Brussels, 17/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 16 September, on behalf the Council of Ministers, the Luxembourg Presidency and the European Parliament finalised the agreement concluded on the ISA² programme. A principled agreement was reached during a trialogue meeting on 2 September and completed in a number of technical meetings. At a Council level, the agreement still needs to be confirmed by member states. The Luxembourg Presidency will present the text for the approval of the ambassadors to the member states (Coreper) on 23 September. The European Parliament is due to adopt the Zorrinho report on ISA², at the plenary meeting on 11 November.
The ISA² programme seeks to promote permanent cross-border and trans-sectoral interoperable digital services between the European public authorities, citizens and business. It has a budget of €131 million and is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2016 and will come to a close on 31st of December 2020. It will take over from the current ISA programme, which expires at the end of this year. (Isabelle Lamberty)