Successful cross-border authentication testing brings Armenia, Georgia and Moldova one step closer to aligned eTrust and eID standards

Public agencies from Armenia, Georgia and Moldova are one step closer to achieving cross-border electronic authentication from the standpoint of technical compatibility. The three countries have successfully tested connecting to foreign electronic services using their national electronic IDs (eIDs) as part of EU4Digital’s cross-border electronic identification (eID) pilot activities between the Eastern Partner countries.

The software – called an eIDAS-Node – currently enables European Union Member States to communicate with their counterparts in a centralised or distributed fashion for cross-border authentication. The EU’s updated  EUDI regulation, previously known as the eIDAS regulation, facilitates secure cross-border transactions and aims to promote seamless digital services within the EU.  

During the cross-border eID pilot, testing was successfully completed by the following country pairs: Armenia and Georgia; Armenia and Moldova; and Georgia and Moldova. The pilot programme emulates the EU’s model but has been modified for local needs and capabilities. Representatives from the Eastern partner countries have shared their experience and its value for their future plans:

Having EU aspirations, when e-Government Agency of Moldova implemented back in 2012 the first version of MPass – our single sign-on service integrating various authentication means, we have chosen the European authentication standard used back then by European Project STORK, namely SAML v2. This resulted in some minor changes to Mpass to transform it to a real eIDAS node for authentication, which we successfully tested with Estonian, Armenian, and Georgian eIDAS nodes during the pilot project. Now we can clearly state that the technical side of European Union integration for electronic authentication is ready. Big thanks to EU4Digital Team for guiding us!