Handlingsplan for EU-portalen Ditt Europa
Meddelelse fra Kommisjonen til Europaparlamentet, Rådet, Den europeiske økonomiske og sosiale komite og Regionsutvalget. Større innflytelser for bedrifter og personer over Europas indre marked: En handlingsplan for at styrke Ditt Europa i samarbeid med medlemsstatene
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Empowering businesses and citizens in Europe’s single market: An Action Plan for boosting Your Europe in cooperation with the Member States
Meddelelse lagt fram av Kommisjonen 17.9.2013
Nærmere omtale
BAKGRUNN (fra Kommisjonens pressemelding 17.9.2013, engelsk utgave)
More information on your rights in the Single Market and better problem-solving
Open borders and free circulation of people, services, products and capital allow EU citizens and businesses to live, study, work, travel, buy, consume and operate in European dimensions. As more and more Europeans discover the opportunities of the EU's Single Market, there are more questions to answer and problems to solve.
Does Petr from the Czech Republic have to register his car in Spain where he got a job? Does Jack from the United Kingdom, who broke his leg during a holiday in Greece, have to pay for his medical treatment himself? Are the children of Simona from Italy entitled to a free language course in Sweden after the family moved to Malmö? Who to turn to if these rights are not granted by authorities of EU Member States?
That is where the EU steps in. Your Europe, as a wide-ranging information portal on EU rights, and SOLVIT, as a cross-border problem-solving mechanism, try to help people and companies to navigate the EU's Single Market. Further to the success of these tools, the European Commission today adopted an Action Plan for the further development of Your Europe and a Recommendation on SOLVIT for making it work more effectively.
More and more people check in with the Your Europe portal to get more information about what they can do in the European Single Market. However, evidence shows that people still need more and better information, in particular as regards rules and procedures in place at national level since they may still vary quite considerably between Member States. The Action Plan for Your Europe aims at making the portal more responsive to the needs of citizens and businesses; providing Your Europe with more good-quality information on national rules and procedures; and making it easier to find when people need it.
With the recommendation on SOLVIT, also adopted today, the Commission addresses certain challenges in the network and proposes to work with the Member States to improve the system. On the basis of experience gained over the last eleven years, clarifying the mandate and the case-handling procedures, improving the visibility of SOLVIT and ensuring sufficient resources by Member States for SOLVIT-centres are necessary in order to reinforce the problem-solving network. Background
Your Europe
Your Europe has been at the service of EU citizens and businesses for eight years already. The portal gives a full, jargon-free overview of rights and opportunities in 24 official languages of the EU, related to work, travel, health, family, residence, vehicle-usage, education, consumer protection, setting up a business, access to finance abroad and fair competition on the EU's Single Market.
The site registered 4.3 million visits last year, nearly 3 times more than at its re-launch in 2010. In the second quarter of 2013 some 17 000 people checked the Your Europe portal every day. According to the latest statistics, the number of visits has doubled in one year: 2.2 million visitors were registered in the first half of 2013, while in the same period of last year, slightly more than one million people checked in with the website.
SOLVIT
The EU's problem-solving network deals with complaints filed by citizens and businesses who suspect their EU rights were breached by a public authority abroad and who want an out-of-court solution.
SOLVIT has received more and more cases over the years. In the first half of 2013, SOLVIT handled nearly 700 cases and managed to solve 92% of them. Whilst in the same period last year, SOLVIT handled around 600 cases with a resolution rate of 90%. All in all, SOLVIT has found solutions for more than 8 000 cross-border problems.
Recently, SOLVIT helped a British citizen to receive healthcare in Bulgaria; arranged to have Irish engineering qualifications recognised in Poland; helped an Austrian company to sell paints and varnishes on the Polish market. SOLVIT handled more than 1 200 cases last year, all in all more than 22 000 cases were submitted since 2002.
Your Europe: http://europa.eu/youreurope
Solvit: http://www.solvit.eu
More information on your rights in the Single Market and better problem-solving
Open borders and free circulation of people, services, products and capital allow EU citizens and businesses to live, study, work, travel, buy, consume and operate in European dimensions. As more and more Europeans discover the opportunities of the EU's Single Market, there are more questions to answer and problems to solve.
Does Petr from the Czech Republic have to register his car in Spain where he got a job? Does Jack from the United Kingdom, who broke his leg during a holiday in Greece, have to pay for his medical treatment himself? Are the children of Simona from Italy entitled to a free language course in Sweden after the family moved to Malmö? Who to turn to if these rights are not granted by authorities of EU Member States?
That is where the EU steps in. Your Europe, as a wide-ranging information portal on EU rights, and SOLVIT, as a cross-border problem-solving mechanism, try to help people and companies to navigate the EU's Single Market. Further to the success of these tools, the European Commission today adopted an Action Plan for the further development of Your Europe and a Recommendation on SOLVIT for making it work more effectively.
More and more people check in with the Your Europe portal to get more information about what they can do in the European Single Market. However, evidence shows that people still need more and better information, in particular as regards rules and procedures in place at national level since they may still vary quite considerably between Member States. The Action Plan for Your Europe aims at making the portal more responsive to the needs of citizens and businesses; providing Your Europe with more good-quality information on national rules and procedures; and making it easier to find when people need it.
With the recommendation on SOLVIT, also adopted today, the Commission addresses certain challenges in the network and proposes to work with the Member States to improve the system. On the basis of experience gained over the last eleven years, clarifying the mandate and the case-handling procedures, improving the visibility of SOLVIT and ensuring sufficient resources by Member States for SOLVIT-centres are necessary in order to reinforce the problem-solving network. Background
Your Europe
Your Europe has been at the service of EU citizens and businesses for eight years already. The portal gives a full, jargon-free overview of rights and opportunities in 24 official languages of the EU, related to work, travel, health, family, residence, vehicle-usage, education, consumer protection, setting up a business, access to finance abroad and fair competition on the EU's Single Market.
The site registered 4.3 million visits last year, nearly 3 times more than at its re-launch in 2010. In the second quarter of 2013 some 17 000 people checked the Your Europe portal every day. According to the latest statistics, the number of visits has doubled in one year: 2.2 million visitors were registered in the first half of 2013, while in the same period of last year, slightly more than one million people checked in with the website.
SOLVIT
The EU's problem-solving network deals with complaints filed by citizens and businesses who suspect their EU rights were breached by a public authority abroad and who want an out-of-court solution.
SOLVIT has received more and more cases over the years. In the first half of 2013, SOLVIT handled nearly 700 cases and managed to solve 92% of them. Whilst in the same period last year, SOLVIT handled around 600 cases with a resolution rate of 90%. All in all, SOLVIT has found solutions for more than 8 000 cross-border problems.
Recently, SOLVIT helped a British citizen to receive healthcare in Bulgaria; arranged to have Irish engineering qualifications recognised in Poland; helped an Austrian company to sell paints and varnishes on the Polish market. SOLVIT handled more than 1 200 cases last year, all in all more than 22 000 cases were submitted since 2002.
Your Europe: http://europa.eu/youreurope
Solvit: http://www.solvit.eu