2. András Zsigmond (DG GROWTH, Unit E5)
First results of the survey concerning stakeholders' experience with the EPC and the Alert Mechanism
András Zsigmond (DG GROWTH, Unit E5)
Single Market Forum 2016/2017
16 May 2017

3. Background
Consultation period via an EU survey questionnaire: 17/03 – 03/05
Addressing public authorities and professional organisations
Part of our continuous monitoring and evaluation exercise on the two initiatives

4. General results 181 responses online
1 response offline, several position papers
Organised in 4 sections:
Section A (general) 181
Section B (EPC – public authorities) 51
Section C (EPC – prof. org.) 43
Section D (Alert mechanism) 95

6. A2. Respondents – according to the Member State(s) they represent

9. B Fees

10. Competent authorities - General remarks
Competent authorities appreciated positively:
IMI as a reliable and secure platform for info exchange
Structured procedure, enhanced transparency, clear deadlines
Streamlined communication channels
Support of internal coordinators or the Commission services
Competent authorities pointed out the need of:
Further legal guidance, especially on the maximum list of supporting documents
Further improving the IMI machine translations

13. Professional organisations/professionals - General remarks
Professional organisations marked as advantage:
The EPC certificate can be generated easily from the system
Your Europe website and the document/fee simulator
Clear overview of the procedural steps, quicker processing
Easy communication with the authorities, support available
Professional organisations pointed out as concerns:
Host authorities imposed heavier document requirements than initially indicated
High fees of the procedures
Additional requirements to access the profession were heavy

16. Alert mechanism - General remarks
Competent authorities appreciated well that the Alert mechanism:
Contributes to a stronger cooperation for safe mobility
Provides the necessary data protection safeguards
Works as a quick warning mechanism amongst authorities
Allows authorities to search amongst valid alerts they sent or received
Competent authorities asked for:
Operational developments (e.g. on translations)
Share the information exchanged within the Group of Coordinators (on national sanctions)

17. Thank you!