In a series of Ministerial Declarations (in Manchester on 24 November 2005, Lisbon on 19 September 2007, Malmö on 18 November 2009 and Granada on 19 April 2010), ministers invited the Commission to facilitate cooperation among Member States by implementing cross-border and cross-sector interoperability solutions that will enable more efficient and secure public services. Moreover, Member States recognised that better public services need to be delivered with fewer resources, and that the potential of e-government can be boosted by promoting a culture of collaboration and improving the conditions for interoperability in European public administrations.

In its Communication of 19 May 2010 entitled ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’ (DAE), one of the flagship initiatives of its Europe 2020 Strategy, the Commission stressed that interoperability is essential for the purpose of maximising the social and economic potential of information and communication technology (ICT) and that, consequently, the digital agenda can be effective only if interoperability is ensured.

In its Communication of 16 December 2010 entitled ‘Towards interoperability for European public services’, the Commission introduced the European Interoperability Strategy (EIS) and the European Interoperability Framework (EIF).

Interoperability facilitates successful implementation of policies and offers great potential to avoid cross-border electronic barriers, further securing the emergence of new, or the consolidation of developing, common public services at Union level. The policies described in the following recitals, in particular, rely on interoperability for their effective and efficient implementation.

Interoperability within local, national and European public administrations facilitates the achievement of the goals set out by the European Parliament in its resolution of 29 March 2012 on the EU Citizenship Report 2010: Dismantling the obstacles to EU citizens' rights.

Interoperability has been a key factor in the success of customs, taxation and excise duties, in operating trans-European ICT systems across the Member States, and in supporting interoperable business services funded by the Fiscalis 2013 and the Customs 2013 programmes. Those programmes are implemented and operated by the Commission and national administrations. Assets created under the Fiscalis 2013 and the Customs 2013 programmes are available for sharing and re-use in other policy areas. In addition, the Member States and the Commission were invited, in the Council conclusions of 26 May 2014 on the governance reform of the EU customs union, to develop a strategy of commonly managed and operated IT systems in all customs-related areas.

It is therefore important that policy relating to interoperability and its possible uses should be coordinated at Union level in the manner that is the most effective, and the most responsive to end-users, possible. In order to eliminate fragmentation in the interoperability landscape in the Union, a common understanding of interoperability in the Union and a holistic approach to interoperability solutions should be promoted.

On a political level, the Council has repeatedly called for even greater interoperability in Europe and for continued efforts to modernise European public administrations. On 24 and 25 October 2013, the European Council adopted conclusions stressing that the modernisation of public administrations should continue through the swift implementation of services such as e-government, e-health, e-invoicing and e-procurement, which rely on interoperability. The commitment of Member States is essential to ensure the rapid deployment of an interoperable e-society in the Union and the involvement of public administrations in encouraging the use of online procedures. Additionally, in order to establish a more effective, simplified and user-friendly e-administration, some adaptation in the European public administrations, with support from Member States, may be necessary. Efficient online public services are crucial to fostering the confidence of businesses and citizens in digital services.

A single sector interoperability perspective is associated with the risk that the adoption of different or incompatible solutions at national or sectoral levels will give rise to new electronic barriers that impede the proper functioning of the internal market and the associated freedoms of movement, and undermine the openness and competitiveness of markets and the delivery of services of general interest to businesses and citizens. In order to mitigate that risk, Member States and the Union should step up joint efforts to avoid market fragmentation. They should ensure cross-border or cross-sector interoperability in the implementation of legislation, while reducing administrative burdens and costs and improving efficiency, and they should promote commonly agreed ICT solutions while ensuring appropriate governance.

In the establishment, improvement or operation of common solutions all initiatives should, where appropriate, build on, or be accompanied by, the sharing of experience and solutions and the exchange and promotion of best practices, technological neutrality and adaptability, while principles of security, privacy and protection of personal data should always be applied. In that context, compliance with the EIF, open specifications and standards should be promoted.

Activities under the IDA, the IDABC and the ISA programmes have made important contributions to ensuring interoperability in the electronic exchange of information between European public administrations. In its Resolution of 20 April 2012 on a competitive digital single market — eGovernment as a spearhead, the European Parliament recognised the contribution of the ISA programme and its overarching role in defining, promoting and supporting the implementation of interoperability solutions and frameworks for European public administrations, achieving synergies, promoting the re-use of solutions and translating their interoperability requirements into specifications and standards for digital services.

Decision No 922/2009/EC expires on 31 December 2015. A new Union programme on interoperability solutions and common frameworks for European public administrations, businesses and citizens (the ‘ISA² programme’) is therefore needed to develop, maintain and promote a holistic approach to interoperability in order to eliminate fragmentation in the interoperability landscape and avoid electronic barriers in the Union; to facilitate efficient and effective electronic cross-border or cross-sector interaction between European public administrations on the one hand, and between European public administrations and businesses and citizens on the other; to identify, create and operate interoperability solutions supporting the implementation of Union policies and activities; and to facilitate the re-use of interoperability solutions by European public administrations.

In addition to European public administrations, businesses and citizens are also end-users of interoperability solutions because they use electronic public services provided by public administrations. The principle of user-centricity applies, in particular, to the end-users of interoperability solutions. Business should be understood to include, in particular, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and microenterprises, given their valuable contribution to the Union economy.

Common frameworks and solutions established or operated under the ISA² programme should, as far as possible, form an interoperability landscape to facilitate interaction between European public administrations, businesses and citizens, and to ensure, facilitate and enable cross-border or cross-sector interoperability.

It should be possible to implement actions under the ISA² programme using an ‘iterative methodology’.

As an increasing number of public services become ‘digital by default’, it is important to maximise the efficiency of public spending on ICT solutions. Such efficiency should be facilitated by ensuring that the provision of such services is planned at an early stage and, where possible, by sharing and reusing solutions in order to maximise the value of public spending. The ISA² programme should make a contribution to that goal.

Interoperability and, consequently, the solutions established and operated under the ISA² programme are instrumental to exploiting the potential of e-government and e-democracy to the full, by enabling the implementation of ‘one-stop shops’ and the provision of end-to-end and transparent public services leading to fewer administrative burdens and lower costs.

As end-users, businesses and citizens should also benefit from common, re-usable and interoperable front-office services resulting from better integration of processes and exchange of data through the back offices of European public administrations.

In its activities, the Union should observe the principle of equal treatment. Citizens of the Union should have the right to equal treatment from the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. The Union should take into account requirements linked to the fight against social exclusion. In that regard, accessibility for all should be incorporated into the development of strategies relating to the interoperability of public services across the Union, taking into consideration the most disadvantaged citizens and the most sparsely populated areas in order to combat the digital divide and exclusion, as called for by the European Parliament in its resolution of 20 April 2012 on a competitive digital single market — eGovernment as a spearhead. The implementation of electronic public services by European public administrations requires an inclusive (e-inclusion) approach that, where necessary, will provide technical support and training in order to reduce disparities in the use of ICT solutions and will incorporate multi-channel delivery, including the maintenance of traditional means of access when appropriate.

The ISA² programme should be an instrument for the modernisation of European public administrations. Modernising European public administrations and increasing their interoperability is an important contribution to the completion of the digital single market to enable citizens to benefit fully from interoperable e-services, from e-government to e-health, prioritising the removal of obstacles such as unconnected e-services. Lack of interoperability often undermines the implementation of digital end-to-end services and the development of one-stop shops for businesses and citizens.

Interoperability is directly connected with, and dependent on the use of, open specifications and standards. The ISA² programme should promote and, where appropriate, support the partial or full standardisation of existing interoperability solutions. Such standardisation should be achieved in cooperation with other standardisation activities at Union level, European standardisation organisations and other international standardisation organisations.

By ensuring interoperability, European public administrations will remain open and flexible enough to evolve and be capable of incorporating new challenges and new areas. Interoperability is a condition for avoiding technological lock-in, enabling technical developments and fostering innovation. By developing interoperable solutions and common frameworks, the ISA² programme should contribute to interoperability between European public administrations, respecting technological neutrality, in order to avoid lock-in and enable increased competition and innovation, which will boost the global competitiveness of the Union.

The modernisation of European public administrations is one of the key priorities for successful implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Digital Single Market (DSM). In that context, the Annual Growth Surveys published by the Commission in 2011, 2012 and 2013 show that the quality of European public administrations has a direct impact on the economic environment and is therefore crucial to stimulating productivity, competitiveness, economic cooperation, growth and employment. This is clearly reflected in the country-specific recommendations, which call for specific action aimed at European public administration reform.

Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 includes a thematic objective of ‘enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders and an efficient public administration’. In that context, the ISA² programme should tie in with other initiatives contributing to the modernisation of European public administrations, in particular in relation to work on interoperability and seek synergies with them.

Interoperability of European public administrations concerns all levels of administration: Union, national, regional and local. It is therefore important to ensure the widest possible participation in the ISA² programme and that solutions take into account their respective needs, as well as those of businesses and citizens, where relevant.

National, regional and local administrations can be supported in their endeavours through specific instruments under the European Structural and Investment Funds, in particular the part concerning the institutional capacity building which includes training of the European public administrations staff where appropriate. Close cooperation under the ISA² programme should maximise the benefits expected from such instruments by ensuring that funded projects are aligned with the Union-wide interoperability frameworks and specifications such as the EIF.

Consideration should be given to the possibility of using pre-accession funds to facilitate candidate countries' participation in the ISA² programme and the adoption and further implementation in those countries of solutions provided thereunder.

The ISA² programme should contribute to the implementation of any follow-on initiatives in the context of Europe 2020 and the DAE. In order to avoid any duplication of effort, the ISA² programme should take account of other Union programmes and initiatives in the field of ICT solutions, services and infrastructures, in particular the CEF, Horizon 2020 and the European eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 established in the Commission's Communication of 15 December 2010. The Commission should coordinate those actions when implementing the ISA² programme and when planning future initiatives which would affect interoperability. For the purpose of rationalisation, the scheduling of the ISA² programme committee meetings should, as far as possible, take into account the meetings scheduled in relation to other relevant Union initiatives and programmes.

When evaluating the ISA² programme, the Commission should pay particular attention to whether the solutions created and implemented have a positive or a negative impact on modernising the public sector and facilitating the needs of businesses and citizens, for example by reducing their administrative burden and costs and by enhancing the overall interconnection between European public administrations on the one hand, and between European public administrations and businesses and citizens on the other.

The Commission should adopt immediately applicable implementing acts where, in duly justified cases relating to the established rolling work programme, such as a risk of interruption in the delivery of services, imperative grounds of urgency so require.

The objectives of this Decision are to develop, maintain and promote a holistic approach to interoperability; to facilitate efficient and effective electronic cross-border or cross-sector interaction between European public administrations on the one hand, and between European public administrations and businesses and citizens on the other; to identify, create and operate interoperability solutions supporting the implementation of Union policies and activities; and to facilitate the re-use of interoperability solutions by European public administrations. Since those objectives cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting alone because the coordination function at Union level would be difficult and costly to set up at the level of the Member States by Member States themselves but can rather, by reason of their scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives,