As one of the 'horizontal measures' of the IDABC, it was established as a permanent implementation of the principles stipulated in the 'European Interoperability Framework' (EIF).
Through the establishment of a single sharing and collaboration point, the European Union wanted to resolve the problems of semantic interoperability amongst the EU member states.
Another objective highlighted by the European Commission is the provision of scientific as well as practical information on all matters related to semantic interoperability.
The website www.semic.eu was built around a repository of real-life solutions labelled as 'interoperability assets' (XML schemas, code lists, ontologies, taxonomies, classification schemes, etc.)
The assets were subject to a standardised and supervised clearing process to ensure conformity with high quality standards.