Brussels, 29/08/2014 (Agence Europe) - The new EU electronic identification and “trust services” rules were published in the EU Official Journal On Thursday 28 August. The regulation will come into force on the twentieth day after publication, 16 September 2014. EU Digital Strategy Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in her blog: “This legislation represents a great accomplishment and a great opportunity for online services”.
The EU Council of Ministers formally adopted the draft regulation on e-identification and services of trust for electronic transactions in the internal market on 23 July 2014, following agreement in first reading with the European Parliament at the end of February 2014. The regulation creates a legal framework for e-signatures, electronic stamps, electronic dates and times, electronic documents, electronic recorded delivery and certification services for website authentification. Most people in Europe have little knowledge about the benefits of e- identification, but such systems have existed in Estonia for twelve years now, demonstrating the advantages of the country's national e-identification scheme, says Kroes. Other countries in Europe, such as Latvia, Germany and Portugal have developed similar infrastructure. Estonia is unique in that e-identification is almost universally used in the public and private sectors alike. (IL)