On Thursday 9 February, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) voted in favour of the report by Romana Jerković (S&D, Croatian) on the future European Digital Identity Wallet (55 votes in favour, 8 against and 2 abstentions) (see EUROPE 13095/4). The MEPs also agreed to start inter-institutional negotiations. The text will be put to the vote at the European Parliament’s plenary session in March.
“The digital wallet will become a trusted, all-in-one identity gateway that gives citizens full control over their own data and gives them the freedom to decide exactly what information to share, with whom and when”, Jerković commented.
As a reminder, the Digital Identity Wallet should allow citizens to identify and authenticate themselves online without having to rely on commercial providers, and to increase control over their own data.
The adopted text included several amendments. The wallet should therefore also be able to verify electronic documents and allow peer-to-peer interactions. Several provisions relating to cyber security and third party responsibilities in transactions have also been included.
The text also confirms that the use of the Digital Identity Wallet will remain voluntary and that Member States would be obliged to make at least one national Digital Identity Wallet interoperable at European level. In addition, several provisions provide for the possibility to securely request, obtain, store, combine and use personal identification data and electronic certificates. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)