Until now, whenever companies have made purchases across European borders this has always required huge amounts of paperwork. For example, if a German company signs a contract with its Italian supplier for spare parts for an installation, both the German and the Italian legal system require a valid written agreement, and sometimes an official body even needs to be involved for the granting of delivery authorisation. This complicated paper chase will soon come to an end as it will in the future be possible to carry out such business transactions electronically with legally binding effect.
The new EU regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS) will as of 2016 offer a regulatory framework for legally binding contracts with electronic signatures and seals - regardless of whether the contracting parties are states, companies or consumers. The new regulation is intended to facilitate cross-border digital transactions such as contracts and online purchases.
“Contract negotiations will be possible via trusted channels of communication with the aid of delivery services similar to the one already familiar to us in Germany, the De-Mail procedure. Users will be able to archive their documents electronically. And all of this will be legally binding, without any need to print out the documents even once,” explains Clemens Wanko of TÜViT a company of the TÜV NORD GROUP.
As of 1 July 2016 this new regulation will completely replace the previously applicable electronic signature legislation of all EU Member States. Wanko’s advice on the fringe of the CA Day 2015 was that providers of trust services (electronic services for the creation, validation and safeguarding of electronic signatures, seals and timestamps) should start right now to prepare themselves and their products for secure, confidential and traceable Internet-based communication for pan-European use. At the event, representatives of the European Commission, the European Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) and operators and users of international trust services came together at the invitation of TÜViT in Berlin to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the new EU regulation. “eIDAS may very well become a milestone for the compatibility of electronic signatures and identities which could in turn make it into a successful model for possible future global use,” Wanko said.
About TÜViT
TÜV Informationstechnik GmbH – known as TÜViT – with headquarters in Essen, specialises in testing and certification of IT security and IT quality. As a “Trust Provider”, TÜViT supports organisations in the implementation and fulfilment of special requirements, legislation and guidelines (compliance). Testing and certification of security and quality characteristics of IT products, systems, services and infrastructures is based on recognised criteria and standards (e.g. Common Criteria or ISO/IEC 27001). The TÜViT portfolio of national and international accreditations is unique on the German market. With the “TRUSTED MOBILE AUDITS“, the experts from TÜViT test and evaluate the mobile infrastructures of companies and other organisations, internet services from service providers and individual mobile solutions. This integrated approach means that weaknesses are revealed, not only within the mobile core disciplines (e.g. within the mobile device management), but also in relation to the networking of the systems among themselves. www.tuvit.de
About TÜV NORD GROUP
With over 10,000 employees, TÜV NORD GROUP is one of the largest technical service providers, offering its advisory, service and inspection expertise in over 70 countries throughout the world. Areas of activity include Industrial Services, Mobility, IT and Training. TÜV NORD GROUP occupies a unique position in the sector based on its work in the fields of natural resources and aerospace and is firmly committed to its guiding principle and watchword: “Excellence for your business”.