COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

Publication of the total number of allowances in circulation in 2022 for the purposes of the Market Stability Reserve under the EU Emissions Trading System established by Directive 2003/87/EC

(2023/C 172/01)

1.   INTRODUCTION

In 2015, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) adopted Decision (EU) 2015/1814 (1) to create a Market Stability Reserve under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) established by Directive 2003/87/EC (2). The purpose of the Market Stability Reserve is to avoid the EU carbon market operating with a large structural surplus of allowances and the associated risk that this prevents the EU ETS from delivering an investment signal needed to achieve the EU's emission reduction target cost-efficiently. The purpose of the Reserve is also to make the EU ETS more resilient to supply-demand imbalances, thus enabling the EU carbon market to function smoothly. The Market Stability Reserve began operating in January 2019.

Under Article 1(4) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814, the Commission publishes the total number of allowances in circulation every year for the purposes of the Market Stability Reserve, by 15 May the subsequent year. This figure determines whether allowances are withdrawn from the auction volume and placed in the Reserve or released from the Reserve and auctioned. Publishing the total number of allowances in circulation is therefore an important feature of the operation of the Market Stability Reserve and the EU ETS.

On 13 May 2022, the Commission published the total number of allowances in circulation in 2021, which amounted to 1 449 214 182 (3). Accordingly, 347 811 404 allowances were to be placed in the Market Stability Reserve from 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023.

This Communication is the seventh publication of the total number of allowances in circulation for the purposes of the Market Stability Reserve and concerns the year 2022. It details the underlying calculation and the number of allowances that will be placed in the Reserve from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024. It also indicates the number of allowances in the Reserve that became invalid on 1 January 2023.

2.   FUNCTIONING OF THE MARKET STABILITY RESERVE

The Market Stability Reserve functions automatically when the total number of allowances in circulation is outside of the set range. Allowances are withdrawn from the auction volume and placed in the Reserve if the total number of allowances in circulation exceeds the threshold of 833 million. The intake rate of the Reserve is set at 24 % of the total number of allowances in circulation. If the total number of allowances in circulation is less than the threshold of 400 million, 100 million allowances are released from the Reserve and auctioned. Allowances are either placed in or released from the Reserve over the course of 12 months (4).

Under Article 1(5) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814 and on the basis of this Communication, 24 % of the total number of allowances in circulation on 31 December 2022 will be placed in the Reserve over a period of 12 months, starting on 1 September 2023. A corresponding number of allowances will be deducted from the auction volumes of EU Member States and the three EEA-EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), and of the United Kingdom in respect of the generation of electricity in Northern Ireland, in line with their respective auction shares.

Under Article 1(5) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814, until 31 December 2025, allowances distributed for the purposes of solidarity and growth in the EU ETS (5) are not included in the calculation of the relevant shares for the purposes of the Market Stability Reserve.

Under Article 1(5a) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814, from 2023 onwards, any allowances held in the Market Stability Reserve above the previous year's auction volume are no longer valid. This Communication is thus the first publication of the total number of allowances in circulation that details how many allowances became invalid.

The next year’s Communication on the total number of allowances in circulation will take into account two important developments. Firstly, the amendments of Decision (EU) 2015/1814 as part of the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package to deliver the European Green Deal, which will apply from 2024. Secondly, Regulation (EU) 2023/435 (6) adopted in February 2023. Under the title REPowerEU, this Regulation constitutes part of the EU’s response to the energy crisis. Among other measures, it amends Directive 2003/87/EC to derogate from Article 1(5a) of Decision 2015/1814 by using 27 million unallocated allowances in the Market Stability Reserve for the Innovation Fund, from the total quantity that would otherwise be invalidated over the period until 31 December 2030.

3.   TOTAL NUMBER OF ALLOWANCES IN CIRCULATION

Under Article 1(4) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814, the total number of allowances in circulation ‘shall be the cumulative number of allowances issued in the period since 1 January 2008, including the number issued pursuant to Article 13(2) of Directive 2003/87/EC and international credits exercised by installations under the EU ETS in respect of emissions up to 31 December of that given year, minus the cumulative tonnes of verified emissions from installations under the EU ETS between 1 January 2008 and 31 December of that same given year, any allowances cancelled pursuant to Article 12(4) of Directive 2003/87/EC and the number of allowances in the Market Stability Reserve.’

In short, the total number of allowances in circulation (TNAC) relevant for the operation of the Market Stability Reserve is calculated using the formula:

TNAC = Supply – (Demand + Allowances in the Market Stability Reserve)

The three elements are described in detail in this Communication. An overview of all figures is presented in the table at the end of the document.

Under Article 10(1) of Directive 2003/87/EC, the Market Stability Reserve covers allowances for stationary installations. Allowances issued in respect of aviation and verified aviation emissions are therefore not included in the context of this year’s publication.

Supply

Supply of allowances on the EU carbon market consists of the following elements:

—	Allowances banked (7) from phase 2 of the EU ETS (2008-12). This volume amounted to 1 749 540 826 allowances (8).

