The recently adopted Digital Single Market strategy opens up opportunities to further promote market digitisation, unleashing the potential of new business models and unlocking benefits to different sectors of the European market, while aiming at reinforcing trust and security in digital services. The rolling out of the eIDAS Regulation (on the mutual recognition of electronic identification and trust services) is a major step towards reaching DSM objectives: it offers a stable legal framework for electronic identification and trust services –like electronic signatures, seals, time stamps, electronic registered delivery services and website authentication- allowing EU citizens, businesses, and public administrations to confidently and conveniently go digital.

This is not something that the Commission should do on its own. That is why, further to last year's adoption of the eIDAS Regulation, we have organised a series of events to discuss with stakeholders how to ensure that the transformative nature of eID and trust services could help everyone:

- fully benefit from digitisation and from more secure and innovative business processes;

- enjoy a seamless, secure and convenient user experience when accessing online services from any digital devices or environment;

- have access to a greater number of cheaper and more transparent services offered in a well-functioning and more transparent market;

- be able to freely and easily choose services, providers and business models meeting their needs.

Initial discussions have highlighted that, whilst the deployment of eID and trust services could unleash huge potential in all economic and social sectors (from banking to e-health, from social media to sharing economy etc.), a number of hurdles (e.g. legal, economic, interoperability-related) still exist and should be addressed.

this is why we cannot stop here. We need to focus on practical solutions, on fresh ideas and thinking out-of-the-box. And we need your help to achieve this. Through this platform we welcome business and public authorities' opinions to enrich the discussion and suggesting possible solutions. Building on the outcomes and findings of eIDAS events held so far, we have identified the following discussion areas - but you are of course welcome to suggest topics of your own choice:

- how can we ensure regulatory alignment of specific legislations to facilitate digitisation enabled by the cross border use of eID and trust services in sectors such as banking, finance, payments, postal services, sharing economy, transport and ecommerce, etc.

- how can we achieve a common trust framework where provision of identification and authentication credentials would be central to ensure seamless user experiences in securely and conveniently accessing e-services through digital multi-access channels and diverse devices/environments?

- how can we support EU-wide interoperability and foster uptake of eID means and trust services across public and private sectors by focussing on standards, emerging business models, simplicity and convenience of use, economy of scale and global trade.

- The eIDAS rules for trust services will apply on 1 July 2016. Which implementation issues need to be tackled to ensure the smooth application of eIDAS, in particular for the eIDAS rules for trust services? [Link to discussion #4 under ideas]