The Internal Market Information (IMI) System – Better communication, better service Workshop on Regulatory Practices WTO Geneva, 11 April 2011 Wiebke Pankauke, European Commission, DG Internal Market and Services

Why develop an IT tool for cooperation? In order to facilitate mobility, more and more EU legislation requires cooperation between Member States Adopting legal texts is only the first step Need to put cooperation into practice Challenge particularly in complex areas (example EU Services Directive)

Secure and data protection friendly What is IMI? A web-based tool for information exchange between public authorities at all levels Secure and data protection friendly In all EU languages Easily adaptable to different policy areas SV BG IS CS NO DA FI DE SL SK ET RO EL PT EN PL ES LI NL FR MT IT HU GA LV LT

IMI addresses obstacles to cooperation Language barriers – 23 official EU languages Lack of clearly identified partners in other countries Different administrative structures and cultures Lack of procedures for cross-border cooperation Multilingual interface, pretranslated questions and answers Searchable database of authorities Flexible set-up to reflect administrative realities Agreed workflows, tracking mechanism

Secure access through the IMI website Access only with username - password - security code

Search for an authority in your own language

IMI blends into any existing administrative structure European Commission ( IMI Administration and Helpdesk) Member State 2 Member State 1 National IMI Coordinator National IMI Coordinator Delegated IMI Coordinators Competent Authorities Competent Authorities

Facts and figures Today used for professional qualifications and services More than 6000 authorities registered 160 requests for information per month 58% answered within two weeks

Faster replies from authorities How does IMI help citizens and businesses? Faster replies from authorities Less need to produce translations of documents Less rejections of applications due to lack of information

Lessons learned Establishing a large network of very different authorities and keeping it alive is a challenge Involving Member State actors as coordinators allows decentralised management of the network Using IMI is easy, but mindset and habits need to change Continuous follow-up and training necessary

Expanding IMI IMI as a toolbox for administrative cooperation New policy areas New functionality Links with existing systems Cheaper and faster than building new tailored systems, exploiting synergies

For further information contact: or consult the IMI website: markt-imi@ec.europa.eu or consult the IMI website: http://ec.europa.eu/imi-net