Since 1 January 2013, the European Commission has obliged Member States to agree with the the same legal validity of electronic and paper invoices.
One of the main initiatives included in the Europe 2020 Strategy is the "Digital Agenda for Europe“, Which aims to achieve a single digital market in the European Union. This agenda includes holding a Multilateral European Forum on electronic invoicing, which the European Commission has just ratified will be held annually at least until 2017. So we will have a Second Forum coming soon.
This Multilateral Forum will coordinate the actions of the Member States and identify measures at European level that could facilitate the mass adoption of the e-invoice. In the first edition of the Forum, an exchange of ideas and experiences was achieved between the Member States and was crucial for the preparation of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on electronic invoicing in the public sector.
The second Forum will continue with the contribution of experiences and good practices of electronic invoicing, the analysis of the problems in the exchange of invoices between states, and the creation of a model of semantic data in the electronic invoice that is standardized in European level.
It has been established that the Commission will consult this forum before acting on such important issues as: legislative initiatives at European level affecting e-invoicing, national initiatives, initiatives affecting SMEs, initiatives to expand the implementation of the e-Invoice in the public or private sector, etc.
The composition of the Forum will include two members from each Member State, representatives of European consumer associations, SMEs, large companies, banks, e-invoice service providers and a representative of the European institutions involved. in this sector.
