Establishing a framework for a European digital identity

This briefing provides an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission’s impact assessment (IA) accompanying the above-mentioned proposal, submitted on 3 June 2021 and referred to the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). The proposal seeks to amend Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (the eIDAS Regulation) in order to better meet the new market and societal demands for trusted government eID linked solutions and for attributes and credentials provided by the public and private sector, which would be recognised across the EU for accessing both public and private services. This proposal would also address users’ expectations to have more control over their personal data. This initiative, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in her State of the Union speech of 16 September 2020, is included in the Commission’s 2021 work programme and is part of the strategy on shaping Europe’s digital future. In its conclusions of 1-2 October 2020, the European Council invited the Commission to come forward with a proposal for a European digital identity framework by mid-2021.