European digital identity wallets and digital sovereignty discussed at EuroDIG 2026

Participants at EuroDIG 2026 discussed whether the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) and the proposed EU business wallet could become foundational infrastructure for a more integrated European digital single market.

The session focused on reducing fragmentation in digital identity, trust, and cross-border administrative procedures across Europe. Speakers broadly supported the wallets as tools for simplification and interoperability, while also raising concerns about adoption, implementation, and Europe’s dependence on non-European digital infrastructure.

Nathan Meurens, CTO of EURid, framed the discussion around a central challenge for European integration: despite advances in the single market, digital trust and identity systems remain fragmented across member states.

Norbert Sagstetter, Head of Unit for Digital Identity and Trust at the European Commission, outlined the timeline and objectives of the updated European Digital Identity Framework. He said all EU member states will be required to offer a voluntary European Digital Identity Wallet by the end of 2026 under common technical and legal standards.

According to Sagstetter, the wallet is designed to allow citizens to identify themselves digitally, sign documents, and share verified attributes and official records under user control across both public and private services.

He described the wallet as a response to the growing role of private technology platforms in digital identity management. The framework, he said, aims to provide a citizen-controlled alternative governed by European law and supervised by public authorities.

Sagstetter also highlighted the concept of ‘electronic attestation of attributes,’ which could include digital versions of documents such as driving licences, educational credentials, certificates, and potentially health-related records.

The discussion also focused heavily on the proposed EU business wallet, which remains under negotiation.

Sagstetter argued that companies across Europe still face fragmented identification systems and inconsistent administrative procedures, particularly in cross-border interactions. The business wallet, he said, is intended to enable legally effective exchange of documents and interoperable communication between companies and public administrations.

Benjamin Knirsch of SMEunited said small and medium-sized enterprises continue to face duplicated reporting obligations, fragmented platforms, and repeated verification procedures across Europe. He argued that reusable verified company information and implementation of the once-only principle could significantly reduce administrative burdens for SMEs.

However, Knirsch warned that simplification would fail if interoperability remained partial or uneven. He criticised proposals that would exempt smaller municipalities from participation, arguing that SMEs often interact most frequently with local authorities.

Pedro Oliveira of BusinessEurope also supported the business wallet proposal, describing it as one of the few EU digital initiatives likely to create tangible, practical value for businesses.

Oliveira pointed to fragmented company registration and beneficial ownership systems as examples of existing inefficiencies the wallet could help address. He also suggested future links between the wallet and due diligence obligations, Know Your Customer procedures, product passport systems, and possible EU company identifiers.

Several participants stressed that successful implementation will depend on integrating the wallets with existing infrastructure rather than creating parallel systems.

Jaromir Talir of the Czech registry CZ.NIC described how domain registries have struggled for years with reliable registrant identification, particularly in the context of cybersecurity and regulatory requirements. Talir said large-scale EUDI wallet pilots involving domain registries have already demonstrated use cases including registrant verification, authentication, and proof-of-domain-ownership credentials.

He also noted that some countries, including France and Denmark, already operate wallet-like systems while full certification processes continue.

A major part of the discussion focused on digital sovereignty and Europe’s dependence on foreign technology infrastructure.

Sebastiano Toffoletti of the European DIGITAL SME Alliance warned that wallet deployment still depends heavily on US-controlled mobile operating systems and hyperscale cloud providers. He argued that Europe should not build critical identity infrastructure on systems it does not control.

Toffoletti also suggested that large-scale wallet adoption could help support broader adoption of European digital alternatives by creating new distribution channels for European services.

Other speakers responded that the framework itself remains technologically neutral and does not mandate any specific infrastructure provider.

Meurens argued that the wallet framework could operate on different infrastructures if Europe chose to develop them, while Talir noted that alternative implementations, such as web-based wallets, remain possible.

The discussion also addressed concerns that the wallet ecosystem could ultimately strengthen the role of major technology companies if implementation becomes concentrated among dominant providers.

Vittorio Bertola of Open-Xchange warned that Europe could face two separate risks. Either the wallet fails to achieve adoption, or it succeeds but becomes dependent on large non-European firms capable of operating identity services at scale.

Sagstetter defended the wallet’s public-private model, arguing that successful adoption will require both trusted public oversight and useful private-sector services. He also stressed that Europe is contributing actively to the development of international digital identity standards rather than simply adopting frameworks developed elsewhere.

Several participants emphasised that European digital sovereignty should remain open and collaborative rather than protectionist or isolationist.

Oliveira described the concept as ‘open sovereignty,’ while Meurens argued that reducing vendor lock-in through interoperability, open standards, and diversification should remain the primary objective.

The session concluded with broad agreement that the EUDI wallet and the business wallet could become important infrastructure for the European single market if they achieve interoperability, security, trust, and practical usability.

Participants also agreed that adoption will depend heavily on whether the wallets provide convenient and widely used everyday services while preserving privacy, user control, and legal certainty.

EuroDIG 2026 took place on 26 and 27 May at the Charlemagne Building of the European Commission in Brussels under the theme ‘European Voices for the Future of the Internet – Celebrating 20 Years of .eu and the Beginning of a New Internet Governance Era’.

Digital Watch Observatory followed EuroDIG 2026 through a dedicated event page, featuring session information and reporting from Brussels.

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