All Spanish police stations should be equipped to issue eID cards by the end of this year, under a €43 million package announced by the government.

Action under a new agreement signed between the government and the public ITC promotion agency, Red.es, will include providing police stations with the necessary hardware, advice on maintenance and staff training.

The finance package will come from the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce. This figure is included in the €77 million earmarked for eID in 2007 under Spain’s technology promotion scheme, the ‘Plan Avanza’. The rest of the money will be covered by an agreement to be signed shortly with the Ministry of the Interior.

Plan Avanza also includes an eID card distribution programme, co-financed with Spain’s Autonomous Communities. The budget for this is €7 million. The aim is to promote eID and electronic signatures through the media, as well as building eID into day-to-day administrative and business practice.

Spain’s 500,000th eID card was issued on 18 April 2007, according to the police. By the end of the year, the number of cards in use is expected to rise to 2.5 million. The industry ministry says they will provide “a technological boost without precedent in Spain”, and this will be “decisive for the development of the information society”.

Story provided by European Communities 2007