eID card is launched in Spain

The new electronic identity card has been officially launched in Spain with a high-profile media campaign, a new eID website and a Freephone helpline for citizens. The Spanish Police Department, which is the institutional body in charge of issuing ID cards in Spain, has allocated €50 million to this campaign from now until 2008. Ana Isabel Vicente Zorita became the first Spanish citizen to receive the new Spanish eID card (or the DNIE, as it is known in Spain), from Interior Minister José Antonio Alonso, in an official ceremony held in the city of Burgos on 16 March 2006. The ceremony made front-page news in the Spanish papers as part of the Spanish Police Department’s high-profile information campaign aimed at encouraging wide-scale adoption of the card.The new electronic card will be distributed to the citizens of Burgos, before being progressively extended to all Spanish regions. With its own logo and slogan - ‘Identificate con él’ (Identify with it) - the information campaign has been designed to follow the introduction process, explaining the advantages of the card and providing practical information on how to obtain and use it correctly.

The Official Publications Office, Red.es, charged with promoting the adoption of the information society in Spain, will assist citizens who have received their first eID card, by means of helpdesks and practical demonstrations on how to use the electronic document.The new eID website, a key element in the campaign, provides a central point of contact. It contains information related to the specifications and functionalities of the eID card, as well as legal information relating to the issues of security and certification. It is also a ‘toolbox’ where citizens can change the PIN code of their eID card, check the status of the digital certification of the document, and download software to enable them to use it for electronic transactions.

Further information:

http://www.mir.es/

http://www.dnielectronico.es

http://www.red.es/index.html

Source : European Biometrics Portal