The establishment of a Pan-European smart card forum has come a step closer to completion following a European Commission meeting in Brussels. The Federation of the Electronics Industry and the UK Department of Trade and Industry recently formed a joint initiative known as EForum. Its first meeting was widely attended and it has been given full support to go ahead and establish a Europe wide forum committed to smart cards. There is already an international smart card forum in existence in the US, and McLean, Virginia-based Smart Card Forum include Compagnie des Machines Bull SA, Gemplus Group SA, Schlumberger Ltd, Fujitsu Plc, Hewlett-Packard Co and Microsoft Corp. The meeting in Belgium at the end of January dictated there is a need to develop smart card applications, specifically targeted at Europe. The Forum will also have to concentrate on the issues associated with smart card applications and their usage, such as interoperability, codes of practice and conduct, which will be applied across all industries.
