SECTION 1 — Quality requirements related to information on rights, obligations and rules, on procedures and on assistance and problem-solving services
Quality of information on rights, obligations and rules
1. Where Member States and the Commission are responsible in accordance with Article 4 for ensuring access to information referred to in point (a) of Article 2(2), they shall make sure that such information complies with the following requirements:
(a)
it is user-friendly, enabling users to easily find and understand the information and to easily identify which parts of the information are relevant to their particular situation;
(b)
it is accurate and sufficiently comprehensive to cover information that users need to know in order to exercise their rights in full compliance with applicable rules and obligations;
(c)
it includes references, links to legal acts, technical specifications and guidelines, where relevant;
(d)
it includes the name of the competent authority or entity responsible for the content of the information;
(e)
it includes the contact details of any relevant assistance or problem-solving services, such as a phone number, an email address, an online enquiry form or any other commonly used means of electronic communication that is most suitable for the type of service offered and for the target audience of that service;
(f)
it includes the date of the last update of the information, if any, or, where the information has not been updated, the date of publication of the information;
(g)
it is well-structured and presented, so that users can quickly find the information they need;
(h)
it is kept up-to-date; and
(i)
it is written in clear and plain language adapted to the needs of the target users.
2. Member States shall make the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.
Quality of information on procedures
1. The Member States and the Commission shall, for the purposes of complying with Article 4, ensure that, before users have to identify themselves prior to launching the procedure, they have access to a sufficiently comprehensive, clear and user-friendly explanation of the following elements, where applicable, of the procedures referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2):
(a)
the relevant steps of the procedure to be taken by the user, including any exception, under Article 6(3), to the obligation of Member States to offer the procedure fully online;
(b)
the name of the competent authority responsible for the procedure, including its contact details;
(c)
the accepted means of authentication, identification and signature for the procedure;
(d)
the type and format of evidence to be submitted;
(e)
the means of redress or appeal which are generally available in the event of disputes with the competent authorities;
(f)
the applicable fees and the online methods of payment;
(g)
any deadlines to be respected by the user or by the competent authority and where no deadlines exist, the average, estimated or indicative time that the competent authority needs to complete the procedure;
(h)
any rules concerning a lack of reply from the competent authority and the legal consequences thereof for the users, including tacit approval or administrative silence arrangements;
(i)
any additional languages in which the procedure can be carried out.
2. If no tacit approval, administrative silence or similar arrangements exist, competent authorities shall, where applicable, inform users of any delays and of any extension of deadlines or any consequences thereof.
3. Where the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 is already made available for non-crossborder users, it may be used or reused for the purposes of this Regulation, provided that it also covers the situation of cross-border users, where applicable.
4. Member States shall make the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.
Quality of information on assistance and problem-solving services
1. The Member States and the Commission shall, for the purposes of complying with Article 4, ensure that, before submitting a request for a service as referred to in point (c) of Article 2(2), users have access to a clear and user-friendly explanation of the following:
(a)
the type, purpose and expected results of the service offered;
(b)
the contact details of the entities responsible for the service such as a phone number, an email address, an online enquiry form or any other commonly used means of electronic communication that is most suitable for the type of service offered and for the target audience of that service;
(c)
where relevant, the applicable fees and the online methods of payment;
(d)
any applicable deadlines to be respected and where none exist, an average, or estimated time required to deliver the service;
(e)
any additional languages in which the request can be submitted and which can be used in subsequent contacts.
2. Member States shall make the explanation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article accessible in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12.
Translation of information
1. Where a Member State does not provide the information, explanations and instructions set out in Articles 9, 10 and 11, and in point (a) of Article 13(2), in an official language of the Union broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, that Member State shall request the Commission to provide translations into that language, within the limits of the available Union budget referred to in point (c) of Article 32(1).
