STORK 2.0 Creates Single Electronic Identification And Authentication Area For Europe
Three-year EU Co-funded Project To Facilitate Wider Uptake of eID Throughout Europe
Brussels, 28/06/12 - STORK 2.0 (Secure idenTity acrOss boRders linKed 2.0) is a major three-year project that has been launched to facilitate the creation and take-up of a single interoperable and sustainable electronic identification (eID) authentication area for Europe, for legal and natural persons. The initiative will drive convergence between the private and public sector, at national and EU level, for secure and easy access to cross-border public services using eID credentials. Four pilots will run for 12 months, focusing on eLearning and Academic Qualifications, eBanking, Public Services for Business and eHealth to demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of interoperable eID in a real-world environment.
STORK 2.0 is an EU co-funded initiative under the ICT Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP) of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). It brings together 58 consortium partners and 19 countries. The four key objectives of STORK 2.0 are:
- Accelerate the deployment of eID for public services by co-ordinating national and EC initiatives in support of a federated eID management architecture across Europe.
- Maximise the take-up of its scalable solutions throughout the EU, with a strong commitment to open specifications and longer-term sustainability around a vision of eID as a Service Offering (backed by participating European countries and industry).
- Facilitate the convergence of private and public sectors in a fully operational framework and infrastructure, which uses eID for secure and coherent authentication of legal and natural persons across the EU.
- Run four cross border and cross sector pilots to test and demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of interoperable eID in a real-world environment.
Achieving these objectives will be realised through the four pilot applications of the project (eLearning and Academic Qualifications, eBanking, Public Services for Business, eHealth) offering interoperable services in real-life settings. The pilots will validate common specifications, standards and building blocks, convincingly addressing challenging legal and governance issues (across borders, application domains and different sectors). These applications will facilitate borderless digital living and mobility in the EU, enhancing the Digital Single Market for public and commercial services in alignment with the Services Directive.
STORK 2.0 will build on the collaborative efforts of existing Large Scale Pilot projects that include the first STORK (eID) initiative that ran from May 2008 to December 2011, e-CODEX (eJustice), epSOS (eHealth), PEPPOL (eProcurement) and SPOCS (eBusiness). It will develop communities of interest such as the Industrial Monitoring Group and Member State Reference Group, involving stakeholders, as well as governments from Member States that are not participating to the project to ensure the widest possible influence of Europe’s future single eID area.
A spokesperson for the STORK 2.0 project, Ana Maria Piñuela Marcos, states: “The Large Scale Pilot projects are the cornerstone for implementing common solutions that will deliver accessible online public services throughout Europe. STORK 2.0 will liaise closely with these projects as it takes a significant and pioneering leap from the progression of identifying and authenticating citizens, to the ability to authenticate legal entities and natural persons.”
Further information:
STORK 2.0 website: http://www.eid-stork2.eu/