EEMA becomes SSEDIC partner

 

EEMA, the European association for eID and security, has announced it is a partner for the Scoping the Single European Digital Identity Community (SSEDIC), network.

SSEDIC is a network for the EC’s Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE).

During the project, which is set to last three years, EEMA will collaborate with other eID stakeholders from across Europe to identify the actions and timetable for the successful launch of a European scale initiative on eID management (eIDM) in 2013.

According to EEMA, Europe’s vision of a single market where goods, services and people can pass freely across borders has hit its roadblocks in the past and the digital community is no exception. Lack of interoperability between national identities, privacy questions and concerns of fraud have all meant that mirroring the single market online has not yet been successful. SSEDIC’s responsibility to advise the launch of a wide-scale eIDM initiative will help remove these barriers to online transactions, in order to revive the digital economy among member states by the DAE’s 2020 deadline.

“EEMA’s involvement in similar EC-funded projects, such as STORK, makes it a pivotal partner for SSEDIC, bringing together expertise from more than 1,600 industry professionals across Europe,” says Roger Dean, executive director, EEMA. “With SSEDIC, EEMA will build upon the findings of this work in order to deliver recommendations, timelines and technical roadmaps for the eIDM initiative. In the future, eIDM will be the basis for trustworthy services and interactions in areas such as eGovernment, eHealth, eCommerce, finances, transport, travel, eJustice and web 2.0 communities.”

EEMA joins the SSEDIC project leader NESTOR Tor Vergata University of Rome, alongside 34 other partners including T-Systems, Microsoft, IBM, KU Leuven and BSI.

According to the association, EEMA will contribute towards preparation for an agenda for eIDM. The project will build on thematic consultations and work carried out by other projects and pilots including the eIDM Expert Working Group, PEPPOL and STORK.

EEMA will work with NESTOR and partners to build a community of high level European and international experts, through a series of workshops, papers, online and physical conferences and other major EC events. EEMA’s sixth Annual European eID Interoperability Conference will play host to SSEDIC’s Second General Assembly on 15 March 2011, at Philips in Leuven, Belgium. The meeting is open to all attendees of the conference and will examine the status of SSEDIC as well as encourage industry eID stakeholders to join the network and influence the direction of European eID for the next 10 years.