SPOCS NEWS
Publisher: Gov2U, Issue No: 4
Dear reader,
Welcome to the September issue of the SPOCS newsletter! Businesses seeking to expand into other countries often struggle to comply with all the regulations they need to follow. SPOCS (www.eu-spocs.eu) is a large-scale pilot project launched by the European Commission in May 2009 that aims to overcome these obstacles. The EU Services Directive already requires all procedures involved in establishing a business and providing services in another EU country to be fully online. The SPOCS project is now taking this ambition a step further by streamlining procedures and offering seamless cross- border technology. From July 1st SPOCS is offering entrepreneurs the possibility to try out this new technology that is currently piloted. Entrepreneurs, self-employed service providers, business etc. can be the first to do it online from abroad!
July 2011 saw the launch of the first services using SPOCS that will support travel agents, real estate agents and master builders in establishing a presence and doing business in other EU countries.
Businesses are invited to test-drive the new services, which will initially span across five Member States. Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy and Poland will all demonstrate their services in the SPOCS pilot. Lithuania will join the piloting countries during the course of September and shall be followed by other EU Member States later in the year.
All interested parties have the opportunity to influence developments, provide feedback and make proposals by participating in one of the following groups while registering at www.eu-spocs.eu:
- Member States and PSCs
- IT Industry and Standards Bodies
- Large Scale Pilots
- Business Representatives and End User
- Local Government
To keep in touch, please register here. This will enable you to access further information regarding the latest developments.
Kind Regards,
SPOCS Newsletter team
SPOCS newsletter thanks all those who contributed to this issue and welcomes comments and contributions at:
info@eu-spocs.eu 
SPOCS newsletter is published by Gov2u. The views expressed are purely those of the authors and may not in any circumstance be regarded as stating an official position of the whole consortium or European Commission. Neither Gov2u nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use that may be made of the information in this publication.
© Gov2u, 2011
Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged.
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SPOCS is currently in the testing phase of the project! Try out a new technology!
Applying for licenses permits and completing other administrative procedures in another country can be very complicated. The EU Services Directive already requires all procedures involved in establishing a business and providing services in another EU country to be fully online and available via Points of Single Contacts. The SPOCS project is now taking the work a step further by streamlining those procedures and offering seamless cross- border technology.
Businesses are invited to test-drive the new services using SPOCS that will support travel agents, real estate agents and master builders in establishing a presence and doing business in other EU countries and that will initially span across five Member States. Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy and Poland will all demonstrate their services in the SPOCS pilot.
Next SPOCS Member States Group meeting, 21 September 2011, Brussels
The SPOCS project would like to invite Member States to its next SPOCS Member States Group meeting on 21 September 2011. The meeting will take place in the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union, Rue Stevin, 139, 1000, Brussels, Belgium. Participants of the meeting will learn how SPOCS solutions work in real life situation. The first experiences of piloting Member States will be presented.
New SPOCS pilot site: Check it out!
New SPOCS pilot factsheets
SPOCS pilot factsheet- Master Builder
SPOCS pilot factsheet- Real Estate Agent
SPOCS pilot factsheet-Travel Agent
New SPOCS pilot leaflets
SPOCS pilot leaflet-Master builder
SPOCS pilot leaflet-Real estate agent
SPOCS pilot leaflet-Travel agent
SPOCS: PSC Research Study available online
The PSC Research Study is available on SPOCS website: www.eu-spocs.eu after registering to the Member States – PSCs group. Read the PSC Research Study Press release
SPOCS participates in the first Digital Agenda Assembly
The European Commission has invited a broad range of participants from industry, the research community and NGOs, as well as representatives from Member State governments, and the other EU institutions to assess progress in meeting the targets of the Digital Agenda (16-17 June 2011). SPOCS participated with Demos on how eID and eSignatures work and a presentation entitled "Cross border business mobility made easy: The case of SPOCS".
European Commission seeks to modernise Professional Qualifications Directive
Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said "Updating the Professional Qualifications Directive is one of the priorities of the Single Market Act and will help make the European economy more competitive while encouraging growth and job creation. We need to make it easier for professionals to go to where job vacancies exist. We will consider a number of important issues during this process including the creation of a professional card for interested professions and improving the training requirements for certain professions."
Neelie Kroes- State of the Digital Union speech
Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, gave a speech entitled "State of the Digital Union" during the Digital Assembly (Brussels, 16 June 2011).
Green Paper on the modernisation of the Professional Qualifications Directive – frequently asked questions
EU Treaties endow citizens of the Member States with the right to live and work anywhere in the single market and to be treated in the same manner as citizens of the host Member State when they seek to provide their services, either temporarily or through permanent establishment. Differences in the qualifications required by each Member State as a condition for the exercise of a profession can act as barriers to the realisation of these rights. Effective mechanisms for the mutual recognition of qualifications between Member States are thus essential building blocks of the single market.
Digital Agenda: Scoreboard shows progress
Scoreboard has been published by the European Commission showing the performance of the EU and Member States in delivering on the agreed targets of the Digital Agenda for Europe after the first year of its existence (the Scoreboard covers the period May 2010 to May 2011). In line with its commitment to an open data strategy the European Commission has made its data sets and statistics in the Scoreboard publicly available online enabling anyone to carry out their own analysis and come to their own conclusions.
Performance check of the Single Market for services: Commission publishes scenarios and questionnaires addressed to Member States
The "mutual evaluation process" consisted of a thorough evaluation of the regulatory framework applicable to services activities in the Member States following the implementation of the Services Directive. It was based upon the results of the review of national legislation on the establishment and cross-border provision of services, under¬taken by Member States during the implementation period. This covered different types of requirements (e.g. prior authorisations, registration requirements, territorial restrictions, etc), which may constitute unjustified barriers to the functioning of the Single Market.
- European SME Week 2011: 3 - 9 October 2011
- STORK project won an EPSA (European Public Sector Award) 2011 Best Practice Certificate
- First anniversary of SuisseID
- Single Market News: SMN Issue 61 is online
- Poland takes over EU Council Presidency
- STORK project: Finland Goes Live With Electronic Identity Pilots
- Conclusions on a better functioning Single Market for services– mutual evaluation process of the Services Directive, Competitiveness Council
- ePractice event: Effective & Efficient eGovernment Services
- WORLD e-ID CONFERENCE In the framework of SMART EVENT'11
- e-SMART CONFERENCE "The future of Digital Security Technologies", In the framework of SMART EVENT'11
- ePractice Event: Reaping the benefits of eID in different business sectors within the EU and beyond
- Single Market Forum
- OPEN DAYS, 9th European week of Regions and Cities, 'Investing in Europe’s future: Regions and cities delivering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth'
- ePractice Workshop: Addressing evolving needs for cross-border eGovernment services
- eChallenges e2011
- ePractice Event: Collaborative production of eGovernment services
- 6th European Ministerial eGovernment Conference and Exhibition: "Borderless eGovernment Services for Europeans"
- ePractice Event: Seamless Personalised services
CONTACT US: info@spocs.eu
Important Information: All classifieds in this publication are published free of charge
Published by www.eu-spocs.eu 2011. All rights reserved