Court rejects current ID card manufacturer's appeal against Estonia
Tallinn Administrative Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by ID card manufacturer Gemalto AG against Estonia's Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), which will allow the latter to continue with preparations for the manufacture of new electronic ID cards.
"Today's decision by Tallinn Administrative Court not to satisfy the complaint of Gemalto AG regarding the procurement procedure for the contract to manufacture ID cards means certainty for the PPA that we can move forward with preparations for the fulfilment of the agreement on the manufacture of ID-cards concluded in spring," said Margit Ratnik, head of the Development Department of the PPA.
The police authority is planning to begin issuing electronic ID cards with new security elements and a new design, manufactured by the company Idemia, in fall 2018.
The PPA and French company Oberthur Technologies, which has since changed its name to Idemia, signed an agreement on April 27 according to which Oberthur Technologies will begin producing ID cards, residence permit cards, digital IDs and diplomatic IDs for Estonia after the agreement with the current manufacturer expires at the end of 2018.
Idemia will be responsible for the manufacture of the card, the chip, and linking the document to personal data. It will also be responsible for the functioning of the cards. The five-year contract is valued at approximately €40 million.
Gemalto AG, who has manufactured Estonian ID cards since 2001, thereafter took the matter to court, where it sought to have the procurement contract concluded with the new manufacturer be declared null and void.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS