The heads of the Regional Administration of the Azores will be able to sign documents in digital format using their Citizen Card.

The electronic signature was already possible with the Citizen Card on a personal level. However, a collaboration protocol between the Vice-Presidency of the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorate for Organisation and Public Administration (DROAP) and the Agency for Administrative Administration has extended this possibility. From now on, the heads of the Regional Administration will be able to use the Citizen Card to sign official documents with regard to services provided to citizens and other public and private entities.

For the Vice-President of the Government, this is "a relevant measure in electronic signature operations regarding documents, digital transactions and electronic authentication, which will no longer require a physical signature and contribute to the optimisation of resources."

"In the context of the Portuguese Public Administration, the Regional Administration of the Azores is the first to implement this measure, following a modernisation strategy marked by human resource management programmes that were internationally awarded for their innovative character."

"With this measure, the Government of the Azores demonstrates, once more, its intention to put the Regional Administration at the forefront of the implementation of modernisation projects and simplification of procedures in order to better citizens and companies," stressed Sérgio Ávila.ga