EC proposes new digital identity system for EU citizens
16:48
The European Commission has proposed a European framework for digital identity, accessible to citizens, residents, and businesses. Thanks to the new system, citizens will be able to prove their identity using smartphones and share electronic documents from the European digital identity wallet.
Europeans will be able to access online services through national digital identification, which will be recognized throughout Europe. Large platforms will be required to accept European digital identity wallets upon request by users, for example, to prove that they are of a certain age.
“The European digital identity will allow us to do the same activities in every Member State without additional costs and obstacles. This could be renting an apartment or opening a bank account outside of our country of origin. This can be done in a secure and transparent manner,” Margrethe Vestager, the EC Executive Vice-President, .explained.
The Commission reassures that the use of European digital identity wallets will always be the user's choice.
"So we will be able to decide how much information we want to share about ourselves, to whom and for what purpose," Vestager assured.
Under the new regulation, EU Member States will offer citizens and businesses the so-called digital wallets. They will make it possible to combine digital identity with documents authenticating other personal data, such as, for example, a driving license, scientific diplomas, or a bank account.
The European Commission has called on the Member States to establish by September 2022 the toolkit needed to launch the Digital Identity Initiative and to start the necessary preparatory work without delay.
