Brussels, 22 February 2021 – Following the public consultation on Regulation (EU) 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services (eIDAS) launched by the Commission in 2020, SBS published a position paper highlighting the flaws of the current eIDAS interoperability framework and the benefits of standards.
The eIDAS Regulation provides a predictable regulatory environment to enable secure and seamless electronic interactions between businesses, citizens and public authorities. The COVID-19 pandemic and Europe’s digital transformation have demonstrated the key role of this Regulation in reducing the need for face-to-face communications, enabling eGovernment and business interactions, supporting cross-border reliable and trustworthy electronic identities and trust services, such as eSignatures, eDelivery, and eID.
SBS has published a position paper calling for a development of the current eIDAS Regulation to speed up the uptake of electronic identification and trust services. To make sure SMEs benefit from the regulation, current flaws should be corrected. It is important to consider some aspects such as reliability, performance, resilience and, particularly, the ease of use as top priorities for widespread business use. In addition, SBS argues that standards can help SMEs reap the full potential benefits of the new eIDAS framework and invest in eIDAS services across the EU. The consistent use of standards is a key principle introduced with eIDAS and demonstrated to be an effective tool to avoid putting at risk the investments made by many SMEs in creating innovative services based on eIDAS trust services.
SBS’ second recommendation is related to strengthening the Single Digital Market through increased publication and recognition of standards. The approach followed by the eIDAS Regulation is similar to the New Legislative Framework, which relies on harmonised standards to specify the essential requirements of products. Currently, only few of the possible implementing acts referencing standards have been published by the Commission. SBS recommends making the publication of implementing acts referencing standard mandatory for most – if not all – trust services.
Finally, SBS also stresses that it is essential to:
- minimize the risk of the regulation becoming obsolete by delegating power to the Commission for minor changes that do not relate to the fundamental principles to respond quickly to changing technology paradigms, after consultation with relevant stakeholders;
- support and increase SMEs´ participation to standard setting to improve and adapt standards and have better market recognition.