—	Allowances allocated for free for the period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022, including the allowances allocated from the New Entrants Reserve (NER). This volume amounts to 7 683 593 499 allowances (9).

—

Allowances not allocated to installations under Articles 10a(7), 10a(19) and 10a(20) of Directive 2003/87/EC that were placed in the Market Stability Reserve in 2020 under Article 1(3) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814. The number of allowances not allocated under Article 10a(7) was 301 801 477 and the number of allowances not allocated under Articles 10a(19) and 10a(20) was 585 004 978 - in total, 886 806 455 allowances. From this volume, the following volumes of allowances must be deducted: — 50 000 000 allowances auctioned in 2020 for the Innovation Fund under Article 10a(8) of Directive 2003/87/EC, — 200 000 000 allowances transferred from the Market Stability Reserve to the NER for phase 4 of the EU ETS (2021-30) under Article 10a(7) of Directive 2003/87/EC.

—

Allowances issued for auctioning from 1 January 2013 (10) to 31 December 2022, and allowances used for flexibility purposes in 2021-22 under Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2018/842 (11). According to auction reports on the common auction platform and the relevant opt-out platforms (12), the volume of allowances auctioned, including ‘early auctions’, was 7 073 594 500.

—	To this volume, 14 427 576 allowances must be added under the ‘Effort Sharing Regulation flexibility’ as set out in Article 6(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/842 (13).

—

Allowances deducted from auction volumes in 2014-16, and allowances deducted from auction volumes since 2019 in line with the Communications on the total number of allowances in circulation of the last years (14). Under Article 1(2) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814, 900 000 000 allowances were deducted from auction volumes in 2014-16. In line with the 2018-2022 Communications on the total number of allowances in circulation, 1 464 416 332 allowances were deducted from auction volumes from 2019 to 2022.

—	Allowances monetised for the NER300 programme. A total of 300 000 000 allowances were monetised by the European Investment Bank (15).

—	International credits exercised in respect of emissions up to 31 December 2020 (16). Installations used 497 248 017 international credits in respect of their emissions (17).

Demand

Demand for allowances on the EU carbon market comprises the total verified emissions from installations from 1 January 2013 (18) to 31 December 2022, which amount to 16 182 965 083 tonnes (19), and 644 597 allowances cancelled during this period under Article 12(4) of Directive 2003/87/EC.

Holdings of the Market Stability Reserve

Under Article 1(2) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814, 900 000 000 allowances, deducted from auction volumes in 2014-16, were placed in the Reserve on 1 January 2019.

In line with the Communications on the total number of allowances in circulation of the last years, the following volumes of allowances were placed in the Reserve:

—	1 095 875 607 allowances from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021 (20),

—	252 603 587 allowances from 1 January to 31 August 2022 (21), (22),

—	115 937 138 allowances from 1 September to 31 December 2022 (23).

Under Article 1(3) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814, a total of 886 806 455 unallocated allowances from phase 3 of the EU ETS (2013-20) were added to the Reserve at the end of 2020.

Under Article 10a(8) of Directive 2003/87/EC, the holdings of the Reserve had been reduced by 50 000 000 allowances that were auctioned in 2020 for the Innovation Fund.

Under Article 10a(7) of Directive 2003/87/EC, the holdings of the Reserve had been reduced by 200 000 000 allowances that were placed in the NER in 2021 for phase 4 of the EU ETS (2021-30).

On 31 December 2022, there were therefore 3 001 222 787 allowances in the Market Stability Reserve.

On 1 January 2023, 2 515 135 787 of these allowances became invalid under Article 1(5a) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814. The remaining holdings of the Reserve amount to 486 087 000 allowances – the volume of allowances auctioned in 2022.

Total number of allowances in circulation

Based on the above, the total number of allowances in circulation in 2022 amounts to 1 134 794 738 allowances.

4.   CONCLUSION

In line with Decision (EU) 2015/1814, a total of 272 350 737 allowances will be placed in the Market Stability Reserve over a 12-month period from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024.

The next year’s publication of the total number of allowances in circulation for the purposes of the Market Stability Reserve will determine the Reserve’s operation from September 2024 until August 2025.

OVERVIEW

Supply
a) Allowances banked from phase 2 (2008-12)	1 749 540 826
b) Allowances allocated for free for the period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022, including from the NER	7 683 593 499
c) Allowances not allocated under Articles 10a(7), 10a(19) and 10a(20) of Directive 2003/87/EC in phase 3 (2013-20)	886 806 455
d) Allowances deducted from c) and auctioned for the Innovation Fund	-50 000 000
e) Allowances deducted from c) and placed in the NER	- 200 000 000
f) Allowances auctioned from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022, including early auctions	7 073 594 500
g) Allowances used for flexibility purposes in 2021-22	14 427 576
h) Allowances deducted from auction volumes in 2014-16	900 000 000
i) Allowances deducted from auction volumes in 2019-2022 in line with the Communications on the total number of allowances in circulation	1 464 416 332
j) Allowances monetised for the NER300 programme	300 000 000
k) International credits used in respect of emissions up to 31 December 2020	497 248 017
Sum (supply)	20 319 627 205
Demand
(a) Tonnes of verified emissions from stationary installations under the EU ETS from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022	16 182 965 083
(b) Allowances cancelled under Article 12(4) of Directive 2003/87/EC up to 31 December 2022	644 597
Sum (demand)	16 183 609 680
Holdings of the Market Stability Reserve
Allowances in the Market Stability Reserve on 31 December 2022	3 001 222 787
Total number of allowances in circulation	1 134 794 738

