Press Release: Electronic signatures: legally recognised but cross-border take-up too slow, says Commission

According to a progress report (COM [2006] 120) published by the European Commission in March 2006, the reluctant take-up of electronic signature tools is slowing down the growth of trade in goods and services via the internet. However, growing use of electronic ID cards and the use of e-signatures in e-government services, such as on-line income tax returns, are expected to drive demand in the future. The report also confirms that the 1999 Directive on a Community framework for electronic signatures continues to provide, for the moment, a valid basis for electronic signatures in the internal market.

European Commission: DG Information Society: i2010: A Single European Information Space http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/a_single_infor_space/index_en.htm

European Commission: DG Information Society: i2010: A Single European Information Space: Electronic Signatures: Report on the operation of Directive 1999/93/EC on a Community framework for electronic signatures, March 2006 http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/single_info_space/com_electronic_signatures_report_en.pdf

---