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 proposal for a Regulation on digital identity will address 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.
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 Recommendation 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 Recommendation 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.
Under the Digital Europe Programme, the Commission is facilitating work to develop, implement and scale up the European Digital Identity framework. The actions aim to arrive at a set of technical references, standards, components and solutions including an application of the EU Digital Identity Wallet to be made available to Member States.
The Pilots are building on the specifications detailed in the Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF).
Pilot projects are testing the EU Digital Identity Wallet in a variety of everyday scenarios, relevant to Europeans day to day lives. More than 300 private companies and public authorities across 26 Member States, as well as Norway, Iceland, and Ukraine, are participating in the Pilot Projects. Each one operates as a consortium bringing together public and private sector expertise from across the EU, and are funded by European Commission grants.
