On Thursday 3 June, the European Commission proposed a framework for the digital ID wallet that all EU citizens, residents and businesses will be able to use (see EUROPE 12535/4).
This European digital identity project is expected to simplify the procedures for European citizens by offering them online storage of all the identity documents in their possession and their recognition across the Member States.
They will be obliged to offer this service to their citizens and will be eligible for EU funding to develop it. At present, only 14 countries have a digital identification system and have notified the European Commission. Conversely, citizens will have the choice of whether or not to use this digital identification wallet.
The digital wallet “will enable us to do in any Member State as we do at home without any extra cost and fewer hurdles. Whether it is to rent a flat or open a bank account outside our home country. And to do so in a secure and transparent way”, says Executive Vice-President for a Digital Europe, Margrethe Vestager.
The possibility to choose the data disclosed
“Users will be able to choose which data they want to disclose”, says a European Commission official, citing as an example that “when young people are in a bar, the person serving them only needs to know their age and does not need to know their place of birth or address. This will be possible with the digital identity”.
Still on the subject of data protection, which is central to the European digital transition, the existing data protection legislation will remain unchanged. “The authorities will not be able to collect data unless it is necessary for the functioning of the wallet“, confirms a source close to the case.
Technical work in parallel with legislation
In presenting this project, the Commission wishes to make progress on the technical part in parallel with the legislative work in order to be able to implement the identification portfolio as soon as the procedure is completed. No deadline is yet in sight, a Commission official said, adding that each Member State has already been contacted.
The development of this identification system may be carried out by the Member States or by private contractors, in accordance with common standards. At present, notification of a digital identity system must be assessed by other Member States, which will not be the case with the new European digital identity system, where the basis and standards will be common to each country.
For this initiative, the Commission is building on the existing cross-border legal framework for trusted digital identities, the European Digital Identification initiative and Trust Services (eIDAS Regulation). This was adopted in 2014 and forms the basis for cross-border electronic identification. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)