Allowances that became invalid on 1 January 2023

2 515 135 787

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(1)  Decision (EU) 2015/1814 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2015 concerning the establishment and operation of a market stability reserve for the Union greenhouse gas emission trading scheme and amending Directive 2003/87/EC (OJ L 264, 9.10.2015, p. 1).

(2)  Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).

(3)  C(2022) 2780 - Communication from the Commission - Publication of the total number of allowances in circulation in 2021 for the purposes of the Market Stability Reserve under the EU Emissions Trading System established by Directive 2003/87/EC and of the number of unallocated allowances during the period 2013-2020 2022/C 195/02 (OJ C 195, 13.5.2022, p. 2). Corrigendum to the Communication – C(2022) 4874.

(4)  Corresponding to the intake rate of 2 % per month.

(5)  Under Article 10(2), point b of Directive 2003/87/EC.

(6)  Regulation (EU) 2023/435 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 February 2023 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/241 as regards REPowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans and amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) 2021/1060 and (EU) 2021/1755, and Directive 2003/87/EC (OJ L 63, 28.2.2023, p. 1).

(7)  Allowances issued during phase 2 of the EU ETS (2008-12), which were not surrendered to cover verified emissions or cancelled were ‘banked’ for use at the beginning of phase 3 of the EU ETS (2013-20). These allowances were deleted and simultaneously an equal number of allowances was created in phase 3. Thus, this number represents the exact number of ETS allowances in circulation at the start of phase 3 of the EU ETS.

(8)  COM(2015) 576 - Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - Climate action progress report, including the report on the functioning of the European carbon market and the report on the review of Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide.

(9)  Based on an extract of the EU Transaction Log (EUTL) on 1 April 2023.

(10)  This figure includes ‘early auctions’ i.e., allowances valid for phase 3 of the EU ETS (2013-20), which had been auctioned before 1 January 2013.

(11)  Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 contributing to climate action to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 26).

(12)  Auction reports: European Energy Exchange (EEX) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

(13)  Regulation (EU) 2018/842, Effort Sharing Regulation, creates a one-off flexibility, whereby Member States can have up to a maximum of 100 million EU ETS allowances collectively cancelled in 2021-30 for compliance with their respective greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under this Regulation. The flexibility concerns Member States with the targets significantly above both the Union average and their cost-effective reduction potential as well as Member States that did not allocate any EU ETS allowances for free to industrial installations in 2013. A cancellation is made from the auctioning volume of the Member State concerned under Article 10 of Directive 2003/87/EC. Cancelled allowances are considered as EU ETS allowances in circulation when determining the total number of allowances in circulation for the purposes of the Market Stability Reserve in a given year.

(14)  Communications from the Commission - Publications of the total number of allowances in circulation for the purposes of the Market Stability Reserve under the EU Emissions Trading System established by Directive 2003/87/EC: C(2018) 2801 of 16 May 2018 (OJ C 169, 16.5.2018, p. 3), C/2019/3288 of 16 May 2019 (OJ C 167, 16.5.2019, p. 5), C/2020/2835 of 13 May 2020 (OJ C 164, 13.5.2020, p. 17), C/2021/3266 of 17 May 2021 (OJ C 187, 17.5.2021, p. 3) and C/2022/2780 of 13 May 2022 (OJ C 195, 13.5.2022, p. 2).

(15)  The first instalment of 200 million allowances – sold in 2011 and 2012, and the second instalment of 100 million allowances – sold in 2013 and 2014.

(16)  International credits cannot be used for compliance in phase 4 of the EU ETS (2021-30).

(17)  Based on an extract of the EUTL on 1 April 2023.

(18)  With respect to the verified emissions in the period 2008-12 (phase 2), see footnote 8.

(19)  The total verified emissions are based on the data extract from the EUTL on 1 April 2023. It takes into account verified emissions reported by 31 March 2023 – the reporting deadline in the EU ETS. Emissions reported after this date are not reflected in the total.

(20)  C/2018/2801, C/2019/3288, C/2020/2835, C/2021/3266 - as previously mentioned.

(21)  C/2021/3266 - as previously mentioned. As concluded in point 4 of this Communication, 378 905 382 allowances would be placed in the Market Stability Reserve in the period from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022. The volume corresponding to the period from 1 January to 31 August 2022 was 252 603 587.

(22)  C(2020) 8643 - Notice on the Union-wide quantity of allowances for 2021 and the Market Stability Reserve under the EU Emissions Trading System.

(23)  C/2022/2780 - as previously mentioned. As concluded in point 5 of this Communication, 347 811 404 allowances would be placed in the Market Stability Reserve in the period from 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023. The volume corresponding to the period from 1 September to 31 December 2022 was 115 937 138.

COMMISSION NOTICE

Guidelines for the implementation of the single digital gateway Regulation 2023-2024 work programme

(2023/C 172/02)

Introduction

Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 establishing a single digital gateway aims at facilitating online access to the information, administrative procedures and assistance services that citizens and businesses need to move within the Union and to trade, establish themselves and expand their businesses in another Member State.

Article 31(1) of the Regulation foresees the adoption of an annual work programme that shall specify actions to facilitate the implementation of the Regulation. A first work programme covering the period from July 2019 to December 2020 was published on 31 July 2019 in the Official Journal (OJ C 257, 31.7.2019, p. 1). A second work programme covering the period from January 2021 to December 2022 was published on 1 March 2021 in the Official Journal (OJ C 71, 1.3.2021, p. 47).

The Single Digital Gateway (SDG), known and promoted under its brand name ‘Your Europe’ is a major contribution to the digital transition (in line with the objectives of the EU Digital Decade), a critical tool for the Single Market and a priority of the Commission as it contributes to the competitiveness of the EU and its businesses, especially SMEs (1).

It also contributes decisively to three objectives: (i) reduce any additional administrative burden on citizens and businesses that exercise or want to exercise their internal market rights; (ii) eliminate discrimination and (iii) ensure the functioning of the internal market with regard to the provision of information, of procedures and of problem-solving services. The COVID crisis has highlighted even more the need for more-digitalised and user-friendly public administrations.

This third work programme sets out the timing of further actions aimed at implementing the SDG requirements with legal deadlines in 2023 and 2024 and at maintaining and improving those SDG services already launched. In view of the convergence of several actions relating to the December 2023 deadline, this third work programme covers the period from January 2023 until December 2024. Actions will focus on:

—	preparations for meeting the 2023 deadline regarding the digitalisation and cross-border accessibility of procedures and the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS);

—	securing after-launch support mechanisms for the successful implementation of the OOTS;

—	Promotion of the SDG and OOTS, including promoting the (re)use of OOTS and its building blocks in the context of the EU Data Strategy;

—	monitoring and quality enhancement of the SDG.

On 13 October 2022, this work programme was discussed with the gateway coordination group, as set out by Article 31(2) of the Regulation. Implementation of the work programme will be monitored and reviewed annually both via the gateway coordination group online collaboration platform and during meetings of the gateway coordination group.

National coordinators are invited to produce a national work programme assessing progress made and outlining actions to address the remaining gaps. They are invited to review their national work programme once a year and to share it with the Commission and the coordination group.

For the purposes of this Commission notice, the following definitions apply:

—	‘competent authority’ means any Member State authority or body established at national, regional or local level with specific responsibilities relating to the information, procedures, assistance and problem-solving services covered by the SDG Regulation (SDGR);

—	‘national coordinators’ are the representatives appointed by Member States as foreseen by Article 28 of the SDGR.

1.   Information and service quality

Objective 1.1: Ensuring completeness and quality of information

Reference: Articles 4 and 5 of the Regulation on access to information, Article 9 on quality of information on rights, obligations and rules, Article 10 on quality of information on procedures and Article 12 on translation

Background

The SDG must provide citizens and businesses with information that is comprehensive enough to allow them to exercise their rights derived from Union and national law in full compliance with applicable rules and obligations.

The Regulation provides in Annex I a list of areas in which the Commission and Member States had to ensure that all information relevant for citizens and businesses was provided online by 12 December 2020. Municipalities had until 12 December 2022 to meet this obligation. EU-wide rights and obligations are explained on Your Europe itself. Information on national implementation and rules provided by Member State authorities for some of the topics identified in Annex I has been gradually removed from Your Europe and replaced by (i) links to pages on national websites notified by Member States and (ii) the Your Europe search facility.

The Commission also offers translation services to Member States to fulfil their obligations under Article 12 of the Regulation.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
1.1.1	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Check completeness, translation and quality and address problems of: — Information covered by Annex I and Annex II. — Information provided at municipal level. — Notification of webpages to EC. When ensuring completeness and quality of information, Member States should also take into account EU policy priorities.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
1.1.2	Q2 of every year	Review of Commission guidance on implementation of Annex I.	Commission National coordinators
1.1.3	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Improvement of the Your Europe portal to be more user friendly.	Commission National coordinators
1.1.4	Q4 2024	Investigate the aggregation and publication of information on product requirements and taxation (including necessary IT developments).	Commission National coordinators
1.1.5	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Translation of the information to fulfil the obligations under Article 12 of the Regulation.	Commission National coordinators
1.1.6	End of Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 of every year	Your Europe use report (users, Member States, accessed information and procedures).	Commission
1.1.7	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Build bridges between the SDGR and new legislative initiatives by including the information governed by new proposals in the scope of Annex I (for example, information on citizens’ rights under the European Health Data Space and information on freight transport rules).	Commission

Objective 1.2: Avoiding duplication

Reference: Recitals 17 and 55, Articles 19.6 and 30 of the Regulation

Background

The Regulation calls on Member States and the Commission to provide single sources for each information item required for the SDG, and to avoid partial or full duplication whenever possible. This is to avoid confusion among users confronted with different portals containing similar – but not completely identical – information on the same topic. Aiming for single information sources also makes updates easier and reduces the risk of presenting contradictory information.

Only information exclusively targeting citizens and businesses and explaining their applicable rights and obligations is eligible for the SDG. It should not be mixed with other content, such as information on policy in the making, which is aimed at audiences such as experts and civil servants.

The Commission is applying this principle to its own web presence and is working to integrate and host all EU-level information informing citizens and businesses about their Single Market rights and obligations on Your Europe. This is a long-term, complex exercise. The only exceptions will be the cases where separate EU law mandates the creation of a particular website. Content describing policies and processes, on the other hand, is to be hosted on the Commission’s corporate website and the individual websites of the responsible Directorates-General.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
1.2.1	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Improve information at EU-level: — Integrate all EU-level information on Your Europe. — Develop an integrated approach between Your Europe and other EU portals to ensure smooth navigation and to avoid duplication. — Make a clear separation between information on applicable rules, presented on Your Europe, and information on policy, covered on the Commission’s corporate website and DG websites.	Commission
1.2.2	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Work to reduce and avoid duplication: — Update measures to reduce and avoid duplication. — Monitor the integrated approach at national level to avoid duplication of information between various national portals. — Monitor duplications across Commission and Member State websites and investigate possible solutions for a better distribution of content. — Exchange best practices.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities

2.   IT development, digitalisation of procedures, data collection

Objective 2.1: Digitalising procedures

Reference: Article 6 of the Regulation on procedures to be offered fully online.

Background

The SDG must offer users easy access to national administrative procedures. For this purpose, the Regulation requires all Member States to ensure that users can access and complete any of the procedures listed in Annex II fully online. This means that the user should be able to take all steps electronically, from any EU country, region and territory and regardless of whether users experience any sort of difficulty or disability, and through an online service. The Regulation also provides a non-exhaustive list of specific criteria that need to be met.

In 2022, the Commission updated an explanatory note issued in 2020 on Annex II procedures.

The ultimate deadline for digitalising procedures is December 2023. Nevertheless, Member States should already intensify their work on this project and look for opportunities to implement the requirements well before the deadline as part of their ongoing e-government programmes, as some began to do already since the beginning of the Covid crisis.

EU programmes will help Member States achieve this goal, for instance Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, Cohesion policy programmes 2021-2027, and the Technical Support Instrument (2) (TSI) Programme. Competent authorities are invited to contact their national coordinators responsible for the financial programmes in their Member State.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
2.1.1	Q2 2023	Address gaps and share information on progress and best practices towards the digitalisation of Annex II procedures.	Competent authorities National coordinators
2.1.2	Q2 of every year	Review of explanatory paper on implementation of Annex II and all its amendments.	Commission National coordinators
2.1.3	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Activities to increase awareness of existing funding programmes.	Commission National coordinators
2.1.4	Q1-Q4 2023	Repository of procedures requiring physical presence (6.4).	Commission National coordinators
2.1.5	Q4 2023	All Annex II procedures to be fully online.	National coordinators Competent authorities
2.1.6	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Build bridges between the SDGR and new legislative initiatives by bringing the administrative procedures governed by new proposals within the scope of Annex II.	Commission

Objective 2.2: Ensuring access of cross-border users to online procedures

Reference: Article 13 of the Regulation on cross-border access to online procedures.

Background:

Under the Regulation, procedures that are already online must also be fully accessible for cross-border users. That means that if a procedure is available for a national of a specific Member State, it must also be accessible, in all its steps, to users from other Member States and to users from the same Member State living in another Member State or who have previously lived, worked, studied or done business in another Member State.

Member States may use alternative technical solutions for cross-border users where necessary, but in those situations, extra care should be taken to ensure that the procedure leads to the same outcome and is not more burdensome than the procedure offered to users present in their Member States of origin.

While the Interoperable Europe Act may not yet be in force by this deadline, in view of the large investments, Member States may wish to carry out so-called interoperability assessments, to evaluate the impact of changes in their IT systems on cross-border interoperability in the EU. Also, the Commission encourages Member States to follow the European Interoperability Framework’s principles and recommendations in order to ensure no barriers are created for cross-border digital public services.

Special attention should be paid to obstacles for cross-border users, such as form fields that require national phone numbers, national prefixes for phone numbers or national postal codes, payment of fees that can only be done through systems that are not (widely) available for cross-border users, the lack of detailed explanations in a language understood by cross-border users, the lack of options for submitting electronic evidence from authorities located in another Member State and the lack of acceptance of electronic means of identification issued in other Member States.

