E-commerce will be on the agendaThursday when the European Union holds its regular "Permanent Committee" meeting of members in Luxembourg. The legal status of authenticated e-mail as well as cryptography and authenticity of look-up information will be discussed.
Progress has been at a standstill since November when members of the EU telecommunications regulatory body couldn't come to terms on certain issues. Representatives from the 15 EU countries disagreed on the legal interpretations of authenticated email and whether electronic signatures could be considered as valid as handwritten signatures. The hang-up was whether the government or trusted third parties should dictate the technologies involved in authentication.
Cryptography and authenticity will likely be addressed as well. Some sources have said that EU ministers will allow their respective countries to introduce legislation that won't conflict with existing country laws. The matter could be addressee at the full EU assembly meeting in May.
The EU is also expected to rule on whether an e-commerce transaction should be regulated by the country of its origin or the country of its reception.
All proposals will be passed on to the full meeting in May and then to the respective EU member governments for their approval. Upon that approval, the proposals will go back to the EU for final approval.
The process has proven to be slow. A recent report by Forrester Research's European operation claims that Europe needs to catch up when it comes to e-commerce. The report, ""Internet Commerce Speeding Market Harmonization In Europe," suggests that businesses will have to take the initiative, rather than government, in order for e-commerce in Europe to help drive a single market there.
"Because governments have been slow to exploit the Internet's potential, the promotion of e-commerce depends on businesses pushing ahead where they can, " Cliff Condon, director of research at the Forrester's Amsterdam office.
According to Condon, European e-zones--regions of Internet commerce between cross-border constituencies--will form quickly, possibly within the next year. As new products and services enter the target market, local competition will be forced to follow or risk losing market share.
The hot spots in e-commerce, according to Forrester, are the UK, Germany and Scandinavia, with Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland are catching up. Businesses in France Italy and Spain were said to be behind.