EU to begin trilogue negotiations on the European Digital Identity proposal
EU to initiate trilogue negotiations on the European Digital Identity proposal with a focus on privacy safeguards, unique identifiers, and its optional use for accessing public services.
The European Parliament has adopted the mandate to enter inter-institutional negotiations for the European Digital Identity, which aims to provide a legal framework for establishing a system of national digital wallets interoperable across the EU.
The EU institutions will now enter inter-institutional negotiations, known as ‘trilogues’. Privacy has been a primary concern for using this technology, but the EU Parliament went much further than the Council in introducing privacy safeguards. Another key issue relates to the unique and persistent identifier, a single number associated with a person that would allow the digital wallet of a country to talk to the systems of all other EU members.
The MEPs also clarified the relationship with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. An important question regarding the use of the digital identity wallet is whether it should be made obligatory for accessing public services or one option among others.