Technical specifications and other requirements for the European electronic access point
The technical specifications for the European electronic access point, including the means used for the electronic identification of the user at the assurance level high as specified in Article 8(2), point (c), of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 ) and the retention period for storing information and documents, referred to in Article 10(1), point (g), of Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 shall be as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Technical specifications for the European electronic access point
ANNEXSupplementary provisions
ANNEX
Technical specifications for the European electronic access point
1. Introduction
This Annex sets out the technical specifications for the European electronic access point (EEAP), a portal which is accessible to natural and legal persons or their representatives, throughout the Union, and is connected to an interoperable access point in the context of the decentralised IT system established under Regulation (EU) 2023/2844.
2. Definitions
2.1.
‘Data exchange’ means the exchange of messages and documents through the decentralised IT system;
2.2.
‘Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure’ or ‘HTTPS’ means encrypted communication and secure connection channels;
2.3.
‘Electronic identification’ means electronic identification as defined in Article 3 paragraph 1 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;
2.4.
‘Authentication’ means authentication as defined in Article 3 paragraph 5 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;
2.5.
‘Electronic identification means’ means electronic identification means as defined in Article 3 paragraph 2 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;
2.6.
‘Electronic identification scheme’ means electronic identification scheme as defined in Article 3 paragraph 4 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;
2.7.
‘EU Login’ is the European Commission’s user authentication service that allows users to access a wide range of Commission web services, including the EEAP;
2.8.
‘REST’ (REpresentational State Transfer) means an architectural style for designing networked applications. It relies on a stateless, client-server communication model and uses standard methods to perform operations on resources, which are typically represented in structured formats;
2.9.
‘SOAP’ means, as per the standards of the World Wide Web Consortium, a messaging protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of web services in computer networks;
2.10.
‘web service’ means a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network; it has an interface described in a machine-processable format.
3. Methods of communication by electronic means
The EEAP shall use service-based methods of communication, such as Web-services for the purpose of data exchanges.
Specifically, EEAP as a portal shall be connected to an authorised e-CODEX access point as set out in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/850.
4. Communication protocols
The EEAP shall use secure internet protocols, such as HTTPS, for communication within the decentralised IT system, and standards-based communication protocols, such as SOAP or methods, such as REST, for the transmission of structured data and metadata.
5. Availability of services
5.1.
The service time frame shall be 24 hours, 7 days a week, with a technical availability rate of the EEAP of at least 98 % excluding scheduled maintenance.
5.2.
In case of unexpected failure of the EEAP, the Commission shall inform the Member States without delay of the unavailability, and if known, of the projected resuming of the service.
6. Connection to the Competent courts (authorities) database (CDB)
The EEAP shall be connected to the Competent courts (authorities) database (CDB) of competent authorities’ information, established for the purposes of the decentralised IT system.
7. Means used for the electronic identification of the user
7.1.
For the purpose of electronic identification and authentication, the EEAP shall allow users to electronically identify and authenticate themselves with an electronic identification means, including through the EU Digital Identity Wallet, issued at the assurance level high as specified in Article 8(2), point (c), of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.
7.2.
Authentication to the EEAP shall be carried out using EU Login, which is integrated with the electronic identification schemes notified by Member States.
8. Retention period for storing information and documents
8.1.
The Commission shall develop the EEAP in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and in accordance with the principle of data protection by design and by default. It shall implement the appropriate administrative, organisational, and technical measures to ensure a high level of cybersecurity.
8.2.
The data retention period for the messages and associated metadata in the EEAP shall be five years after the closure of the case.
8.3.
The retention period for draft documents which have not been sent that the user may store on the EEAP shall be the same for all legal acts in cross-border civil and commercial matters and shall not affect the national data retention policies. This retention period shall be three months from the last modification of the draft document.
9. Web accessibility requirements
The EEAP shall comply with the web accessibility requirements set out in Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ) .
( 1 ) Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies ( OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/2102/oj ).
