February 20, 2025 – Access to digital identity services and the need to diversify the trusted services market in the Republic of Moldova were discussed at the Advisory Council for Economic Digitalization – iConsiliu. The event addressed current challenges related to qualified digital signatures, an essential tool for citizens and businesses to interact with both public and private digital platforms. Participants highlighted the difficulties facing the trusted services market but noted that a concrete agenda is in place to overcome them. Sergiu Postică, Director of Strategy, Business Development, and Regulation at Orange Moldova, spoke about recent integrations carried out in partnership with STISC to ensure the resilience of mobile electronic signature services and the integration of eSIM technology. He also pointed out several challenges in the trusted services market, particularly regarding the security level of advanced and qualified digital certificates, investment protection, and ensuring the traceability of digitally signed transactions. State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, Cătălina Plinschi, emphasized the need for market development in trusted services. She pointed out that a key step would be the full transposition of European regulations on electronic identification and trust services into Moldovan legislation, including the eIDAS 2.0 Regulation, which updates EU rules on electronic identification and trust services to facilitate secure and interoperable digital transactions. These efforts should allow Moldova to be included in the EU’s Trusted List of trust service providers and pave the way for cross-border digital transactions. The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Cybersecurity, Anatolie Golovco, and the Director of the Information Technology and Cybersecurity Service, Alexandru Corețchi, provided details on measures to strengthen the digital identity infrastructure. They discussed the implementation of a tool for recognizing European signatures based on legislation promoted with the support and expertise of the Economic Council, as well as opportunities for local and EU-certified trust service providers to enter the Moldovan market. At the conclusion of the meeting, the need for a common agenda was emphasized to eliminate barriers, promote new EU-aligned legislation on digital identity services, and clarify aspects that hinder the use of European electronic signatures in accordance with Law 175/2021. The Secretariat of the Economic Council under the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova will closely monitor progress, ensuring a public-private dialogue that enables the business community’s active and prompt involvement.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.