Brussels: Europe and  Arabs

Today, the European Commission has set the stage for the creation of the first EU-wide data space, which will enable cross-border information exchange between public administrations between EU countries. The only technical system (OOTS) available from the end of 2023 will allow public authorities across the EU to exchange official documents and data at the request of citizens and businesses in a simplified and efficient manner. Thanks to the OOTS system, which connects national sites, a citizen will have to submit a document only once to a public authority. If another EU public authority needs access to the same document and with the express authorization of the citizen, it will be able to retrieve it through the technical OOTS system.

Today, due to the lack of interoperability and digital barriers between member states, an increasing number of Europeans are forced to provide the same information to different authorities, even if one of them already has this information in electronic form. For example, when applying for a master's degree at a university online, students must submit a copy of their bachelor's degree, even if the university holds this document electronically when the citizen graduates.

Inland Market Commissioner Terry Britton said: “This is a long-overdue step towards an efficient single market without digital barriers. With the only technical system, we are better equipped to improve the lives of European citizens and businesses and increase the efficiency of the single market by significantly reducing red tape. Once available, OOTS will operate on the Digital Single Gateway Platform, a multi-faceted European initiative that strives to create a cross-border digital infrastructure.

To do this, the Commission today published the implementing regulations for the single technical regime, following an agreement reached at the level of Member States. This will also provide a form that can be reused for other data spaces within the European Union