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.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
