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Introduction: The Regulatory Landscape of Transport Digitalisation under the Electronic Freight Transport Information (eFTI) Regulation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Freight transport in the European Union is undergoing its most significant transformation in document management with the implementation of the eFTI Regulation (EU 2020\/1056)<\/strong><\/a>. The legislation imposes a legal obligation on all public authorities in the Member States to accept transport information in a standardised, interoperable digital format from July 2027<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At European level, the Commission has consolidated the implementing legislation, with the exception of regulatory provisions relating to the certification of eFTI<\/strong> service providers and platforms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Spain, this European roadmap intersects with the national digitalisation strategy through the recent Ministerial Resolution of the Directorate-General for Road and Rail Transport<\/a><\/strong> (dated 5 June 2026), adopted within the framework of the Sustainable Mobility Act. This measure makes the electronic Administrative Control Document (DeCA)<\/strong> mandatory for all domestic public road freight transport operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ministerial Resolution governs the technical specifications that electronic administrative control documents and the applications used to produce them must meet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Resolution itself provides a bridge to EU legislation: if transport information is managed through platforms within the eFTI framework (using structured data in accordance with the European CMDS standard), it will not be necessary to comply with the specific PDF\/QR format required under the national rules. The electronic DeCA is thus designed from the outset to be integrated seamlessly into the eFTI ecosystem. The decentralised eFTI model ensures that data remain under the control of private operators until a competent authority requests them as part of an administrative inspection. This functional infrastructure rests on four essential technical pillars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.Consignment Movement Datasets (CMDS):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These are standardised data structures that replace physical documents. Each transport operation is represented through a CMDS: a single interoperable set of fields <\/strong><\/a>relating to the movement of goods that brings together European and national regulatory requirements (consignor, carrier, route, goods, vehicle and other details).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2<\/strong>. eFTI Platforms:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These are technological environments (developed by software providers or large transport companies) responsible for processing data, managing signatures and storing CMDS <\/strong>records. They ensure that information is available in real time and provide the unique link (URL\/QR code) presented by the carrier during an inspection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.<\/strong> eFTI Gates:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These are access points or interoperable nodes managed by the public administrations of each Member State. The eFTI Gate<\/strong> acts as a secure router: it receives an inspection authority\u2019s request, locates the relevant eFTI Platform<\/strong> hosting the requested CMDS and forwards the validated data automatically and confidentially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Certification of eFTI Platforms:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To join the eFTI network, platforms must undergo an audit and certification process performed by Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) <\/strong>recognised in the EU. Certification validates compliance with requirements for data protection, cyberattack prevention, tamper-proof storage and continuous operational availability. To understand how the ecosystem works in practice, information exchange follows a sequence of three distinct phases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flow 1: Registering the Transport Operation and Generating the UIL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The logistics operator creates the transport declaration and registers it on its eFTI Platform (for example, by generating the DeCA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The platform, structured according to the CMDS<\/strong> standard, generates a globally unique identifier (UIL \u2013 Unique Identifier Location<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. The platform notifies the eFTI <\/strong>Gate in its country of the UIL registration, together with other identifying information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. The eFTI Gate\u2019s Registry of Identifiers indexes this code together with the platform identifier. The information on the movement of goods remains on the eFTI Platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Flow 2: Presentation at the Inspection Point<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. During a roadside inspection, the driver presents the code (via a QR code or digital link).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. This code contains the shipment\u2019s UIL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flow 3: Routing, Verification and Data Delivery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The inspector\u2019s device reads the UIL and sends a request to the eFTI Gate <\/strong>in its country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The eFTI Gate immediately consults the Registry of Identifiers<\/strong>. The eFTI Gate in the country where the inspection takes place determines whether the request must be routed to eFTI Gates<\/strong> in other countries through a secure, standardised Europe-wide communication system known as eDelivery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n 3. The eFTI Gate confirms the validity of the eFTI Platform holding the information and verifies that its technical certification is current.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n 4. The eFTI Gate requests only the authorised CMDS<\/strong> data from the relevant eFTI Platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. The eFTI Platform returns the encrypted data to the eFTI Gate, which displays them in a readable format on the inspector\u2019s screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. The inspector may send a communication that is routed through the eFTI Gate to the eFTI Platform, where it must be recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure the highest levels of cybersecurity, data integrity and interoperability, eFTI Platforms<\/strong> (whether solutions developed by software providers or in-house systems operated by major logistics companies) must incorporate specific features required by the EU:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As public authorities will base their inspections and administrative decisions on information processed by these systems, trust depends on mandatory certification<\/strong>. After successfully completing the audit, the platform obtains an official eFTI certificate and is entered on the European Union\u2019s public list of certified platforms. eFTI Gates will automatically reject any request originating from a system not listed as verified in that register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To test in practice how national rules are integrated with the European framework, the European Commission has selected the eFTI4LIVE project<\/strong>, funded with EUR 47 million through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project is led and coordinated directly by Spain\u2019s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility<\/strong>, placing the country at the forefront of European logistics innovation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the first operational phase of eFTI4LIVE<\/strong> led by the Ministry of Transport, the focus is on digitalising DeCA<\/strong>. ADIF<\/strong><\/a>, Puertos del Estado<\/strong><\/a>, Fundaci\u00f3n Valenciaport<\/strong><\/a>, the Port Authority of Valencia<\/strong><\/a> and the Port Authority of Huelva<\/strong><\/a> also participate in the project. Fundaci\u00f3n Valenciaport aims to provide technical and project-management support to MITMS and to collaborate with the Port Authority of Valencia in transforming its Port Community System into an eFTI Platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project tests:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The combined impact of the Ministerial Resolution on DeCA<\/strong> (with an October 2026 deadline) and the rollout of the eFTI4LIVE<\/strong> project led by the Ministry of Transport shows that document digitalisation is no longer a future promise. Transport companies and IT providers must adapt their systems to comply with national legislation this year, and integration into the European eFTI ecosystem will be possible from 9 July 2027<\/strong>. In principle, however, adaptation to the eFTI ecosystem will not be mandatory for transport companies, although this situation may change two years after the ecosystem is launched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. European Union Regulatory Framework (eFTI Regulation)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. National Regulatory and Strategic Framework (Spain)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. European Projects, Technical Documentation and Logistics References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n *Disclaimer: This English version has been generated with the support of AI-based translation tools. In case of discrepancies, the Spanish original prevails.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spain\u2019s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility is coordinating the major European eFTI4LIVE project to\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,1,19],"tags":[342,340,195],"tipo_publicacion":[],"temas":[],"ano_publicacion":[],"class_list":["post-6826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digitalization","category-sin-categoria","category-spotlight","tag-deca","tag-efti4live","tag-interoperability"],"primary_category_id":17,"coauthors_data":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6826"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6892,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6826\/revisions\/6892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6826"},{"taxonomy":"tipo_publicacion","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tipo_publicacion?post=6826"},{"taxonomy":"temas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/temas?post=6826"},{"taxonomy":"ano_publicacion","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ano_publicacion?post=6826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
The Ministerial Resolution on DeCA: The End of Paper Documents in Spain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Connection Between the DeCA Resolution and the eFTI Regulation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe eFTI Architecture: How do the Technical Components Interact?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nData Flows in the eFTI Ecosystem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Components](\"https:\/\/pharos390.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/efti_flow_EN-685x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nKey requirements for eFTI Platforms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The eFTI4LIVE Project: Leadership by Spain\u2019s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Conclusion: Preparing Logistics for 2026 and 2027<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
References<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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