05 May 2016 Publication of the last eIDAS implementing act: a major step towards the wider uptake of eSignature in Europe
Brussels, 2 May 2016: Eurosmart, the voice of the Smart Security Industry, warmly welcomes the publication of the Commission Implementing Decision 2016/650, laying down standards for the security assessment of qualified signature and seal creation devices, in the Official Journal to the European Union on 25 April 2016.
This piece of legislation represents a great leap forward and paves the way for the entry into application in July 2016 of the new rules on Electronic Signature laid down in the eIDAS Regulation.
“This decision will contribute to accelerate the adoption of Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) by all European citizens while ensuring the highest possible privacy protection”, stated Timothée Mangenot, Chairman of Eurosmart. QES has to meet high security requirements in order to have the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature and the industry represented by Eurosmart will be at the forefront for providing certified and standardized eSignature solutions that has been proven as very robust and easy to use.
“We praise the European Commission and Member States for referring to European Standards and Protection profiles (CEN EN 419 211, parts 1 to 6) for the security assessment of QES creation devices”, continued Timothée Mangenot. Promoting European-driven standards in legislation is the right way forward in order to benefit to European smart security technologies allowing a maximal resistance to high level attacks and security breaches.
Mangenot said that Eurosmart keeps on encouraging the development of European and global standards, addressing topics such as eSignature to reap the benefits of broader and more interoperable systems.