In certain areas (e.g., Services Directive, Professional Qualifications Directive, Public Procurement Directives), non-discriminatory access to procedures for cross-border users is already a legal requirement, in addition to the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

In 2020, the Commission provided an explanatory note on cross-border accessibility of procedures.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
2.2.1	Q2 2023	Address remaining barriers (including translation with support Commission Translation Service) and share information on progress towards full cross-border accessibility of online procedures.	National coordinators Competent authorities
2.2.2	Q4 2023	Online procedures accessible for cross-border users in a non-discriminatory way.	National coordinators Competent authorities

Objective 2.3: Contributing to the development of the EU level IT tools and ensuring interoperability between EC and national IT tools

Reference: Article 21 of the Regulation on responsibilities for the ICT applications supporting the gateway

Background

As set out by the Regulation, the functioning of the SDG is made possible by technical tools that include: a search facility and a common ‘assistance finder’ guiding end-users towards information, procedures and assistance services; a user feedback tool on quality of services; a user feedback tool on obstacles in the Single Market; a tool to collect statistics of use; and a dashboard as the interface for public authorities and the Commission.

In July 2020, the Commission adopted an implementing act on user feedback and statistics (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1121) and ensured availability of all the related tools by the end of 2020. National authorities had to ensure compliance with the implementing act, provide information necessary for the functioning of the tools and link to some of them from their national websites. Guidelines, technical documentation and support were provided for the integration of national services with the SDG platform.

The implementing act and guidelines should be reviewed in the light of the requirement to have fully digital procedures put online across EU by the end of 2023.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
2.3.1	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Amend SDG implementing regulation on the collection and sharing of user statistics and feedback to improve it and cover statistics relating to online procedures.	Commission
2.3.2	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Monitor: 1. The collection of feedback and statistics of all services. 2. The addition, on national pages that are part of the gateway, of links to: — The common user feedback tool on pages which do not have a national feedback tool. — The assistance service finder. — The Single Market Obstacle (SMO) tool.	Commission National coordinators
2.3.3	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	— Maintain and further develop the SDG common IT tools with a focus on task automation and developing the remaining legal requirements including the update and further development of the SMO tool. — Maintain and further improve the links repository in order to allow Member States to notify the necessary data and, whenever possible, to automate the process. — Maintain and further develop the search facility to facilitate business and citizens access to EU and national information. — Maintain and further develop the Your Europe content management system to ensure it will be able to realise the SDG project’s potential.	Commission
2.3.4	Q1-Q4 2023	Development of common IT tools to support digitalisation of procedures including the tools related to the amendment of the SDG Implementing regulation on collection and sharing of user statistics and the common repository of procedural steps that require physical presence (Article 6.4).	Commission National coordinators
2.3.5	Q1-Q4 2023	Implement workflow in IMI for administrative cooperation (Article 15).	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities

Objective 2.4: Once-only

Reference: Article 14 of the Regulation

Background

The Commission will, in cooperation with Member States, establish a technical system for exchanging evidence for the online procedures listed in Annex II to the Regulation and for the procedures provided for in the Services Directive (3), the Professional Qualifications Directive (4) and two public procurements Directives (2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU).

The Regulation requires the Commission to review the application of the Regulation by 12 December 2022 and once every two years thereafter. It requires the Commission to evaluate, in particular, the scope of Article 14, taking into account technological, market and legal developments concerning the exchange of evidence between competent authorities.

In 2019 and 2021, the Commission developed an architecture for the system, and worked with Member States through several work packages on technical and operational solutions to ensure interoperability between the envisaged common parts of the system and the national elements. The Commission also conducted studies and pilots to support this work.

In 2022, the Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation C(2022) 5628 for setting out the technical and operational specifications of the technical system necessary for the cross-border automated exchange of evidence and application of the ‘once-only’ principle (the so-called Once-Only Technical System, or ‘OOTS’). It was discussed with Member States across several committee meetings under the examination procedure (5). The Commission also published detailed Technical Design Documents to further support Member States in the implementation of the OOTS. In addition, the Commission launched working groups (sub-groups to the SDG coordination group and OOTS and EUDI Wallet Synergies and Interoperability Contact Group) to work together in close cooperation with Member States on dedicated topics helping to prepare for the launch of the Once-Only Technical System by December 2023 across EU.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
2.4.1	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	OOTS Development: Develop and deploy the first production version of the OOTS, OOTS Common Services and ensure onboarding of procedures which determines: — The data to be entered by Member States in the Common Services: evidence mapping and data services, — The procedure portals and authentic sources to be on boarded. Develop and adapt the national side of the technical system including the necessary operational arrangements. Produce operation, raising awareness and training material for system users. Review of the deliverables produced by the working groups (sub-groups to the SDG coordination group and EUDI Wallet Synergies and Interoperability Contact Group). Use WIKI and OOTSHUB collaborative spaces to share all the project and development progress and details.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
2.4.2	Q1-Q4 2024	OOTS Production: Operate the Common Services in production and consider a possible migration of the OOTS Common Services to a European Cloud provider. Invest in the further development of the OOTS Common Services (including synergies with Your Europe). Continue the OOTS testing services and organise at least four large testing events (Projectathons). Provide support services to the onboarding of the eGov Portals and Authentic Data Sources of Member States and implement agreed synergies with EUDI.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
2.4.3	Q2 of every year	OOTS and SDG future roadmap: Future development roadmap discussion and design, including the possibility to connect the Commission or other European bodies to the OOTS, improvement of user journey, access of citizen and businesses to all their administrative documents, EU Wallet and OOTS connection or others.	Commission National coordinators
2.4.4	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	OOTS Implementing Regulation: To the extent that the evaluation of the SDGR leads to new insights and to the extent that new elements become available, amend the implementing act setting out the technical and operational specifications of the technical system to fill the gaps of the first version of the implementing act (for example on powers and mandates).	Commission
2.4.5	Q1-Q4 2023	Report: Discuss input for the draft report (on the review of Article 14) provided by the Commission and submit an assessment report on the review of Article 14 of the SDGR to the European Parliament and to the Council.	Commission National coordinators
2.4.6	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Ensure connections and interoperability between the OOTS, systems and platforms established in the context of other legislative initiatives.	Commission

