In cooperation between the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation and the European Commission, 'Europe Goes Once-Only' conference is held in Zagreb on 27 and 28 November 2025
The event is designed to help public authorities connect to the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS) - an EU-wide system that allows documents and data to be exchanged quickly, easily and securely in cross-border administrative procedures.
On this occasion, Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation Damir Habijan addressed the participants, emphasizing that the establishment of the Central Interoperability System and the operability of the Once-Only Technical System represent a major progress of Croatia in the field of digital transformation of public administration.
‘The basis of the entire project and the purpose of the implementation of the Central Interoperability System is the application of the ‘Once-Only Principle’, which requires that citizens and businesses in the European Union no longer have to provide information or evidence such as certificates or diplomas to public authorities if another public authority within the EU already has it in electronic form. Out of the 21 administrative procedures listed in the Single Digital Gateway, as many as 19 are carried out in Croatia, said Minister Habijan.
‘Today, I am proud to say that, thanks to the project that has established the Central Interoperability System (CIS), Croatia has achieved the highest level of readiness of the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS) - Level 6, which means that our services are fully ready to be rolled out and used by citizens and businesses, with a configured, connected and secure system for cross-border data exchange’, added the Minister.
Director General for the Development of National Information Infrastructure and Electronic Services Nikola Modrušan emphasized that the implementation of the Single Digital Gateway enabled the reduction or abolishment of bureaucratic processes and the abolishment of borders for data exchange, administration and digital services.
"Croatia is currently among the very top countries when it comes to the implementation of the Single Digital Gateway. This is not just statistics, these are the results of the continuous work of our experts and the Ministry to improve the National Information Infrastructure", highlighted Director General Modrušan.
Apart from Minister Habijan and Director General Modrušan, Commission representative Athanasios Karalopoulos, Team Leader for the Single Digital Gateway Regulation, also addressed the conference participants.
‘The European Commission is co-organising this event with the Croatian Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation to drive-forward the implementation of the Once-Only Technical System, under the Single Digital Gateway Regulation, in Croatia and its neighbourhood. The Commission thanks the Croatian authorities for their enthusiasm and energy. This event builds on similar events in Helsinki, Vilnius and Lisbon, with further events in more EU Member States planned for 2026’, said Mr Karalopoulos.
The conference is specifically tailored to public administrations from Croatia and neighbouring countries and includes interactive workshops, panel discussions on the implementation of the ’Once-Only Principle’ in the region and a round table on practical approaches to involving public administrations in the system.
The Central Interoperability System was established through investments from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the NextGenerationEU instrument, whereby Croatia successfully fulfilled a milestone agreed with the European Commission.
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