More than 90% of companies are currently digitizing their processes, according to an IDG survey, and the European Union (EU) is looking to make this market more competitive.
It is within this framework that it has adopted regulations aimed at establishing standardized trust mechanisms across the continent.
European regulation n°910/2014, more commonly known as eIDAS (electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services) materializes this political will. This text has applied to the entire European internal market since 2016.
Already in 1999, the European directive 1999/93/EC defined a community framework for the electronic signature. From the beginning of the 2000s, the members of the European Union transposed this directive into their national law. Since then, the eIDAS regulation has replaced the directive, which has signaled the real take-off of the electronic signature throughout the European Union.
With this text, the objective of the European Commission is to create a European internal market for trust services. A marketplace where every citizen or business can use their digital identity (eID) to access public services available online.
In concrete terms, the aim is to create a homogeneous regulatory framework that ensures the interoperability of the systems of the different countries. The regulation also introduces the concept of qualified trust service provider (qualified PSCo) and establishes common standards and requirements for electronic identification and trust services. The recognition of the electronic signature as proof from a legal point of view is perhaps one of the major achievements of the eIDAS regulation.
This is a big step forward in the field of online trust because it means that an electronically signed document cannot be refused as evidence in court in the event of a dispute on the sole ground that its signature is electronic.
A regulation that affects all European administrations and businesses
This European regulation therefore obviously concerns all the trust services implemented by the administrations. Starting with the online tax declaration systems made available to citizens. And it also concerns all companies that implement, for example, electrical signature or time stamping in their processes.
An evolving regulation
It should also be noted that the regulations are changing. eIDAS 2, or eIDAS 2.0, is the revised version of the eIDAS regulations.
Its entry into force is scheduled for the coming months, when all EU Member States will have to guarantee the availability of the Digital Identity Wallet (DIW) to all EU citizens and residents.
The Digital Identity Wallet must therefore make it possible to store and manage the digital identity and personal data of its user in a single place. Thus, it will facilitate access to online services for individuals and companies, the secure completion of their transactions, as well as their cross-border operations and travel. This will accelerate the digital transformation and digital exchanges within the EU.