Editorial

eIDAS goes live

EU begins rollout of cross-border Digital Identity project

Posted 2 October 2018 by Gary Flood


The European Commission says that – as of Saturday just gone, its EU-wide legislation on the electronic identification – its eIDAS Digital Identity Regulation – has gone into force.

Now, cross-border recognition of electronic ID is in place, says Brussels – allowing citizens and business to share their identity data when necessary.

“People will be able to use their electronic ID (eID) such as ID cards, driver licenses, bank cards and fill tax returns online, access medical records and online public services across the EU,” it states.

It also means that cross-border electronic transactions, such as enrolment in a foreign university, opening a bank account, accessing electronic health records. Citizens moving to another European country will be able to manage administrative work online, cutting out the paperwork, that it will now be much easier to open a bank account anywhere in the EU without being physically present in full compliance with the EU rules, especially against the money laundering, as well as better support GDPR.

The idea is that any citizen in the European Union will be able to use his or her national eID means, notified according to eIDAS rules, to access online public services in any other Member State, while the Commission claims that it will also mean sharing only necessary information, “thus reducing significantly the risks of data misuse and scandals like the Cambridge Analytica”.

This parameter is essential in the development of Blockchain systems where ownership and accountability are the key factors, it also claims.

Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain have completed their notification procedure, Croatia and Estonia are expected to be the next to officially notify their eIDs, while Belgium, Portugal and the UK have initiated the pre-notification procedure, with Italy having just launched a private-sector e-IDAS compliant scheme in August.

Commenting on the move, for Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, in charge of Digital Economy and Society, “To increase citizens’ trust, public authorities are not the only ones to play an active role; it is important that also the private sector benefits from eIDAS’ full potential, as this legislation holds the power to create a market for authentication, authorisation and attributed services worth more than €2.13bn by 2022.”