Brussels, 23/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 23 July, the Council adopted a regulation that lays down conditions for mutual recognition of electronic identification, sets rules for trust services, in particular for electronic transactions, and creates a legal framework for electronic signatures, seals and time stamps, electronic documents as well as electronic registered delivery services and certificate services for website authentication.
The new regulation provides a common foundation for secure electronic interaction between businesses, citizens and public authorities. It seeks to increase the effectiveness of public and private online services, electronic business and electronic commerce in the EU and to enhance trust in electronic transactions in the internal market.
The new rules require member states to recognise, under certain conditions, means of electronic identification of natural and legal persons falling under another member state's electronic identification scheme which has been notified to the Commission. It is up to the member states to choose whether they want to notify all, some or none of the electronic identification schemes used at national level to access at least public online services or specific services. These rules only cover cross-border aspects of electronic identification, and issuing means of electronic identification remains a national prerogative.
Those member states which so wish may join the scheme for recognising one other's notified e-identification means as soon as the necessary implementing acts are in place. This is expected to take place in the second half of 2015. The mandatory mutual recognition is expected to kick off in the second half of 2018.
Until now, there were EU provisions only on electronic signatures, laid down in the 1999 e-signature directive, which has been repealed with effect from July 2016. The new regulation also introduces, for the first time, EU-wide rules concerning trust services, which, if they comply with the regulation, can circulate freely within the single market. In addition, an EU trust mark will be created to identify trust services, which meet certain strict requirements. The regulation will enter into force 20 days after publication, within the next few days, in the Official Journal. (EH)