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Single Market Scoreboard

Internal Market Information System (IMI)

Reporting period:

12/2022 – 11/2023

The Internal Market Information System (IMI) is an IT application that connects national, regional and local authorities across the EU (EEA). IMI allows authorities to communicate quickly and easily with their counterparts abroad.

Main features:

  • a multilingual search function to help authorities identify their counterparts in other EEA countries
  • pre-translated questions, answers and forms for requesting and sharing information, in the context of administrative cooperation supporting the single market
  • an integrated machine translation service for translating any free text included as part of an information exchange
  • a tracking mechanism allowing authorities to follow the progress of their information exchanges

IMI and the single market – why does it matter?

EU laws set out mutual assistance and administrative cooperation obligations for Member States in order to make the free movement of people, businesses and goods a reality in the single market. IMI helps authorities across the European Economic Area to fulfil these obligations in multiple policy areas. It has succeeded in modernising cross-border administrative cooperation and improving the functioning of the single market. Although the end-users of IMI are public authorities at national, regional and local level, the beneficiaries of this improved cooperation are businesses and people who are the subject of the information exchanges.

Key messages

IMI supported 95 cross-border procedures in 19 policy areas, replacing the need for at least 19 different IT systems. 

More than 597 550 information exchanges have been sent through IMI since its launch. 2023 marked 15 years since the first exchanges took place in IMI. Use of the system increases steadily year on year. 

In the reporting period, more than 1 million road transport operators submitted an impressive 18 million posting declarations through the Road transport posting declaration portal linked to IMI. This brings the total number of declarations submitted to 32 million in less than 2 years of operations. This portal significantly contributes to the smooth functioning of the road transport sector, saving time and resources and reducing administrative burden.

IMI also continues to grow and support implementation of single market rules. In December 2023, IMI was extended to cater for two new procedures set out in the Single Digital Gateway Regulation (i.e. notifications of exceptions to online procedures and verification, in certain circumstances, of authenticity of documents submitted in online procedures). The integration of the Regulated Professions Database in IMI is also being finalised and will be launched in 2024. This will result in improved data quality and better transparency in the recognition of professional qualifications. 

Overall performance (all five indicators combined)

 
 
Map legend

A Member State’s performance across all indicators is calculated by scoring each of the five indicators listed in the “Performance per indicators” chart below as follows:

  • red = -1
  • yellow = 0
  • green = +1

The colours on the map represent the sum of these scores:

  • green: 2 or higher = above average
  • yellow: -1, 0 or 1 = average
  • red: -2 or lower = below average

Performance indicators

 
[1] Speed in accepting requests (% accepted within 7 days)≥ 8060 – 79< 60
[2] Speed in answering requests (avg. no. of days taken to answer) < 1616 – 25> 25
[3] Requests answered by the date agreed in IMI (%)≥ 8060 – 79< 60
[4] Timeliness of replies as rated by counterparts (% of negative evaluations)< 55 – 14≥ 15
[5] Efforts made as rated by counterparts (% of negative evaluations)< 55 – 14≥ 15

The performance indicators are based on information requests sent in the following legal areas: professional qualifications, services, posting of workers and patients’ rights.

Indicator [1]: Speed in accepting incoming requests (within 1 week)

This chart shows:

  • total information requests received by authorities
  • total information requests accepted within 1 week by authorities
  • acceptance speed: percentage of requests accepted within 1 week
 

Figures are based on requests for information in the following areas: professional qualifications; services; patients’ rights and posting of workers. Requests withdrawn within 1 week are excluded, unless they had already been accepted by the recipient.

Indicator [2]: Speed in answering requests

This chart shows for all areas:

  • total information requests received by authorities
  • average number of days taken to reply
All legislative areas
 
Professional qualifications
 
Services
 
Patients’ rights
 
Posting of workers
 

Figures are based on requests for information in the following areas: professional qualifications; services; patients’ rights and posting of workers. Figures include requests for which a response was provided.

Indicator [3]: Requests answered by the date agreed in IMI

When sending a request, the authority indicates the date by which it needs an answer. The responding authority can either accept this date or propose a new one. This chart shows:

  • the number of requests received by national authorities
  • the number of requests answered on time
  • the percentage of requests answered on time
 

Figures are based on requests for information in the following areas: professional qualifications; services; patients’ rights and posting of workers. Figures include requests for which a response was provided.

Indicator [4]: Timeliness of replies (as rated by counterparts)

 

Figures are based on an optional survey completed by the sender when they close a request for information. Figures are based on requests for information in the following areas: professional qualifications; services; patients’ rights and posting of workers. 

Indicator [5]: Efforts made (as rated by counterparts)

 

Figures are based on an optional survey completed by the sender when they close a request for information. Figures are based on requests for information in the following areas: professional qualifications; services; patients’ rights and posting of workers.

Priorities

The Commission focuses its efforts on: 
  • continuing to implement IMI in new areas (for example, integrating the Regulated Professions Database into IMI) or improving how it works in the current ones (for example, in the area of SOLVIT);
  • improving IMI’s look and feel by rolling out a new user interface to all IMI user communities;
  • ensuring the system’s technical robustness by performing required security or technical upgrades (including introducing the EU Login authentication service).
     

Facts and figures

  • 35 000 public sector staff in over 12 500 public authorities are registered users in IMI.
  • 112 550 information exchanges took place in 2023. The total number of exchanges sent through IMI reached 597 550.
  • 5 538 alerts on professional qualifications and 43 948 notifications were sent through IMI in 2023.
  • The European Professional Card (EPC) continued to deliver excellent results, even though it is only available for five professions (pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists, real estate agents and mountain guides). A total of 2 298 decisions were taken on EPC applications in 2023.
  • The Road transport posting declaration portal, linked to IMI, showed how efficient and useful it is by facilitating the submission of approximately 18 million posting declarations.


     

Statistics on the use of IMI

All information exchanges in IMI, 2008-2023
 
IMI requests per quarter, 2018-2023
 

* Other areas: patients’ rights, e-commerce, train driving licences, cultural objects, public documents, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Judicial Civil Network, road transport, consumer protection cooperation (CPC).

** For the posting of workers, figures include information requests concerning postings, health and safety, working conditions and establishment, and requests to send documents.

IMI requests in 2023 by sending Member State
 

* Other areas: patients’ rights, e-commerce, train driving licences, cultural objects, public documents, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Judicial Civil Network, consumer protection cooperation (CPC), road transport.

** For the posting of workers, figures include information requests concerning postings, health and safety, working conditions and establishment, and requests to send documents.

IMI requests in 2023 by recipient Member State
 

* Other areas: patients’ rights, e-commerce, train driving licences, cultural objects, public documents, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Judicial Civil Network, consumer protection cooperation (CPC), road transport..

** For the posting of workers, figures include information requests concerning postings, health and safety, working conditions and establishment, and requests to send documents.

 

In which areas is IMI now used?

 

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