Objective 2.5: Reporting on the functioning of the gateway and the single market

Reference: Articles 26, 27 and 36 of the Regulation

Background

The SMO tool is a user-friendly online environment foreseen by the Regulation to signal and give feedback anonymously on any obstacles encountered by citizens and businesses in exercising their internal market rights. The Regulation also foresees that Member States and the Commission analyse and investigate the problems raised by users through the SMO tool and address them, wherever possible, by appropriate means.

For example, once the Interoperability Act (6) enters into force and the Interoperable Europe Board is set up, issues identified with regard to cross-border interoperability as well as possible interoperability solutions, should be notified to the Board that may propose to set up policy implementation support projects to develop missing interoperability solutions.

The Regulation also lays down that the Commission publishes online summary of the problems which have emerged from reports provided by users of the gateway through the SMO tool as well as highlighted by collected user feedback and statistics.

In addition, the Regulation requires the Commission to review the application of the Regulation by 12 December 2022 and once every two years thereafter. It requires the Commission to draft a report assessing the functioning of the gateway and the internal market on the basis of the collected statistics, user feedback and reports on the Single Market obstacles.

The Regulation foresees several tools which will help the Commission collect relevant information related to the digitalisation of public services in the EU. The summary overviews of problems and the biennial reports will support the Commission in taking informed decisions in the field of the internal market, together with other tools (i.e. statistical report based on selected indicators published on an upgraded Single Market Scoreboard; the Annual Performance Report on the Single Market). They will also help Member States identify and address in the appropriate way the problems reported.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
2.5.1	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Follow-up on the feedback and statistics, enlarge the number of assistance services feeding their case data into the SMO tool and publish summary, after discussion with the coordination group.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
2.5.2	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Monitor the SDG building on the e-Government benchmark.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
2.5.3	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Carry out active research among (potential) users of the SDG to identify priority areas for development.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
2.5.4	Q2-Q4 2024	Discuss input to be provided for the draft report provided by the Commission and submit it to Parliament and Council.	Commission National coordinators

3.   Assistance services

Objective 3.1: Ensuring availability of information about assistance services and their quality

Reference: Articles 7, 11 and 16 of the Regulation

Background

The SDG, via the assistance service finder launched in 2020, offers users easy access to a broad range of assistance services, informs them about what they can expect from the services and guides them towards the most appropriate one.

In addition to the assistance services listed in Annex III, others have voluntarily joined the SDG since its launch: Europe Direct, the European Consumer Centres, the Intellectual Property Rights Help Desk and SOLVIT.

The Commission supported assistance services in this process by providing a checklist and an assessment of the state of play.

Where necessary to meet the needs of the users, national coordinators may also propose to the Commission to opt-in private or semi-private assistance services if they fulfil the quality requirements of the gateway.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
3.1.1	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Monitor the information provided on assistance services and their quality with the help of collected user feedback and statistics, and follow-up	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
3.1.2	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Work towards bringing additional assistance and problem-solving services within the scope of Annex I.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities

4.   Promotion

Objective 4.1: Promoting the gateway

Reference: Articles 22 and 23 of the Regulation on promotion, name, logo and quality label

Background

The launch of the SDG, on 12 December 2020, marked the start of the use of the Your Europe logo on all EU and national SDG pages.

In 2020, a communication plan to advertise the SDG was prepared. It foresaw the roll-out of a campaign at both EU and national levels in 2021, and the coordination of activities to promote ‘Your Europe’ and the websites that are part of the SDG. The campaign included digital roadshows with online information sessions across Europe in national languages.

In 2022, the campaign was assessed and following conclusions were drawn: The digital roadshow was successful in reaching out to citizens and businesses. The key to success was that national coordinators worked very closely together with the SDG team, the contractor and with influencers. Future campaigns can build on this good cooperation between the national coordinators and the Commission. We measured the impact of influencers and the YouTube campaign (ex-ante and post evaluation), which showed very good results in terms of outreach and branding and should be repeated.

The other outreach activities like Google search ads and social media performed also well and will always be part of future campaigns.

