The deployment of the e-Evidence Digital Exchange System (eEDES) is progressing well and should soon be operational in several Member States, according to an information note from the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council dated 2 March.
Requested in EU Council conclusions of June 2016, the system aims to increase the efficient use of the standardised forms and procedures for obtaining electronic evidence in the context of mutual legal assistance between Member States.
The expert working group established for its development approved the functional architecture of the system in February 2018. It has opted for a decentralised architecture with national facilities that must be interconnected through a secure online portal. For the communication portal, Member States' experts opted for the use of the Internet, but with gateways to eCodex Connector and eDelivery to secure the exchange of information.
The first phase of the development of the system has been completed and it has been tested with Member States, the note says.
The Commission provided technical support for the implementation of the system at national level and for its subsequent operation, but also financial support through the Justice Programme and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
According to the national implementation plans submitted to the Commission, the system should be operational in the first half of 2020 for Bulgaria, Italy, Malta, Austria, Portugal and Finland, in the second half of 2020 for Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Latvia and in the first half of 2021 for Estonia and Sweden.
The successful deployment of eEDES also depends on the ability of Member States to prepare businesses to use the system, the note says, calling on Member States to take “without delay” all the necessary steps to implement the eEvidence Digital Exchange System.
See document: https://bit.ly/3cqIpf5 (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)