In July 2020, the Commission launched a public consultation and evaluation of the eIDAS Regulation. It has now published a report outlining its findings, after analyzing the responses received to the consultation.
Regarding efficiency, the Commission notes that the eIDAS Regulation has succeeded in establishing legal certainty in terms of liability, burden of proof, legal effect and international aspects of trust services, but some problems remain. The availability and uptake of trust services in the EU has increased since the introduction of the eIDAS Regulation, but there are differences between Member States and between trust services.
Consequently, the Commission states that, despite some achievements, the Regulation has “did not reach its potential in terms of efficiency”. Only a limited number of eIDs have been notified and acceptance of notified eIDs is limited. On the trust services side, the objective of remaining technologically neutral has led to a series of interpretations of the requirements of the regulation among the member states and a level playing field has not been achieved at the EU level.
Regarding efficiency, the Commission states that its baseline assessment indicates that so far the costs have outweighed the benefits due to low usage.
As for relevance, the Commission notes that the eID ecosystem has changed dramatically since the introduction of the regulation with a growing number of private identity providers. Given the increase in digital transactions, all EU citizens should have access to a secure and interoperable digital identity, which is not the case today. The objectives of the eIDAS legal framework, for example reducing market fragmentation through the use of common standards, remain relevant to address these issues, but the current scope and focus of the Regulation on notified electronic identification systems by Member States and on access to online public services is too limited.
As regards consistency, the Commission notes that the eID part of the Regulation is supported by a generally coherent system of mutual recognition of eIDs based on notification and peer review. The trust services framework also provides for a coherent supervisory system for trust services, but issues have been identified affecting the internal consistency of the Regulation.
As for the EU’s added value, the Commission notes that it has been limited due to the low coverage, adoption and use of electronic identification solutions. However, for trust services, the regulation provided a common legal framework for their use which reduced market fragmentation and increased adoption. He helped public administrations to reduce administrative burdens. Repealing the regulation would lead to fragmentation and negative consequences on other areas that depend on eIDAS, according to the Commission. However, changes to the framework, such as facilitating the use of trusted government eIDs by the private sector, could increase its European added value.
Overall, according to the Commission, the regulation has contributed to the further development of the single market and laid the foundations for a market for identity and trust services in the EU, meeting the ever growing need for transactions. digital security. However, the objectives and expectations of users have changed and, for the future, the Regulation needs to be improved so that it can respond to new policy objectives and new market demands, in particular due to the evolution of digitization. .
Along with the assessment report, the Commission has also published a staff working paper, which presents further evidence to support its findings. To read the full assessment report and for a link to the staff working paper, click here.
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