What is SPOCS?

SPOCS at a glance
Project
Simple Procedures Online for Cross-border Services (SPOCS)

Project Coordinator
Capgemini Netherlands (CNB)

Participants
Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom

Duration
3 years (2009-2012)

Total cost after project enlargement
€24 million (€12 million funded by the European Commission)

Programme
ICT Policy Support Programme under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP)

SPOCS website www.eu-spocs.eu

What is the Services Directive?
The goal of the Services Directive is to release the untapped growth potential of the service market in Europe by removing legal and administrative barriers to trade in the services sector.
Simplification measures foreseen by the Directive should significantly facilitate life and increase transparency for SMEs and consumers when they want to provide or use services in the single market. The deadline for Member States to implement the Services Directive was end 2009.

Learn more about the Services Directive

What are the Points of Single Contact?
Implementing the Services Directive calls for setting up Points of Single Contact (PSC). The PSCs are acting as intermediaries between service providers and the national public administrations. The goal of these "one-stop shops" is essentially to fulfil the two following functions: information dissemination and case management/processing.

Learn more about the Points of Single Contact

Can I oblige the SPOCS platform to delete my data?
No data about people are stored in the SPOCS platform, so there are no data to be deleted.

What data are stored in SPOCS about me?
None. Your transaction is registered, and can be traced all through the platform, but instead of your personal data, just a hash is stored. Other data, like date and time of the transaction, are stored without hashing.

Is SPOCS secure?
Within the SPOCS project, a workgroup has continuously studied the security of the platform, and the measures required to guarantee its security. Additionally, the components are run by government institutions, which have to obey to national security standards.