eIDAS 2.0 and European Digital Identity

July 12, 2023
Ash Costello

Partner

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On 29 June 2023, the EU Council Presidency and European Parliament representatives reached a provisional political agreement on the core elements of a new framework for a European digital identity (eID). 

The proposed eID framework is dubbed ‘eIDAS 2’, as it amends the 2014 regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS regulation), which laid the foundations for safely accessing public services and carrying out transactions online and across borders in the EU. 

The proposal requires member states to issue a digital wallet built on common technical standards.

A key consideration behind the eID regulation is to create a European digital identity wallet which will function both as a wallet, and as a method of identification in its own right.

The wallet will be free of charge to natural persons, and will allow for the possibility of free-of charge digital signatures.  Wallets can be used across the EU, regardless of the user’s home member state.  Pan-European recognition of credentials in electronic format, such as medical certificates or professional qualifications, allows users to limit the sharing of identity data to what is strictly necessary for the provision of a service.

As these aims require a high level of trust in the wallet, the underlying technology and security must also be trustworthy.  Wallets will be required to seek accreditation under the certification schemes set out in existing cybersecurity legislation in the EU.  

Next steps: the details of the political agreement are still being condensed into legal text.   Once the finalised text has been endorsed by the representatives of the Member States (COREPER), it will be subject to a linguistic/level review, and then sent back to the Parliament and the Council for formal adoption.  Following that step, it can be published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force.