There's a green light for the European wallet. The regulations are set to facilitate the use of digital services in the EU.

Original text here from IDA KRZEMINKA-ALBRYCHT‍

‍

_{The European Parliament has given the green light to the project of creating a European digital identity wallet.}

‍

This tool is designed to simplify the process for European Union citizens to identify and authenticate themselves online, offering them remote access to both public and private services and the convenience of digitally signing documents. For the regulation adopted yesterday to come into effect, it still needs to be approved by the Council of the European Union.

The EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI) aims to respond to the growing interest of citizens in using services digitally. Increasingly, people are turning to commercial providers' solutions that allow them to store data in one place, on their mobile phones. However, the Commission assesses that the use of such commercial digital wallets, although convenient, comes at the cost of losing control over personal data. These solutions are not linked to a verified physical identity, which complicates efforts to reduce fraud and cybercrime.

For these reasons, the EU identity wallet is to be created. Its use will be completely voluntary, and users will have full control over their data through what is called a "privacy dashboard." The use of a qualified electronic signature will also be free of charge.

The EUDI is intended for use with large online platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Booking, Zalando, or Google (which will be obligated to recognize it), as well as for administrative matters and accessing public services.

Last year, several pilots were initiated to create a prototype of the European digital identity wallet. One such project involving PKO BP's ambition to co-create a European digital identity was featured on cashless.pl. The entities involved in this pilot (150 from 19 countries) aim to co-develop and test the practical utility of digital identity wallets in various scenarios, such as opening a bank account, registering a SIM card, or using a mobile driver's license.

The Central Informatics Centre, responsible for Poland's mCitizen app, participates in both the Potential project and the activities of the EU ToolBox working group, which is tasked with developing technical standards for the European digital identity wallet. It is also working on adapting the mCitizen app to meet the EUDI requirements.