The initiative will enable the EU citizens to prove their identity with the click of a button on their phone
The wallets will allow citizens to have full control of the data they share (Credit: Jai79 from Pixabay)
The European Commission has announced plans to roll out a digital identity for all citizens, residents, and businesses in the EU.
The initiative will enable the EU citizens to prove their identity with the click of a button on their phone, through digital identity wallets.
Citizens and businesses will be given digital wallets by the Member States under the proposed regulation.
The wallets will link national digital identities with proof of other personal attributes such as driving licence, diplomas and bank account.
Public authorities or private entities that are recognised by the EU states will be allowed to provide digital wallets.
The European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager said: “The European digital identity will enable us to do in any Member State as we do at home without any extra cost and fewer hurdles.
“Be that renting a flat or opening a bank account outside of our home country. And do this in a way that is secure and transparent. So that we will decide how much information we wish to share about ourselves, with whom and for what purpose.
“This is a unique opportunity to take us all further into experiencing what it means to live in Europe, and to be European.”
The wallets will allow citizens to avoid the use of private identification methods or unnecessary sharing of personal data to access services online.
In addition, they will enable people to choose the aspects of their identity, data and certificates that they want to share with third parties.
With the new wallets, citizens will also have full control of the data they share.
To roll out the new European Digital Identity Wallets, the Commission has asked the Member States to set up a common toolbox by September 2022.
The Commission stated the use of European Digital Identity wallets will require very large platforms.
In March this year, it proposed a Digital Compass that outlined digital ambitions to be accomplished by the EU by the end of this decade.