Eurosmart General Assembly took place on 20 April 2006 in Brussels. Members gathered to elect a new Chairman and Steering Committee. Jacques Seneca, President EMEA of Gemplus has been unanimously elected Chairman of Eurosmart. After 17 years in the smart card industry, Jacques Seneca will point out the benefits of the technology to decision makers and the general public. He will succeed to Olivier Piou who has greatly enhanced the role of the industry and its visibility during the past 3 years.

Jacques Seneca’s first action as chairman of Eurosmart was to broaden the current steering committee to make sure all segments of the industry are properly represented: smart cards, semiconductors, terminals and equipment manufacturers as well as system integrators will bring their contribution to the strategic and administrative management of the Association.

Figures - Eurosmart delivered the figures of 2005 and the forecast for 2006 during a press conference on 20 April in Brussels. 2.6 billion Cards have been shipped in 2005, and nearly 3 billions are expected for 2006, said Jacques Seneca. The industry activity has increased by 22% in 2005 in the world and should be relatively constant in 2006 (+19%). Eurosmart’s figures are a reference for the smart card industry and financial markets, giving an overall picture on the state of the market and of the major trends for the future.

Annual Cocktail - The General Assembly closed with a cocktail on the roof of the Museum of Musical Instruments in the presence of Mr Fabio Colasanti, Director General of DG Information Society and media at the European Commission. Our guests and Eurosmart members listened to the “different flavours of electronic identity in Europe” presented by Dr Reinhard Posch, head of Digital Austria and Chaiman of the European eID roadmap group.

Download 2005 Smart Card shipment Figures NEW

See Eurosmart 20 April event photos