3.12.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 326/13

(1)

The Europe 2020 strategy, as set out in the communication from the Commission entitled ‘Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’, sets out a vision of Europe’s social market economy for the 21st century enjoying the full economic and social benefits of a digital society.

(2)

One of the flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy, set out in the communication from the Commission entitled ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’ (1), gives a prominent role to achieving a single digital market by removing the regulatory and technical barriers which prevent citizens from reaping its full benefits.

(3)

Due to the close link between invoicing and payment processes, the creation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) offers a launch pad for interoperable European e-invoicing schemes. Those schemes can benefit to enterprises and financial service providers through improved efficiency and automation of supply chains.

(4)

Council Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax (2) requires Member States, as of 1 January 2013, to adhere to the principle of equal treatment between paper and e-invoices.

(5)

The communication (3) from the Commission entitled ‘Reaping the benefits of electronic invoicing for Europe’ proposes the establishment of a European multi-stakeholder forum to assist the Commission in coordinating actions at Member States level and identifying measures at Union level to facilitate the mass adoption of e-invoicing.

(6)

It is therefore necessary to set up a group of experts in the field of e-invoicing and to define its tasks and its structure.

(7)

The group’s main task will be to monitor the uptake of e-invoicing and to help to develop the e-invoicing market across the Member States. It should liaise with national multi-stakeholder fora and pay particular attention to cross border aspects of e-invoicing and the uptake of e-invoicing by small and medium-sized enterprises.

(8)

The European multi-stakeholder e-invoicing forum should be composed of members from national fora and representatives of European associations from the users’ community, the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party.

(9)

Rules on disclosure of information by members of the Forum should be provided for, without prejudice to the Commission’s rules on security as set out in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom (4).

(10)

Personal data should be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (5).

(11)

It is appropriate to fix a period for the application of this Decision. The Commission will in due time consider the advisability of an extension,

(a)

to assist the Commission in the monitoring of the development of the e-invoicing market and the e-invoicing adoption level in industry and services sectors across the Member States;

(b)

to bring about an exchange of experience and good practice that facilitates the emergence of interoperable e-invoicing solutions;

(c)

to point out problems encountered in particular as regards cross-border transactions and propose appropriate solutions;

(d)

to support and monitor work leading to the adoption of a e-invoice standard data model.

(a)

other legislative initiatives that should be taken at Union level to address remaining barriers for the uptake of e-invoicing;

(b)

business processes in the financial supply chain that could facilitate the roll-out of e-invoicing, in particular in the field of payments and the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA);

(c)

national and European actions supporting the adoption of e-invoicing, in particular by small and medium-sized enterprises.

(a)

two members per national multi-stakeholder forum;

(b)

six members of European associations representing consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporates;

(c)

one representative from each of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (6).

1.

the members referred to in Article 4(a) shall be appointed on the basis of the proposals by the Member States. These members are appointed as representing the national multi-stakeholder forum;

2.

the members referred to in Article 4(b) shall be appointed to represent the organisations mentioned in Article 4(b): the Commission Services will ensure balanced representation amongst these stakeholder groups;

3.

the representatives referred to in Article 4(c) shall be appointed on the basis of the respective proposals of CEN, the ECB and the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party.