International regulation · European Parliament and Council of the European Union · 2024-04-11
Amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, known as eIDAS
Establishing the European Digital Identity Framework
EU 2024/1183
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What the document is
Binding law across all member states, in force since May 20, 2024. Every member state must make available at least one European Digital Identity Wallet, built to common specifications, by the end of 2026. The wallet holds identity documents, driving licences, diplomas, and other attested credentials, and very large online platforms, regulated financial institutions, and designated public services are required to accept it for identification.
Why it is in the report
This is the largest digital identity system ever legislated in the free world, with a deadline, a legal basis, and a published technical specification. It is not a proposal or a white paper. It is law in twenty seven countries, and the deadline is this year.
What this document does not say. The regulation makes the wallet mandatory for states to offer and for certain large services to accept. It does not make it mandatory for a citizen to hold or use one. The text describes a voluntary, user controlled identity and states that a person may not be discriminated against for declining to use a wallet. Read the recitals and the articles on voluntariness before describing this as a compulsory credential, and read them again before dismissing the concern, because a credential that is universally accepted tends to become practically necessary whatever the statute says.
Read the articles establishing the wallet and the obligations on relying parties.
Read the provisions on voluntary use and non discrimination, then weigh them against the acceptance mandates.
Cite this record
European Parliament and Council of the European Union. Establishing the European Digital Identity Framework. International regulation, 2024-04-11. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1183/oj/eng