On 5 May 2010, the new German electronic identity card project ('neuer Personalausweis') received the European Identity Award 2010 in the category 'eGovernment/eHealth'.

The prize was handed over to the representative of the German Ministry of the Interior in the frame of the European Identity Conference 2010 which was held in Munich from 4 to 7 May 2010.

The new German eID card will replace existing ID cards for all German citizens. It will be possible to apply for a new card as from 1 November 2010.

With the newly integrated electronic identification function, the card will enable citizens to easily and reliably perform online transactions. Great emphasis will be put on privacy, data security and the citizens' ability to self-determine the extent of access to their personal data. All information and transactions will be securely protected by means of internationally recognised and established encryption techniques.

The representatives of the analyst group which organised the awards believe that "electronic proof of identity by means of the new eID card will gain considerable importance as an instrument for the strong authentication of end-users". With this prize they honoured the "innovative and well thought-out concept" of the project, highlighting in particular its "exemplary way of addressing data security concerns."

The other award winner in the eGovernment/eHealth category is University Clinic Munich for a project involving authentication and authorisation for internal systems. 

 

Further information: 

• Original news article - Federal Government Commissioner for Information Technology (in German)
• European Identity Awards 2010 - Press release
• New German electronic identity card project - Federal Ministry of Interior (in German)
• Service and information portal on the new German identity card (in German)
• European Identity Conference 2010
• European Identity Award Ceremony - Video 
• Related ePractice news article - DE: New electronic identity cards by November 2010