European Parliament ready to negotiate with Council for an EU-wide digital wallet

The new digital identity framework would provide EU citizens with digital access to key public services across EU borders.

Parliament on Thursday 16 March 2023 confirmed -with 418 votes to 103, with 24 abstentions- the negotiating mandate for talks with the EU member states on the revision of the new eID directive.

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.

It would also give users full control of their data and let them decide what information to share and with whom.

Next steps on EU-digital wallet

Following plenary’s endorsement, the discussions with the Council on the final form of the legislation may begin immediately. Parliament’s position during the negotiations will be based on the amendments adopted in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee in February.

The Council adopted its negotiating mandate in December 2022.