Background

Cross-border eID interoperability is a complex and multi-disciplinary issue covering legal, operational, semantic and technical aspects. The story of cross-border eID has evolved through a number of Large Scale Pilots, the work, results and lessons of which have played an important role in its development.

STORK 

To solve the issues of cross-border interoperability of eID, the European Commission initiated and co-funded a Large Scale Pilot named STORK (Secure identiTy acrOss boRders linKed). Beginning in 2008, STORK's basic premise was to build a modular technological infrastructure on top of national eID infrastructures. Different domains were piloted through this project and continued in STORK 2.0.

e-SENS 

e-SENS (Electronic Simple European Networked Services) was established in 2013. It aims to facilitate the deployment of cross-border digital public services through generic and re-usable technical components, by consolidating and improving on the solutions developed in other Large Scale Pilots. eSENS has continued to pilot the eID solution developed by STORK across several domains, including eHealth, eJustice, eAgriculture and eProcurement. 

Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL)

DIGITAL is a key EU funding instrument to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment at European level. In regard to eID, DIGITAL incorporates improvements resulting from the Pilots, packages them into a consumable solution along with supporting material, and makes this solution available for deployment by Member States. In regard to eID, DIGITAL has taken on the role to 'productise' and support the roll-out of eID connectivity to Member States. This includes the development of a package of services, including open-source software components, documentation, training and support. In March 2017, DIGITAL took over all functions and responsibilities of eSENS, as the pilot came to an end.