Members of the European Union Parliament have reached a consensus to implement the EU digital wallet across EU countries.
The proposed amendment to the European digital identity framework (eID) was approved by members of the European Union parliament, aiming to utilize an EU digital wallet as a common identity for their citizens. Through the EU digital wallet, their citizens would be able to verify themselves online and get full control of their data, and not be required to use commercial and third-party services for the same, which is the norm at present. This will likely address privacy and security concerns of the current practice.
On March 15, EU legislators voted in favor of a mandate that would involve discussions with EU member states on the proposed amendments to the European digital identity framework. 418 votes were cast in favor of the decision, while 103 were against it, along with 24 abstentions. The final stage of the formulation of the law would start now, further to the changes proposed in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE).
The European Parliament said, “The scheme would allow citizens to identify and authenticate themselves online — via a European digital identity wallet — without having to resort to commercial providers, as is the case today — a practice that has raised trust, security and privacy concerns.” Earlier, the ITRE had also advised zero-knowledge proofs in modifying the European digital identity framework.
Using the Europian Union digital wallet, citizens could streamline various services, using it for storage of personal data and services like certificates, degrees, and diplomas, and bank account data, amongst others. The EU digital wallet would also allow peer-to-peer interactions.