The European Commission adopted the ISA (interoperability solutions for European public administrations) work programme, on 8 July, which allocates €26 million to actions in support of electronic cooperation among public administrations in EU member states. ISA is to help administrations exchange information and deliver better services to citizens and businesses.

The programme will support closer cooperation between administrations with a strong focus on interoperability and reuse, in order to help overcome electronic barriers between member states and avoid duplication of effort. Specific actions are planned to promote and facilitate the exchange of information between administrations, to agree on common frameworks and ICT architectures and to support services that enable faster development of cross-border public services via collaboration between public administrations. ISA is also set to assist Commission services and member states with the assessment of the ICT support needed to ensure the timely implementation of EU legislation.

Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, responsible for inter-institutional relations and administration, welcomed the adoption of the programme and stated that it “supports cross-border electronic cooperation between public administrations at national, regional and local level, leading to cost-effective delivery of public services, facilitating the implementation of EU legislation and supporting the single market”.

The ISA work programme was first established and endorsed unanimously by all member states represented in the ISA Committee meeting on 6 May. It is set to contribute to the goals set out in the Digital Agenda, which is part of the Commission’s ‘Europe 2020’ strategy.