gambs, deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) of the European Commission</p>
</div>

<p>Richard Sonnenschein, Director for Justice Policies in the Directorate-General for Justice (DG JUST) also spoke on the aspect of civil registries recent breakthroughs in the field of company law as relevant to the Once-Only Technical System and Single Digital Gateway.</p>

<h2>OOTS implementation in action</h2>
<p>During the second part of the evening, videos explained the journeys undertaken by several EU countries:</p>

<ul class="video-list">
<li>
<a target="_blank" href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/display/OOTS/Implementing+the+OOTS#implementation">
<div class="video-cover">
<img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/video-cover-denlat.jpg">
</div>
<h3>The DENLAT Pilot: Collaboration between Germany, the Netherlands and Austria</h3>
<p>November 2024</p>
</a>
</li>
<li>
<a target="_blank" href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/display/OOTS/Implementing+the+OOTS#implementation">
<div class="video-cover">
<img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/video-cover-finland.jpg">
</div>
<h3>Europe Goes Once-Only event - Finland edition</h3>
<p>November 2024</p>
</a>
</li>
<li>
<a target="_blank" href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/display/OOTS/Implementing+the+OOTS#implementation">
<div class="video-cover">
<img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/video-cover-cyprus.jpg">
</div>
<h3>Cyprus' Implementation Journey</h3>
<p>November 2024</p>
</a>
</li>

</ul>

<h2>Once-Only award ceremony</h2>
<p>Finally, during the third part of the evening, the Commission handed out awards to several Member States as tokens to note the successes in their Once-Only implementations.</p>

<ul class="award-list">
<li>
<img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/award-austria.png">
<p>Highest number of evidences live in the system - Austria</p>
</li>
<li>
<img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/award-estonia.png">
<p>Outstanding deep dive on population requirements - Estonia</p>
</li>
<li>
<img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/award-finland.png">
<p>Pioneer for hosting a ‘Europe goes Once-Only event - Finland</p>
</li>
<li>
<img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/award-italy.png">
<p>Best in class for preparatory testing - Italy</p>
</li>
<li>
<img alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="img-fluid" src="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/download/attachments/845479964/award-lithuania.png">
<p>Exceptional contribution to designing the OOTS user experience - Lithuania</p>
</li>
</ul>

<p>To learn more about Once-Only, including the legal background, technical architecture, previous Projectathons and more, visit the <a class="link external" target="_blank" href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/display/OOTS/OOTSHUB+Home"><span>Once-Only Hub</span><span class="sr-only">(opens in a new tab)</span><span class="ico-external"></span></a>.</p>

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