2. Member States shall ensure the texts submitted for translation under paragraph 1 of this Article cover at least the basic information in all areas listed in Annex I and that, where sufficient Union budget is available, they cover any further information, explanations and instructions referred to in Articles 9, 10 and 11, and in point (a) of Article 13(2), taking the most important needs of cross-border users into account. Member States shall provide to the repository for links referred to in Article 19 the links to such translated information.
3. The language referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the official language of the Union that is most widely studied as a foreign language by users across the Union. By way of exception, where the information, explanations or instructions to be translated are expected to be of predominant interest for cross-border users originating from one other Member State, the language referred to in paragraph 1 may be the official language of the Union used as the first language by those cross-border users.
4. Where a Member State requests a translation into an official language of the Union that is not the language most widely studied as a foreign language by users across the Union, it shall provide reasons for its request. Where the Commission finds that the conditions referred to in paragraph 3 for the choice of such other language are not met, it may refuse the request and shall inform the Member State of the reasons thereof.
SECTION 2 — Requirements related to online procedures
Cross-border access to online procedures
1. Member States shall ensure that, where a procedure referred to in point (b) of Article 2(2) and established at national level can be accessed and completed online by non-cross-border users, it can also be accessed and completed online by cross-border users in a non-discriminatory way by means of the same or an alternative technical solution.
2. Member States shall ensure that, for the procedures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, at least the following requirements are met:
(a)
users are able to access the instructions for completing the procedure in an official language of the Union that is broadly understood by the largest possible number of cross-border users, in accordance with Article 12;
(b)
cross-border users are able to submit the required information, including where the structure of such information differs from similar information in the Member State concerned;
(c)
cross-border users are able to identify and authenticate themselves, sign or seal documents electronically, as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, in all cases where this is also possible for non-crossborder users;
(d)
cross-border users are able to provide evidence of compliance with applicable requirements and to receive the outcome of the procedures in electronic format in all cases where this is also possible for non-crossborder users;
(e)
where the completion of a procedure requires a payment, users are able to pay any fees online through widely available cross-border payment services, without discrimination based on the place of establishment of the payment service provider, the place of issue of the payment instrument or the location of the payment account within the Union.
3. Where the procedure does not require electronic identification or authentication, as referred to in point (c) of paragraph 2, and where competent authorities are allowed under applicable national law or administrative practices to accept digitalised copies of non-electronic evidence of identity, such as identity cards or passports, in respect of non-crossborder users, those authorities shall also accept such digitalised copies in respect of cross-border users.
Technical system for the cross-border automated exchange of evidence and application of the ‘once-only’ principle
1. For the purpose of the exchange of evidence for the online procedures listed in Annex II to this Regulation and the procedures provided for in Directives 2005/36/EC, 2006/123/EC, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU, a technical system for the automated exchange of evidence between competent authorities in different Member States (‘the technical system’) shall be established by the Commission in cooperation with the Member States.
2. Where competent authorities lawfully issue, in their own Member State and in an electronic format that allows automated exchange, evidence that is relevant for the online procedures referred to in paragraph 1, they shall also make such evidence available to requesting competent authorities from other Member States in an electronic format that allows automated exchange.
3. The technical system shall, in particular:
(a)
enable the processing of requests for evidence at the explicit request of the user;
(b)
enable the processing of requests for evidence to be accessed or exchanged;
(c)
allow the transmission of evidence between competent authorities;
(d)
allow the processing of the evidence by the requesting competent authority;
(e)
ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the evidence;
(f)
enable the possibility for the user to preview the evidence to be used by the requesting competent authority and to choose whether or not to proceed with the exchange of evidence;
(g)
ensure an adequate level of interoperability with other relevant systems;
(h)
ensure a high level of security for the transmission and processing of evidence;
(i)
not process evidence beyond what is technically necessary for the exchange of evidence, and then only for the duration necessary for that purpose.
4. The use of the technical system shall not be obligatory for users and shall only be permitted at their explicit request, unless otherwise provided under Union or national law. The users shall be permitted to submit evidence by means other than the technical system and directly to the requesting competent authority.
