The new version of the Estonian ID-card software now supports the ID-cards of Finnish citizens. This union guarantees convenient information exchange between the authorities of the two countries and the fast formation of contracts between companies as well as between single individuals living in Estonia and Finland, and also granting and signing of virtual documents using the digital signature.

Such innovation became available as a result of the E-state systems development agreement, signed by the prime ministers of Finland and Estonia Jyrki Katainen and Andrus Ansip. The document was signed digitally using ID-cards: Katainen signed the papers in Helsinki, Ansip at the same time in Tallinn. Thus, the agreement became the worlds’ first international digitally signed agreement.

Besides uniting the ID-card software of Finland and Estonia, the agreement signed by the representatives of the two countries implies future mutual development of a data exchange layer, which exists in Estonia as X-tee (or X-road). Introducing the same layer in Finland would make it possible for the countries to establish a bilateral supply of e-based services. First pilot projects of this are expected to be launched this year.

E-state systems development agreement became the next element in the working partnership of Estonia and Finland in the field of information, science and innovation and communication technologies, and also the basis for future possible opportunities for developing the inter-social digital society of EU.