Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/102 of 15 January 2026 on setting out the technical specifications for the European electronic access point, as referenced in Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 of the European Parliament and of the Council

Official Journal EN of the European Union L series 2026/102 16.1.2026 COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION(EU) 2026/102 of 15 January 2026 on setting out the technical specifications for the European electronic access point, as referenced in Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 of the European Parliament and of the Council THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2023 on the digitalisation of judicial cooperation and access to justice in cross-border civil, commercial and criminal matters, and amending certain acts in the field of judicial cooperation(1), and in particular Article 10(1), point (g), thereof, Whereas: (1) In order to set up the European electronic access point as part of the decentralised IT system, it is necessary to define and adopt technical specifications, including the means used for the electronic identification of the user and the retention period for storing information and documents. (2) The European electronic access point, as part of the decentralised IT system, should comply with the applicable technical specifications, information security objectives and other requirements of the decentralised IT system referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2844, set out in the implementing acts adopted under Article 10(1) points (a) to (e) thereof. (3) The European electronic access point has been established by Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 as part of the decentralised IT system for the purposes of facilitating the access of natural and legal persons to the competent authorities in civil and commercial matters with cross-border implications. The European electronic access point should allow natural and legal persons to file claims, launch or send requests, receive procedurally relevant information, including digitalised case files or parts thereof, and communicate with the competent authorities, or allow their representatives to do so on their behalf, in the instances covered by Regulation (EU) 2023/2844, or be served with judicial or extra- judicial documents. (4) The European electronic access point should be connected to an interoperable authorised access point within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2022/850 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2)and should be hosted on the European e-Justice Portal. (5) In accordance with Commission Decision (EU) 2024/789(3), Ireland participates in Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 and is therefore taking part in the adoption of this Regulation. (6) In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol No 22 on the position of Denmark, annexed to the TEU and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Denmark is not bound by or subject to the application of this Regulation. (1) OJ L 2023/2844, 27.12.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2844/oj. (2) Regulation (EU) 2022/850 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on a computerised system for the cross- border electronic exchange of data in the area of judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters (e-CODEX system), and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1726 (OJ L 150, 1.6.2022, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/850/oj). (3) Commission Decision (EU) 2024/789 of 6 March 2024 on confirming the participation of Ireland in Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the digitalisation of judicial cooperation and access to justice in cross-border civil, commercial and criminal matters (OJ L, 2024/789, 8.3.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2024/789/oj). ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/102/oj 1/4EN OJ L, 16.1.2026 (7) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4)and delivered an opinion on 28 November 2025. (8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Digitalisation of Judicial Cooperation Committee, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Technical specifications and other requirements for the European electronic access point The technical specifications for the European electronic access point, including the means used for the electronic identification of the user at the assurance level high as specified in Article 8(2), point (c), of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5)and the retention period for storing information and documents, referred to in Article 10(1), point (g), of Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 shall be as set out in the Annex to this Regulation. Article 2 Entry into force This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaties. Done at Brussels, 15 January 2026. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN (4) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39, ELI: http://data. europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1725/oj). (5) Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73, ELI: http:// data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/910/oj). 2/4 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/102/ojEN OJ L, 16.1.2026 ANNEX Technical specifications for the European electronic access point 1. Introduction This Annex sets out the technical specifications for the European electronic access point (EEAP), a portal which is accessible to natural and legal persons or their representatives, throughout the Union, and is connected to an interoperable access point in the context of the decentralised IT system established under Regulation (EU) 2023/2844. 2. Definitions 2.1. ‘Data exchange’ means the exchange of messages and documents through the decentralised IT system; 2.2. ‘Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure’ or ‘HTTPS’ means encrypted communication and secure connection channels; 2.3. ‘Electronic identification’ means electronic identification as defined in Article 3 paragraph 1 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014; 2.4. ‘Authentication’ means authentication as defined in Article 3 paragraph 5 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014; 2.5. ‘Electronic identification means’ means electronic identification means as defined in Article 3 paragraph 2 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014; 2.6. ‘Electronic identification scheme’ means electronic identification scheme as defined in Article 3 paragraph 4 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014; 2.7. ‘EU Login’ is the European Commission’s user authentication service that allows users to access a wide range of Commission web services, including the EEAP; 2.8. ‘REST’ (REpresentational State Transfer) means an architectural style for designing networked applications. It relies on a stateless, client-server communication model and uses standard methods to perform operations on resources, which are typically represented in structured formats; 2.9. ‘SOAP’ means, as per the standards of the World Wide Web Consortium, a messaging protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of web services in computer networks; 2.10. ‘web service’ means a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network; it has an interface described in a machine-processable format. 3. Methods of communication by electronic means The EEAP shall use service-based methods of communication, such as Web-services for the purpose of data exchanges. Specifically, EEAP as a portal shall be connected to an authorised e-CODEX access point as set out in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/850. 4. Communication protocols The EEAP shall use secure internet protocols, such as HTTPS, for communication within the decentralised IT system, and standards-based communication protocols, such as SOAP or methods, such as REST, for the transmission of structured data and metadata. ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/102/oj 3/4EN OJ L, 16.1.2026 5. Availability of services 5.1. The service time frame shall be 24 hours, 7 days a week, with a technical availability rate of the EEAP of at least 98 % excluding scheduled maintenance. 5.2. In case of unexpected failure of the EEAP, the Commission shall inform the Member States without delay of the unavailability, and if known, of the projected resuming of the service. 6. Connection to the Competent courts (authorities) database (CDB) The EEAP shall be connected to the Competent courts (authorities) database (CDB) of competent authorities’ information, established for the purposes of the decentralised IT system. 7. Means used for the electronic identification of the user 7.1. For the purpose of electronic identification and authentication, the EEAP shall allow users to electronically identify and authenticate themselves with an electronic identification means, including through the EU Digital Identity Wallet, issued at the assurance level high as specified in Article 8(2), point (c), of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014. 7.2. Authentication to the EEAP shall be carried out using EU Login, which is integrated with the electronic identification schemes notified by Member States. 8. Retention period for storing information and documents 8.1. The Commission shall develop the EEAP in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and in accordance with the principle of data protection by design and by default. It shall implement the appropriate administrative, organisational, and technical measures to ensure a high level of cybersecurity. 8.2. The data retention period for the messages and associated metadata in the EEAP shall be five years after the closure of the case. 8.3. The retention period for draft documents which have not been sent that the user may store on the EEAP shall be the same for all legal acts in cross-border civil and commercial matters and shall not affect the national data retention policies. This retention period shall be three months from the last modification of the draft document. 9. Web accessibility requirements The EEAP shall comply with the web accessibility requirements set out in Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1). (1) Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/2102/oj). 4/4 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/102/oj