By the end of the year, the government wants to have completed the tender for Greece’s new ID cards despite the expected appeals of offers submitted a few days ago during the tender process.
The goal of the Citizen Protection Ministry, but also of the Ministry of Digital Governance that will be involved in the digital identification, is to have the first IDs issued in the first half of 2022.
The new IDs will be in the form of a credit card, incorporating an electronic chip, a color photo and the digital signature of the holder. Because they will support the eIDAS technology standard promoted by the European Commission, they will not only serve as an identification documents but also as keys for online transactions with the public or private sector.
The contractor of the big tender, with a budget of 515 million euros, will undertake not only to issue new IDs, but also a number of other security forms, from driver's licenses to special cards for immigrants, etc. More than 100 million euros will be spent to set up the technological equipment in a building at the Greek Police on Syggrou Avenue, but also for the installation of remote machines for issuing security forms in police stations, embassies, ministries (for diplomas), etc. a.
Citizens will pay10 euros for the new ID, without calculating the photographer's fee. In contrast to many foreign countries, where citizens go to the police to take a photo and have their ID issued, in Greece it was decided to subsidize the photographers!
The contract will be for ten years, with the possibility of it being extended for another five years, with the contractor initially financing the installation of the infrastructure and then collecting the fee from the new security forms to be issued. Greek identities today are based on technology of the 60's, are easily copied and are a permanent point of friction with international partners such as the United States. Experts use fake Greek IDs to issue Greek passports.
The government is optimistic about the outcome of the tender since five strong groups are participating with the support of well-known international and Greek groups. According to sources, the following have participated in the tender: a joint venture of France’s Thales with the Unisystems of the Quest group; a joint venture of the German Veridos with OTE and Byte: a joint venture of the French Idemia with Neurosoft that belongs to OPAP; Belgium’s Zetes with Space Hellas; and the joint venture of the Lykos group (Austria Cards, etc.) with IN Groupe, National French Printing Office.
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