The Cloud Signature Consortium welcomes changes to the eIDAS
Regulation that pave the way for a new and ambitious European digital
identity framework. At its core is the European digital identity wallet.
This will provide EU citizens and residents with a secure and convenient form
of digital identification to access public and private sector services throughout
the entire EU bloc. The wallet also enables users to sign documents with a
qualified electronic signature.
In this briefing paper – the first of a two-part series – we lay out the benefits
of using the wallet for remote signing of documents with the gold standard of
a qualified electronic signature to advance the EU’s digital strategy. We also
illuminate the key role of the Cloud Signature Consortium’s API specification
in facilitating remote signing with the wallet. However, challenges persist.
The revised eIDAS Regulation allows users to sign documents with a qualified
electronic signature “free of charge” for “non-professional purposes”; but
it does not define the meaning of “professional” and “non-professional”.
Additionally, EU member states lack official guidance on financing the
qualified certificates necessary for such signatures.
This uncertainty risks undermining the eIDAS Regulation’s goal of harmonising
trust services and creating a level playing field for actors in the trust services
ecosystem. Furthermore, a lack of legal clarity around what constitutes
“professional” or “non-professional” purposes when using qualified electronic
signatures, and the associated costs, risks hindering the widespread user
adoption of remote signing via the EUDI Wallet. As an industry leader, the
Cloud Signature Consortium encourages EU member states to recognise the
importance of qualified electronic signatures, clarify the distinction between
“professional” and “non-professional purposes”, and allocate adequate funding
for creating free-of-charge qualified electronic signatures with the wallet for
non-professional purposes.
Source: Cloud Signature Consortium