The Council and the European Parliament reached a tentative agreement on the proposed Interoperable Europe Act, a piece of legislation aimed at enhancing public sector interoperability across the European Union. The objective of the proposed regulation is to establish a new framework for cooperation among EU public administrations, facilitating cross-border delivery of public services and promoting innovation through support measures and enhanced knowledge and skills exchange.

The agreement largely upholds the core of the Commission’s original proposal, which includes rules for structured cooperation among public administrations through projects co-owned by the Member States, a multi-level governance framework led by the ‘Interoperable Europe Board,’ and the sharing and reuse of interoperability solutions. However, the co-legislators made amendments to specific aspects of the proposal, such as:

• Clarifying the scope of the proposed legislation, including the definition of ‘trans-European digital public services.’
• Providing further detail on the objectives and conditions for mandatory interoperability assessments, ensuring adherence to the principle of proportionality to prevent undue burden on national and local administrations.
• Aligning the regulation with the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) concerning the creation and participation in interoperability regulatory sandboxes.
• Strengthening the role of the Interoperable Europe Board, which is central to the new governance structure established by the regulation.

Once the technical teams finalize the new regulation, the full agreement must be confirmed by both institutions and undergo legal and linguistic review before it can be formally adopted.