1. 1 The Internal Market Information System (IMI) A tool enabling more mobility for health professionals AER Breakfast Briefing Brussels, 12 November 2009 Presentation by Wiebke PANKAUKE, EC DG MARKT Unit E3

2. 2 1. What is the Internal Market Information System (IMI)?  Multilingual electronic tool for exchange of information between Competent Authorities  Developed by the European Commission in partnership with the Member States  Facilitates communication between public administrations

3. 3 1. What is the Internal Market Information System (IMI)?  Set up as a “Project of common interest" under the IDABC Work Programme (2005-2009) in August 2006  Total IDABC budget of EUR 1,800,000 (2006-2009) to finance development.

4. 4 LANGUAGE SUPPORT Information exchange for 1. IMI is one system with customised applications for different Directives COMPETENT AUTHORITIES AND NATIONAL EXPERTS QUESTION SET GENERATOR Information exchange for CA DATA QUESTIONS Information exchange for CA DATA SERVICES PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS QUESTIONS....... CA DATA QUESTIONS Information exchange for CA DATA QUESTIONS.......

5. 5  Language barriers – 23 official EU languages  Lack of clearly identified partners in other Member States  Different administrative structures and cultures  Lack of administrative procedures for crossborder cooperation  Management of 351 bilateral relationships in EU-27 2.How does IMI work? System functionality IMI supports cooperation between MS administrations by addressing the following problems:

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8. 8 2. IMI offers machine translation for free text

9. 9  Language barriers – 23 official EU languages  Lack of clearly identified partners in other Member States  Different administrative structures and cultures  Lack of administrative procedures for crossborder cooperation  Management of 351 bilateral relationships in EU-27 2. How does IMI work? IMI supports cooperation between MS administrations by addressing the following problems:

10. 10 2. Identifying partners in IMI

11. 11 2. Identifying partners in IMI

12. 12  Language barriers – 23 official EU languages  Lack of clearly identified partners in other Member States  Different administrative structures and cultures  Lack of administrative procedures for crossborder cooperation  Management of 351 bilateral relationships in EU-27 2. How does IMI work? IMI supports cooperation between MS administrations by addressing the following problems:

13. 13 European Commission – IMI Administration - EC IMI Helpdesk - EC Member States Regional Level Functional Level Competent Authorities Member State 1 Member State 3 e.g. a Member State with federal structure Member State 2 Federal State 1 Federal State...16 NIMIC - helpdesk - NIMIC NIMIC - helpdesk - CA DIMIC 1 - helpdesk - DIMIC 2 - helpdesk - DIMIC 1 - helpdesk - DIMIC 2 - helpdesk - CA SDIMIC 1SDIMIC 16 CA 2. Flexibility for MS to organise themselves as they wish

14. 14  Language barriers – 23 official EU languages  Lack of clearly identified partners in other Member States  Different administrative structures and cultures  Lack of administrative procedures for crossborder cooperation  Management of 351 bilateral relationships in EU-27 2. How does IMI work? IMI supports cooperation between MS administrations by addressing the following problems:

15. 15 2.The flow of information for a request in IMI Create and send new request REQUESTING CA Accept request RESPONDING CA Provide full information RESPONDING CA Accept provided information REQUEST SENT AWAITING ACCEPTANCE REQUEST ACCEPTED REQUEST CLOSED INFORMATION PROVIDED REQUESTING CA The simple workflow of a request in IMI consists of 4 steps only REQUEST OPEN INFORMATION PROVIDED 1. 2.3. 4.

16. 16  Language barriers – 23 official EU languages  Lack of clearly identified partners in other Member States  Different administrative structures and cultures  Lack of administrative procedures for crossborder cooperation  Management of 351 bilateral relationships in EU-27 2. How does IMI work? IMI supports cooperation between MS administrations by addressing the following problems:

17. 17 BG CS DA DE ET EL EN ES FR IT LV LT GA HU MT NL PL PT RO SK SL FI SV IMI NO IS LI 2. MS manage single relationship with the IMI network instead of 29 bilateral relationships instead of 29 bilateral relationships

18. 18  2008 PQ pilot project with 4 professions  Nov 2008IMI Progress Report – positive feedback: IMI « fit for purpose » Decision to extend use of IMI to further professions on demand-led basis 3. The current status of IMI IMI for Professional Qualifications System operational for Professional Qualifications

19. 19  Nov 2009IMI now used by more than 700 authorities to exchange information on 11 professions : 3. The current status of IMI IMI for Professional Qualifications AccountantsArchitectsDentistsDoctorsMidwivesNursesRadiographersPharmacistsPhysiotherapists Secondary school teachers Veterinary surgeons

20. 20 3. The current status of IMI IMI for Professional Qualifications Number of authorities registered for health professions

21. 21 Pilot project for Services Directive  System to be operational by 28 December 2009  Aim of the pilot project:  Assist MS in progressive system set-up, registration and training of authorities  Ensure that IMI system is fit for purpose 4. Setting up IMI for the Services Directive A complex and challenging task

22. 22 5. What do users say about IMI?

23. 23 or consult the IMI website: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/imi-net/ For further information or any question, please contact: markt-imi@ec.europa.eu