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Trust Services & eID

The eIDAS regulation (EU) No.910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market was adopted in 2014 by the European Parliament and came into effect on 1 July 2016. 

Trust services

Electronic trust services guarantee secure and legally valid electronic transactions. They include:

  • Electronic signature, i.e. the electronic equivalent of a written signature
  • Time stamping, i.e. the date and time on an electronic document which proves that the document existed at a point-in-time and that it has not changed since then
  • Electronic seal, i.e. the electronic equivalent of a seal or stamp which is applied on a document to guarantee its origin and integrity
  • Electronic registered delivery, i.e. a service that, to a certain extent, is the equivalent in the digital world of registered mail in the physical world
  • Website authentication, i.e. trusted information on a website (e.g. a certificate) which allows users to verify the authenticity of the website and its link to the entity/person owning the website
  • Legal admissibility of electronic documents to ensure their authenticity and integrity

The eIDAS Regulation introduces the principle of non-discrimination in the legal effects and admissibility of electronic documents in legal proceedings, and ensures that they work across borders. It is only by providing certainty of the legal validity of all these services, that businesses and citizens will confidently go digital.

eSignature

The eSignature Directive, the legal instrument preceding eIDAS, has been repealed and new rules introduced at EU level under eIDAS Regulation have the objective of removing existing barriers to the cross-border use of electronic identification means in Member States for public services.

Supervision Scheme, Notification Process and Fees

Information on the national supervision system applicable to qualified trust service providers and the qualified trust services they provide as regulated by Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 can be found in:

Trusted Service List

General information about trusted lists under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014

Trusted lists are essential elements in building trust among electronic market operators by allowing users to determine the qualified status and the status history of trust service providers and their services. 
The trusted lists of Member States include, as a minimum, information specified in Articles 1 and 2 of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1505.
Member States may include in the trusted lists information on non-qualified trust service providers, together with information related to the non-qualified trust services provided by them. It shall be clearly indicated that they are not qualified according to Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.
Member States may include in the trusted lists information on nationally defined trust services of other types than those defined under Article 3(16) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014. It shall be clearly indicated that they are not qualified according to Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.
 
Trusted list of Malta
The present list is the trusted list including information related to the qualified trust service providers which are supervised by Malta, together with information related to the qualified trust services provided by them, in accordance with the relevant provisions laid down in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.
The cross-border use of electronic signatures has been facilitated through Commission Decision 2009/767/EC of 16 October 2009 which has set the obligation for Member States to establish, maintain and publish trusted lists with information related to certification service providers issuing qualified certificates to the public in accordance with Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures and which are supervised/accredited by the Member States. The present trusted list is the continuation of the trusted list established with Decision 2009/767/EC.
 
 
 

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