Romania to issue electronic identity documents starting August 2021

Romania is under an obligation to issue electronic identity documents starting August 2021, and the Interior Ministry (MAI) will hold a public debate next week on the government ordinance it initiated on this matter, Interior Minister Marcel Vela said Friday. "I would start with a discussion on the electronic identity card, given that after the bill was published on the website there were contradictory discussions, all kinds of interpretations and I think it is good and normal to communicate directly with you about it. MAI initiated the government ordinance amending and supplementing some pieces of legislation that include provisions regarding the personal records and identity documents of Romanian citizens, an essential project for all citizens. Romania is under an obligation to start next August issuing electronic identity documents. There is a European Regulation published in July 2019. We need to align our national legislation, which means we have to go through all the legal and technical procedures quickly. The electronic identity card will simplify the way Romanian citizens can move outside Romania, the European Union space," Vela said on Friday at a press conference at the MAI headquarters. The minister added that the new identity documents create the possibility for Romanian citizens residing abroad to obtain an electronic identity card without having to establish a domicile in Romania. "The electronic identification documents come with additional security elements and with guarantees that the person producing the document is in fact its real holder. The making of the new identity documents will be done in a centralised manner by the National Print House Company. The national identity cards will greatly simplify the relation of the Romanian citizens, both with the national authorities and with those from other states. The electronic identity documents may be used by the citizens in their interactions with the public administration, being allowed to request service provision irrespective of the place of residence, thus getting rid of the infamous queues at the counters in the area of the Interior Ministry as well as of other areas of public administration," said Vela. The minister said that the new identity document will also be used as the healthcare card when adding to the data in the chip a digital certificate that will be issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and which allows the holder to authenticate in the health insurance informatics platform. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)