EUROSMART reaffirmed its commitment to contribute to the definition of a Roadmap on eID, enabling the implementation of the Manchester Ministerial Declaration for effective eGovernment by 2010. The goal of this joint development of the European Commission, Member States and stakeholders such as industry associations, is to pave the way to an interoperable system that will offer European citizens a trusted, economic and ubiquitous access to eServices throughout Europe. Marc Géméto, convenor of the Market &Technology Working Group of Eurosmart said: “The meeting in Vienna was an important step towards the achievement of the roadmap. The action plan of the Commission due in April 2006 will confirm the legal framework for action”. EUROSMART believes that smart card must play a major role in eID management. It is indeed the perfect tool that could meet the multiple objectives of facilitation in administration, convenience, respect of citizen privacy and strong authentication, as defined by the European Commission in November 2005 in the Signposts towards eGovernment by 2010, and reaffirmed by Mrs Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and media in her opening speech: “Electronic identification and authenticated electronic documents are the sine qua non for such meaningful, easy to use, and trustworthy online public services. Today’s incompatibility of public sector electronic identification and authentication systems is a barrier to using public services across borders”. Smart Card offers proven security, mobility and privacy in all aspects of life. The technology already exists to make smart card a multi applications support for physical and virtual identification and to secure access to eServices (eHealth Card, eDriving licence, ePassport, ePayment, etc.). florence.gras@eurosmart.com www.eurosmart.com