The European Commission recently made public a study on the revision of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF v1.0). This report is one more input for the EIF revision work which started in 2006 and that is scheduled to be completed by mid 2008. Anyone interested in this issue is kindly invited to read the study and provide comments by 15 September 2007.

The current version of the European Interoperability Framework was released in 2004 under the IDABC programme. The EIF was –and still is- extremely well received in Europe where many Member States have adopted interoperability frameworks and guidelines or initiated similar work. Also, EIF is often considered as a reference document when the interoperability issue is discussed and this excellent reputation even goes beyond European boarders.

This success, combined with rapid technological evolutions and the wish to go beyond the IDABC context, prompted the Commission to start the revision process of the EIF. Therefore in August 2006 Gartner Inc. was asked to produce an independent analysis on the revision process and to recommend orientations for its progress. The final study was delivered in May this year.

Views expressed in this study only reflect those of Gartner, and as other documents such as the Modinis study on Interoperability at local and regional level (IOP) or the EU Study on the specific policy needs for ICT Standardisation, they are to be considered as one of the many inputs for revision.

Should you believe that interoperability is an effective means to come to better pan-European eGovernment services, please provide your own input to the revision process by reacting on the document by 15 September 2007. A summary of your remarks will be published on the IDABC website (http://ec.europa.eu/idabc).

Comments may be sent by e-mail to idabc@ec.europa.eu mentioning 'EIF revision' as e-mail subject.

Further information:

• European Interoperability Framework (EIF 1.0) 
• Revision of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) and Architecture Guidelines (AG) 
• Gartner Study on the update of the EIF