Brussels, 02/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, Business Software Alliance (BSA), an umbrella group for the professional software industry around the world and its partners, expresses grave concern at the second version of the EU pan-European online service interoperability framework (EIF), a preliminary version of which was unveiled by the European Commission last week. EIF mark 2 prioritises the use of open standards. If this is decided upon, BSA fears that the standards that are generally used on the market will be rejected because they do not match the Commission's definition. Benoît Müller, director of Software Policy Europe, explains that the European Commission's legitimate aims would be better met with a more inclusive approach that encouraged member states to use all solutions, thereby ensuring interoperability. EIF mark 2 has been designed to meet the need for greater interoperability among public information systems by consolidating the bases needed to ensure efficient collaboration within public authorities. The aim is to make information systems more coherent and favour partnership between the state and local authorities in the provision of online services to individuals and companies. (I.L.)