What is EESSI?
EESSI - Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information - is the IT platform that helps exchanging information between social‑security institutions across Europe.
It connects roughly 3 000 institutions in 32 participating countries – the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The system is decentralised and lets social security institutions exchange structured electronic documents quickly, securely and in line with EU coordination rules.
Is EESSI a tool for citizens?
Citizens do not interact directly with EESSI. However they benefit from faster, more reliable communication between institutions – the same information that would have been sent on paper is now processed digitally.
For direct digital interaction between a citizen and a social‑security body, as part of the Fair Labour Mobility Package, the Commission proposed on 15 September 2026 the European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS)
How EESSI works
When national social security institutions need to exchange documents they do it through EESSI, these documents follow common procedures and are routed to the correct institution in another country.
- Submission
A national institution creates a standardised electronic document for a social‑security case
- Routing
The document is sent through EESSI to the appropriate institution in the other participating country.
- Processing
The receiving institution accesses the message via the public repository of national contacts and follows the agreed‑upon electronic procedure.
- Reply
The response follows the same secure, encrypted channel.
- Faster case handling
Applications for cross‑border pensions, unemployment, family or health benefits are processed more quickly, leading to earlier payments.
- Stronger rights protection
Uniform electronic procedures help ensure the correct application of coordination rules across borders.
- Clear deadlines
The regulation on the digitalisation of social‑security coordination (presented 15 September 2026) introduces binding time‑limits for processing cross‑border cases.
- Multilingual communication
Standardised documents are automatically translated into the recipient’s language, reducing misunderstandings.
- Improved fraud detection
Built‑in safeguards verify that data are complete and accurate, helping authorities combat fraud and error
- Statistical insight
Aggregated message data enable the Commission to monitor coordination performance and identify areas for improvement.
- Rights verification
Institutions can quickly exchange the information needed to confirm your entitlement to benefits
Factsheet
The Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information system (EESSI) connects electronically 3.270 social security institutions of the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It replaces the paper-based exchanges to the benefit of citizens who have lived and worked in several of these countries.