Digital Strategy> Policies>Electronic Identification
Under the Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services (eIDAS) Regulation, EU Member States may, on a voluntary basis, notify and recognise, national electronic identification schemes in their Member States. The recognition of notified electronic identification became mandatory in 2018. Yet, there is no requirement for Member States to develop a national electronic identification and to make it interoperable with those in other Member States. This has led to discrepancies between countries. The new Regulation on digital identity addresses shortcomings in eIDAS by improving the effectiveness of the framework and extending its benefits to the private sector. Member States will offer citizens and businesses digital wallets that will be able to link various aspects of their national digital identities. These may be provided by public authorities or the private sector, if they are recognized by the Member States.
The EU Digital Identity Wallet will be:
- made available to anyone who wants to use it: Any EU citizen, resident, and business in the EU who would like to make use of the EU Digital Identity will be able to do so.
- used widely: EU Digital Identity Wallets will be used as a way to identify users when providing them with access to public and private digital services across the EU.
- controlled by users: The EU Digital Identity Wallets will enable people to choose and keep track of their identity, data and certificates which they share with third parties. Anything which is not necessary to share will not be shared.
Consumers should also be able to access services online without having to use private platforms or unnecessarily sharing personal data. They will have full control of the data they share.
On 3 June 2021, the European Commission adopted a Recommendation calling on Member States to work towards the development of a a common toolbox including a technical Architecture and Reference Framework a set of common standards and technical specifications and a set of common guidelines and best practices.
The new Regulation specifies that these outcomes will serve as a basis for the implementation of the proposal for a European Digital Identity Framework, without the process of developing the Toolbox interfering with, or prejudging the legislative process.
The new Regulation foresees that the Toolbox is developed by Member States’ experts in the eIDAS Expert Group in close coordination with the Commission and, where relevant for the functioning of the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet infrastructure, other concerned public and private sector parties.
The current authoritative version is tagged as release/tag in this repository.
The EUDI Wallet Reference Implementation below is built based on the Architecture Reference Framework.
The EUDI Wallet Reference Implementation aims at showcasing a robust and interoperable platform for digital identification, authentication and electronic signatures based on common standards across the European Union.
🚀 EUDI Wallet open source code is available online!
Embark on the journey by exploring more about the EUDI Wallet Reference Implementation or get started with your implementation using the EUDI Wallet DevHub.
Electronic identification (eID) is one of the tools to ensure secure access to online services and to carry out electronic transactions in a safer way.
Q&A Digital Identity Regulation
Frequently Asked Question about the Digital Identity Regulation
26 July 2024
