Context
‘Re-open EU’ was a public service web platform and app that provided the latest updated information on COVID-19 travel restrictions, health measures, the EU Digital COVID Certificate and the epidemiological situation in EU and Schengen-associated countries. When domestic and international travel ground to a halt, policy-makers understood that reopening borders during an ongoing global public health emergency presented the Commission and Member States with a unique set of challenges. In particular, officials recognised the need to devise a method by which they could explain and disseminate to the European public the complex information behind new travel rules. Member States had constructed a framework of interlocking rules and restrictions that safeguarded public health, but also hindered freedom of movement and the Single Market.
Objectives
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) was tasked with developing an interactive online platform that could collect travel entry data from the 31 EU and Schengen countries and tailor it to reach the widest possible audience. The audience comprised non-political users and travellers living in different countries, with different regulations and speaking different languages. The new platform’s chief mission was to promote safe tourism during the pandemic and meet citizens’ demands for reliable, authoritative information on existing rules in different countries.
Implementation
With more than 45 million visits and almost 4 million app downloads, the Re-open EU app was the most downloaded EU app in history. The platform developed a reputation as a public service tool that harnesses the latest innovative technology to improve the lives of all Europeans. It was developed and launched in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, less than six weeks after it was requested.
To reach the broadest possible audience, automatic translation technology allowed national updates to be simultaneously published in all 24 EU languages. A publicly accessible email inbox was set up so that Re-open EU’s team of writers and editors could quickly respond to citizen concerns and requests for information. Re-open EU has been a fundamental element of the EU’s response to the pandemic, and its reputational impact goes beyond the JRC’s exposure. Since it provided a direct service to citizens who want to travel safely in the EU, it helped raise the profile of the Commission as a whole.