5. The possibility of previewing the evidence, referred to in point (f) of paragraph 3 of this Article shall not be required for procedures where the automated cross-border data exchange without such preview is allowed under applicable Union or national law. That possibility of previewing the evidence shall be without prejudice to the obligation to provide the information under Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
6. Member States shall integrate the fully operational technical system as part of the procedures referred to in paragraph 1.
7. The competent authorities responsible for the online procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall, upon an explicit, freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous request of the user concerned, request evidence directly from competent authorities issuing evidence in other Member States through the technical system. The issuing competent authorities referred to in paragraph 2 shall, in accordance with point (e) of paragraph 3, make such evidence available through the same system.
8. The evidence made available to the requesting competent authority shall be limited to what has been requested and shall only be used by that authority for the purpose of the procedure for which the evidence was exchanged. The evidence exchanged through the technical system shall, for the purposes of the requesting competent authority, be deemed to be authentic.
9. By 12 June 2021, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts to set out the technical and operational specifications of the technical system necessary for the implementation of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
10. Paragraphs 1 to 8 shall not apply to procedures established at Union level which provide for different mechanisms for the exchange of evidence, unless the technical system necessary for the implementation of this Article is integrated into those procedures in accordance with the rules of the Union acts that establish those procedures.
11. The Commission and each of the Member States shall be responsible for the development, availability, maintenance, supervision, monitoring and security management of their respective parts of the technical system.
Verification of evidence between Member States
Where the technical system, or other systems for the exchange or verification of evidence between Member States are not available or are not applicable, or where the user does not request the use of the technical system, competent authorities shall cooperate through the Internal Market Information System (IMI) where this is necessary in order to verify the authenticity of evidence that was submitted to one of them in an electronic format by the user for the purpose of an online procedure.
SECTION 3 — Quality requirements related to assistance and problem-solving services
Quality requirements related to assistance and problem-solving services
The competent authorities and the Commission shall, within their respective competences, ensure that the assistance and problem-solving services listed in Annex III and those that have been included in the gateway in accordance with Article 7(2), (3) and (4) comply with the following quality requirements:
(a)
they are provided within a reasonable timeframe taking into account the complexity of the request;
(b)
when deadlines are extended, users are informed in advance of the reasons thereof and of the new deadline given;
(c)
where the provision of a service requires a payment, users are able to pay any fees online through widely available cross-border payment services without discrimination based on the place of establishment of the payment service provider, the place of issue of the payment instrument or the location of the payment account within the Union.
SECTION 4 — Quality monitoring
Quality monitoring
1. The national coordinators referred to in Article 28 and the Commission shall, within their respective competences, regularly monitor the compliance of the information, procedures and assistance and problem-solving services available through the gateway with the quality requirements laid down in Articles 8 to 13 and 16. The monitoring shall be carried out on the basis of the data gathered in accordance with Articles 24 and 25.
2. In the event of a deterioration in the quality of the information, of the procedures and of the assistance or problem-solving services referred to in paragraph 1 provided by the competent authorities, the Commission shall, taking into account the seriousness and persistence of the deterioration, take one or more of the following measures:
(a)
inform the relevant national coordinator and ask for remedial action;
(b)
submit for discussion in the gateway coordination group recommended actions to improve compliance with the quality requirements;
(c)
send a letter with recommendations to the Member State concerned;
(d)
temporarily disconnect the information, the procedure, or the assistance or problem-solving service from the gateway.
3. Where an assistance or problem-solving service to which links are provided in accordance with Article 7(3) consistently does not comply with requirements laid down in Articles 11 and 16, or no longer meets the needs of the users as indicated by the data gathered in accordance with Articles 24 and 25, the Commission may, after consultation with the relevant national coordinator and, where necessary, with the gateway coordination group, disconnect it from the gateway.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
