About 2014
The adoption of the eIDAS regulation in 2014 allowed notified national electronic identification schemes
(eIDs) to be
used to access public services online across borders.
But our digital landscape has continued to evolve, with public and private sector services increasingly
offered
online, creating a growing need for secure digital authentication. At the same time, threats to digital
privacy have
become apparent, with people increasingly worried about profiling and surveillance. An update was clearly
needed.
2021
In 2021, the European Commission proposed a revision to the original 2014 regulation, based on the principle
that
everyone should always control their digital identity. The EU Digital Identity Wallet is the means to
achieve this
goal. Citizens should be able to carry their digital identity with them across the EU, moving seamlessly
across
borders without ever losing control of their data, with privacy and security at the heart of the project. The
wallet
supports the principles outlined in the
EU
Declaration on
Digital Rights
and Principles
and will help fulfil the
Digital
Decade Policy Programme target of 100% of EU citizens having access to Digital ID by 2030.
2024
On 29 February 2024, the European Parliament adopted the proposed regulation,
with 335 votes to 190, and 31 abstentions. It will now have to be formally endorsed
by the EU Council of Ministers to become law.
Why was a new proposal needed? The European Commission,
Parliament and Council created a report about the evaluation of Regulation (EU)
No 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions
in the internal market (eIDAS). The EU Digital Identity Wallet is a collaboration between the EU institutions and the Member States. Together, we
are working across two main streams of work to make the EU Digital Identity Wallet a reality that can be used by
citizens, residents, and businesses across Europe. THE LEGISLATIVE WORK Seeks to uphold the interests of the Union as a whole. Proposed the new regulation to establish a framework for European Digital Identity, amending the eIDAS regulation, on June 23 2021. Facilitates negotiations between the European Parliament and the European Council as an ‘honest broker’ mediating between the co-legislators. Represents EU citizens and enters into negotiations with the European Council, in a process known as the trilogue. Represents individual Member States and enters into trilogue negotiations
with the European Parliament on the proposed text. Together, they finalise and agree on a
final version of the legislation that gives legal basis for the wallet. THE TECHNICAL WORK On 3 June 2021, the European Commission adopted a Recommendation calling for Member States to work together
to develop a common Toolbox to build the wallet. This includes an Architecture and Reference Framework, a
set of common standards and technical specifications, as well as common guidelines and best practices. As part of its contribution to the Toolbox, the European Commission is also developing a wallet reference implementation – code libraries for Large Scale Pilots and Member States to build and test wallets. Member State Experts in the eIDAS expert group, in close collaboration with the European Commission, work together, to create the Toolbox. The primary outcome of this work is the Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF) outlining the common standards and technical specifications of the wallet. Large Scale Pilot projects, funded by European Commission grants, are testing the wallet reference implementation and ARF specifications across a variety of use cases. 360 companies and public entities are taking part, across many European countries; their goal is to enrich the Toolbox by gathering feedback from implementers and users. The legal and technical work behind the EU Digital Identity Wallet have occurred in tandem, with insights from
the Toolbox and Large Scale Pilots influencing the development of the legislation. 1999 Legal 2006 Legal 2014 Legal 2020 Legal 2021 Legal Technical 2022 Legal Technical 2023 Legal Technical 2024 Legal Technical 2025 Technical 2026 Legal Technical Legal Legal Legal Legal Legal Technical Legal The Legislation Advances Technical The Legislation Advances Legal Negotiating the legislation Technical Designing and Testing the Wallet Legal The Regulation is adopted Technical The Path to Building the Wallet Technical Legal Technical Large Scale Pilot projects are currently test driving the many use cases of the EU Digital Identity Wallet in the real world.About the Initiative
How it began: digital identity across the EU
Who is working to define the EU Digital Identity Wallet?
The European Commission
The European Parliament
The European Council
The European Commission
Member States Expert Groups
Large Scale Pilot Projects
Our history and milestones
What are the Large Scale Pilots?