SSEDIC brings Europe one step closer to a Single Digital Community

Thematic network launches to consult and contribute to the roadmap towards the Digital Agenda for Europe’s vision

Scoping the Single European Digital Identity Community (SSEDIC), a thematic network for the EC’s Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE), has launched following its first meeting on 16th December 2010 in Brussels at the Open Government Conference of the Belgian Presidency. SSEDIC will provide a platform for all the stakeholders of electronic identity (eID) to work together and collaborate to prepare the agenda for a Single European Digital Identity Community, as envisaged by Key Action 16 in the EC’s DAE.

Today, many barriers still affect the vision of a Single Digital Community in the EU. The interoperability challenges faced by national eIDs – the way citizens, government and businesses can identify themselves securely online – means that access to many EU public services, markets and other transactions are not possible between Member States, forcing people to look outside the EU. A Single Digital Community will be a major transformational impetus to further enhance the economic strength and political cohesion of European society, as the next logical step from the achievements of the Single Market.

The DAE aims to unite the EU in a flourishing digital economy by 2020, outlining policies and actions to maximise the benefits for all Member States. To achieve these goals, the EC works closely with national governments, concerned organisations and companies, such as SSEDIC, which consult on a frequent basis in order to deliver recommendations, timelines and technical roadmaps. SSEDIC will build on thematic consultations and work carried out by other projects and pilots including the eIDM Expert Working Group, STORK and PEPPOL.

The EC says that the network will identify the actions and the timetable for the successful launch in 2013 of a European scale initiative on eID management (eIDM) spanning from research to deployment. It also added that eIDM in the future digital society will be the basis for trustworthy services and interactions in domains such as e-government, e-health, ecommerce, finances, transport, travel, web 2.0 communities and the internet of things encompassing virtual and tangible entities.

SSEDIC will identify the actions and the timetable for the DAE, as well as deliver a stakeholder planning resource to assist its implementation. The network will also establish a series of stakeholder groups in sectors, of which these are government, society, business, leisure, finance and transport. Each group will consider, through further consultation, the political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental aspects of a Single Digital Community. During the three years the project will run, it will 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.

Led by NESTOR Tor Vergata University of Rome, the three year project brings together 35 partner stakeholders from across the EU, including T-Systems, Microsoft, IBM, KU Leuven, BSI and EEMA.

“Nestor is excited to lead this important consultation on the future of Digital Identity in Europe,” comments the SSEDIC project manager at NESTOR, Daniela Merella.“A strong long term strategy, contributing to the Digital Agenda will enhance Europe’s effectiveness and efficiency globally and also improve the quality of life, confidence and trust for every citizen. We see this as an ideal opportunity to add Nestor’s unique practical skills and experience in identity management at international scale to advance SSEDIC’s goal in planning the shape of European digital identity for the future.”

Source: SSEDIC