Way forward for electronic identity (e-ID)* in Europe

16.06.2003

The third international conference of the Porvoo e-ID group

The third international conference of the Porvoo e-ID Group** was arranged in Oslo, Norway, in late May. The meeting resulted in the highest number ever of Government and private sector specialists assembled on the subject of electronic identity in Europe - 61 individuals from 18 countries. As a result of the efforts and cooperation of the members, the realisation of e-IDs is already reality in many European countries and fast becoming available for all EU citizens. An interoperable electronic identity will contribute to the realisation of a vision in which every European citizen has the same access to remote e-government services all over Europe on a 24 hour-a-day basis.

The two-day seminar included updates on country developments, presentations on biometrics and standardisation and on the eEpoch pilot project which aims at demonstrating interoperable and secure smart-card based digital identification across borders in six EU countries. In addition, the conference marked the first e-ID interoperability demonstration with an Estonian electronic ID card connecting to an e-government service provided by the Finnish Population Register Centre.

Osmund Kaldheim, Norway's State Secretary for the Ministry of Labour and Government Administration opened the meeting with the question 'why'. According to Kaldheim, the need is clear and the technology is there so why are so few people using electronic identity as yet. After outlining his own thoughts on the subject, he referred the question and search for answers to the experts adding that, as outlined in the eNorway 2005 strategy, he wanted 35 per cent of the relevant national population to be using e-ID and PKI by 2005 - noting that this is only possible if there is also sufficient number of e-government services available.

The Norwegian policy regarding electronic signatures and e-ID is a good example of a country that has embraced the concept of e-ID and is working towards making it a part of the everyday lives of citizens. State Secretary Oluf Ulseth with Norway's Ministry of Trade and Industry spoke of a strategy, which includes infrastructure, content and competence. Norwegian national PKI Forum has proposed a market-based infrastructure for e-ID and e-signature to support e-information exchange and also to reduce society's costs connected to implementing this initiative.

"Growth is possible in this area with the cooperation between public and private sectors, a committed government to put the necessary legal framework in place and by making it a real benefit for end users taking into account privacy and security issues," says Ulseth. He described that many digital signature projects in banking, gambling, student grants/loans are under way and some of them already in place in Norway, each with tens of thousands of users.

After the Norwegian presentations, the Estonian delegation told about their e-ID development.
In Estonia, there are 220 000 e-ID cards rolled-out, which makes 15 percent of the population. The e-ID project (EsteID) has been a joint public and private sector co-operation project. The EsteID card can be used in different e-services provided by banks, local municipalities and other authorities. A future service is eCitizen which includes a comprehensive eHealth project. For example, doctors can use their electronic identity cards for authentication when writing prescriptions. In Estonia the e-ID cards will, in the long run, replace bonus cards, driving licences and student cards.

March 2003 saw the launching of the Belgian e-ID card. In April the 11 pilot municipalities started to issue e-ID cards to civil servants and the public.
If the pilot project is successful, the Government of Belgium has estimated to launch over 10 million e-ID cards during the next five years.

Finnish Population Register Centre (PRC), a leader in the electronic identity field, outlined their national e-ID progress. In Finland, the Co-operative Banks Group will introduce the electronic ID provided by the PRC in all its smart cards in autumn 2003. The operator TeliaSonera will start test use of the electronic ID in its SIM cards in autumn 2003. Moreover, the electronic ID card and the Finnish social security card will be combined in June 2004.

Tapio Aaltonen, Director, Certificate Authority Services, Finnish Population Register Centre, presented the White Paper on Electronic Identity which defines the minimum requirements for interoperable electronic identity. The White Paper is the result of the work carried out in the framework of the eEurope Smart Card Charter.

"The Porvoo e-ID Group urges that the minimum requirements identified in the White Paper be adopted to ensure that e-ID can be readily used across EU national borders. "The Porvoo e-ID Group realises that interoperable systems can help bring Europe together and therefore welcomes the White Paper as an important step in the direction of e-ID for the deployment of secure e-government, e-administration and e-commerce services," says Aaltonen.

During the conference, the Porvoo e-ID Group noted the pan-European strategy for electronification of Health Insurance E-Forms and resolved to form a working group to prepare a discussion document on a legal framework for European e-ID. In addition, goals of the CEN/ISSS*** eAuthentication Standards Workshop and interim results of the eEpoch pilot projects were discussed.

"These Porvoo meetings are of big help in bringing the OSCIE (Open Smart Card Infrastructure for Europe) to life," says Jan van Arkel, co-chair of the eEurope Smart Card Charter and active participant in Porvoo. "Although there are many different groups and actions occurring, everyone involved is thinking and moving forward in the same direction towards realising the vision of the Smart Card Charter and in the transfer from white papers and standards into real life practice for the benefit of European citizens."

Linked to the Forum on Electronic Democracy, a major international event under the high patronage of President Jacques Chirac and attended by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the next Porvoo meeting will be held in September 2003 in Issy-les-Moulineaux at the gate to Paris. A specific public workshop dedicated to electronic identity will be held within the eDemocracy Forum to share information on e-ID concepts and exchange viewpoints with a broad audience.

Visit the web site on electronic identity at www.electronic-identity.org for further information on e-ID in Europe including Porvoo III presentations, recommendations and resolutions.
If you have more specific questions or concerns, please contact info@electronic-identity.org.

For more information, please contact:
Mr. Jan van Arkel, eEurope Smart Card Charter chairman, e-mail, arkel@cardlife.nl (available after 26 June, 2003)

Ms. Ulla Westermarck, Project Manager, Euclid, Finnish Population Register Centre (PRC), ulla.westermarck@vrk.intermin.fi


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