Data interchange network paves way for an enlarged Europe

Brussels, 25 June 2002

Administrations in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia will be able to exchange data with EU Member States' back offices on how to supply e-government services, apply EU law and enforce single market rules following a European Commission decision on 20 June.

The decision opens the way for them to participate in DG Enterprise's Interchange of data between administrations (IDA) project, whose 23.6 million euro work programme was approved by the Commission on 4 June. IDA participation rules will be set out in a memorandum of understanding to be signed by the countries in the near future.

The Commission says that stepping up data exchange will accelerate candidate countries' take-up of the EU's 'acquis communautaire' legislation before they formally join the Union, helping to safeguard security, freedom and justice in an enlarged Europe.

Similar memoranda are also expected to be signed with Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania and Turkey once 'remaining national constitutional and procedural difficulties with the memoranda texts have been ironed out,' the Commission says. Malta and Slovakia are expected to follow in a matter of months.

Following candidate countries' accession to the IDA programme in 2002, a challenge for 2003 will be the efficient networking of administrations in an enlarged Europe. To prepare the ground for this, candidate countries are already involved as observers in a number of IDA working groups of national experts in areas such as network security and e-government portals. Information days and other events have also been organised.

For further information, please consult the following web address: http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ida/jsps/inde x.jsp?fuseAction=home

CORDIS RTD-NEWS/© European Communities, 2001