EESSI lesson
ed* Nr. 02/2023 – Chapter 3
Social insurance must be involved in digitization projects at an early stage so that common, compatible solutions can be developed from the outset and in European cooperation. EESSI has made it clear how important this cooperation is in order to save valuable time, costs and resources.
For the social insurance funds, cross-border electronic communication is no longer new territory. In 2010, Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems created the legal basis for the electronic exchange of social security data (European Exchange of Social Security Information – EESSI). Within the framework of EESSI, the European social security institutions can exchange information on individual cases electronically with each other by means of Structured Electronic Documents – SEDs. For this purpose, precise processes had to be defined, the so-called Business Use Cases (BUCs); 99 in total. On this basis, the European social security institutions can communicate with each other digitally in a clear, unambiguous and legally secure manner despite all their differences. In the meantime, the majority of Member States are “EESSI-ready”. The road to this point was long, the depth of regulation was underestimated. The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Social Affairs, Frank Vandenbroucke, made it clear in his keynote speech at the German Social Insurance (DSV) anniversary event that his country will now bring the implementation of EESSI in the EU, the EEA states and Switzerland to a full conclusion on the occasion of the 2024 Council Presidency.