An international report has confirmed the importance of central infrastructure for digital identity and electronic signatures. The assessment results cover 2024, while significant additional progress was achieved during 2025 and 2026.
In the latest OECD/SIGMA report titled “Digital Public Services in the Western Balkans,” published on October 8, 2026, the Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IDDEEA) is highlighted as a positive and functional example of digital transformation; meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina, viewed as a whole, is assessed as the country lagging furthest behind European standards for digital public services in the region.
This is an independent international expert analysis, produced under the SIGMA program—a joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union—which compares the development of digital public services in the Western Balkans against European Union standards. The report explicitly describes IDDEEA as a “positive and functional exception” and devotes a special section to the e-IDDEEA application, highlighting features such as a free qualified electronic signature, mobile digital identity, access to electronic registers, and the ability to sign documents without physically visiting institutions. Also noteworthy is the European recognition earned by IDDEEA through its selection as a finalist for the Innovation in Politics 2025 awards. These findings confirm what IDDEEA Director, Academician Prof. Dr. Almir Badnjević, has consistently pointed out: Bosnia and Herzegovina already possesses developed centralized solutions for digital identity, electronic authentication, qualified electronic signatures, and data exchange; however, their utilization depends on the integration of electronic services developed by other competent institutions.
“For years, I have reiterated that the challenge of digitalization in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not merely a lack of technology. IDDEEA has developed centralized solutions available to institutions at all levels of government, whereas the electronic services under the jurisdiction of those institutions remain decentralized. It is precisely their development and integration with our infrastructure that are not proceeding at the necessary pace. We have enabled citizens to identify themselves electronically and sign documents; however, for a citizen to complete a specific procedure without visiting a service counter, the competent institution must develop the corresponding service and link it to existing solutions. This is now clearly demonstrated by the international OECD/SIGMA analysis,” stated Badnjević.
It is particularly important to note that the results of the comparative assessment for Bosnia and Herzegovina are based on data from 2024. Throughout 2025 and 2026, IDDEEA continued to develop its infrastructure and expand its practical application, including integrations with judicial institutions and tax authorities, as well as the further development of the e-IDDEEA platform and the availability of qualified electronic signatures.
“That is why it will be particularly interesting to see the upcoming report covering the results achieved during 2025 and 2026. We made significant strides during that period, and I expect new international assessments to reveal the extent of changes in the digital infrastructure, as well as the degree to which other institutions have utilized the capabilities already at their disposal. Citizens do not care which institution is responsible for a specific part of the system; what matters to them is the ability to complete a service simply, securely, and without waiting,” emphasized Badnjević.
The OECD/SIGMA report thus serves as important international validation of IDDEEA’s results, while simultaneously sending a clear message to all levels of government that further digitalization cannot rely on isolated projects, but rather on linking electronic services with the existing central infrastructure.
Digital identity and electronic signatures already exist. The next step is for institutions to utilize them systematically in order to provide citizens with genuine electronic services.