Today, the Commission is launching the core infrastructure of the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS). This is a new EU-wide solution that will make cross-border paperwork significantly more efficient and less costly for citizens, companies, and public administrations.
While remaining fully in control of their own data, citizens and businesses will no longer have to retrieve and provide the same documents repeatedly. With the new system, they will be able to have their documents exchanged automatically within the Single Market simply by asking the relevant authorities to retrieve them directly from authentic sources.
Concretely, Once-Only will make citizens' life easier, for instance when moving or working abroad, studying, or retiring. For all these procedures, users will only need to connect to e-government portals of any country in the EU and request the transfer of the necessary documentary evidence. Starting, running, and closing a business will also become easier, significantly reducing red tape for SMEs.
To make this happen, development teams from the Commission and Member States have jointly delivered the technological backbone and the necessary security and operational framework to make Once-Only a reality. Now is the time for the circa 80 000 EU national competent authorities to connect themselves to this system, which later on will allow final users (citizens and companies) to fully benefit from it.
Once-Only is the latest feature of the Single Digital Gateway, which is already providing key assistance to users through the Your Europe web portal.
Further information on the Once-Only Technical System is available, as well as a video explaining its functioning.
Details
- Publication date
- 12 December 2023
- Author
- Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs