Commission welcomes adoption of the Regulation for a single digital gateway

In two years’ time citizens and businesses will be able to find all information, administrative procedures and assistance services linked to their Single Market rights on one single, easily accessible online portal: ‘Your Europe’.

The European Parliament and Council have today formally adopted the underlying Regulation that will establish this single digital gateway. Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs said: “Today, citizens and businesses, wishing to move, work or do business across Europe, face a jungle of confusing rules and endless paperwork. That costs much time and money four our citizens. In line with the promises laid out in the Digital Single Market Strategy, the single digital gateway this will change, making administration procedures easier, better and faster.” As of 2020, EU citizens and businesses will be guided, from the Your Europe portal, to all information they need on EU or national rules related to work, education, healthcare, business establishment, taxes or employment of staff. In addition, anyone looking for assistance will also be guided towards the most suitable service offer marked with a trustworthy gateway quality label. The Regulation will ensure that in five years’ time more than 20 of the most important procedures can be handled fully online, such as requests for a birth certificate, car registrations, income tax declarations or university enrolments. Citizens and companies will no longer be blocked because their phone numbers, postal codes or e-IDs are rejected, and they will get information in a language that they can understand. The ‘once-only’ principle reduces cross-border red tape, as citizens and businesses can ask for already submitted data or documents to be exchanged directly between authorities. The Regulation will now be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force 20 days after.