The main objectives of the promotion activities for the 2023-24 period are the following:

—	To improve further public awareness about EU rights and obligations in the EU’s single market;

—	To inform Europeans about EU and national rights and rules within the single market and to get them actively involved in claiming those rights and reporting any problems they encounter;

—	To promote Your Europe as a brand among citizens and businesses, especially SMEs and potential entrepreneurs (across EU);

—	To increase findability of Your Europe and national information (including rights AND obligations);

—	To encourage users to send feedback on public services;

—	To demonstrate how Your Europe is a value added for businesses and citizens.

How and when?

	When	What	Who
4.1.1	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Run promotion activities including SDG, Your Europe portal, AS, SMO tool, digitalised procedures and OOTS for citizens, SMEs and administrations and evaluate the success of the promotion activities.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
4.1.2	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Yearly review the communication plan and implement the revised communication plan.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
4.1.3	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Monitor the performance of the search engine of Your Europe and continue providing the best possible outcome of the national websites via the search of Your Europe to the wider public.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities
4.1.4	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	Promote the OOTS in the context of EU Data Strategy and provide information brochures or factsheet for competent authorities, whereby the connections between OOTS, IMI; EUCARIS etc. can be worked out.	Commission National coordinators Competent authorities

5.   Transversal

How and when?

	When	What	Who
5.1	Q4 2024	Adopt a Work Programme for 2025-2026.	Commission
5.2	Q1 2023-Q4 2024	SDG and OOTS Monitoring and automatic reporting system development: Development of automatic monitoring and reporting system to measure the progress and digitalization level of European Administrations based on the existing data in the SDG and OOTS system.	Commission National coordinators

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(1)  As pointed out in the Commission Communication ‘The Single Market at 30’, COM(2023) 162 final, 16 March 2023, and the Commission Communication ‘Long-term competitiveness of the EU: looking beyond 2030’, COM(2023) 168 final, 16 March 2023.

(2)  The Technical Support Instrument is providing tailor-made technical expertise to Member States in order to design, develop and implement reforms, including on the digital transition agenda of national governments.

(3)  Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market (OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36).

(4)  Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications (OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22).

(5)  Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).

(6)  Interoperable Europe Act Proposal (europa.eu).

The following information is brought to the attention of - BOUYERI Mohammed, EL HAJJ Hassan Hassan, MELIAD Farah, Communist Party of the Philippines’, including ‘New People’s Army’ – ‘NPA’ persons and groups included on the list of persons, groups and entities subject to Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Council Common Position 2001/931/CFSP of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism and to Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism

(see Annexes to Council Decision (CFSP) 2023/422 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/420 of 24 February 2023)

(2023/C 172/03)

The following information is brought to the attention of the above-mentioned persons and groups listed in Council Decision (CFSP) 2023/422 (1) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/420 (2).

Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 (3) provides for a freezing of all funds, other financial assets and economic resources belonging to the persons and groups concerned and that no funds, other financial assets and economic resources may be made available to them, whether directly or indirectly.

The Council has been provided with new information relevant to the listing of the above-mentioned persons and groups. Having considered this new information, the Council intends to amend the statements of reasons accordingly.

The persons and groups concerned may submit a request to obtain the intended statements of reasons for maintaining them on the above-mentioned list to the following address:

Council of the European Union (Attn: COMET designations)

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175

1048 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Email: sanctions@consilium.europa.eu

Such a request should be submitted by 22 May 2023.

The persons and groups may submit at any time a request to the Council, together with any supporting documentation, that the decision to include and maintain them on the list should be reconsidered, to the address provided above. Such requests will be considered when they are received. In this respect, the attention of the persons and groups concerned is drawn to the regular review by the Council of the list according to Article 1(6) of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP (4).

The attention of the persons and groups concerned is drawn to the possibility of making an application to the competent authorities of the relevant Member State(s) as listed in the Annex to the Regulation in order to obtain an authorisation to use frozen funds for essential needs or specific payments in accordance with Article 5(2) of that Regulation.

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(1)  OJ L 61, 27.2.2023, p.58

(2)  OJ L 61, 27.2.2023, p.58 and 37.

(3)  OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p.70

(4)  OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p.93

Euro exchange rates (1)

12 May 2023

(2023/C 172/04)

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,0892
JPY	Japanese yen	147,02
DKK	Danish krone	7,4484
GBP	Pound sterling	0,87020
SEK	Swedish krona	11,2425
CHF	Swiss franc	0,9744
ISK	Iceland króna	150,30
NOK	Norwegian krone	11,6310
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	23,606
HUF	Hungarian forint	370,98
PLN	Polish zloty	4,5343
RON	Romanian leu	4,9318
TRY	Turkish lira	21,3588
AUD	Australian dollar	1,6310
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,4702
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	8,5425
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,7503
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,4534
KRW	South Korean won	1 455,02
ZAR	South African rand	20,9430
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	7,5722
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	16 130,23
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,8785
PHP	Philippine peso	60,804
RUB	Russian rouble
THB	Thai baht	37,022
BRL	Brazilian real	5,3844
MXN	Mexican peso	19,2067
INR	Indian rupee	89,5200

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(1)  Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.