European citizens and businesses, especially those operating in another European Union (EU) country (or even beyond the EU) often struggle to understand the rules that apply to their particular case, or the steps required to carry out simple administrative procedures. Searching for information is often a tiresome and confusing process. Results tend to be scattered across different websites that often lack any guarantee of quality or reliability, and significant information gaps remain in many areas, leaving important questions unanswered.
Set up to address these problems, the Single Digital Gateway facilitates online access to information, administrative procedures, and assistance services that EU citizens and businesses may need in another EU country and beyond. Access to the gateway is via a search function in the Your Europe portal, the European Commission’s most visited website designed to help citizens and businesses to work, live and do business in other European countries and beyond – avoiding unnecessary inconvenience and red tape.
Since the end of March 2024, the IP Helpdesk is fully part of the Single Digital Gateway and findable via the Assistance Service Finder. In brief this means that any business with a question on intellectual assets will be able to be assisted directly by the IP Helpdesk when accessing the Your Europe portal, allowing EU companies to become more and more competitive by enabling the protection of their business ideas and branding.