April 16, 2024 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – The EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium (EWC), a pivotal initiative co-financed by the European Commission, successfully convened its General Assembly on April 11 and 12, 2024. Gathering in Amsterdam, this significant meeting saw robust participation from 140 consortium members, representatives of the EU, and others interested from across Europe, all dedicated to advancing the development and implementation of the EU Digital Identity Wallet.
During the two-day event, consortium members, including stakeholders from various public and private sectors, discussed progress and plans for large-scale pilots designed to trial and refine the Digital Identity Wallet in three critical areas: Travel, Organizational Digital Identity (ODI), and Payments. These pilots aim to demonstrate the practical applicability and benefits of a unified digital identity framework across the EU that the eIDAS 2 regulation provides.
A series of demonstrations of first EUDI Wallet implementations provided concrete examples of how the Digital Identity Wallet could be utilized for the travel-, organizational, and payments use cases. These use cases not only highlighted the technical capabilities but also the user-centric design of the wallet, ensuring that it meets the diverse needs of European citizens and organizations.
EWC Coordinator David Magård (Bolagsverket, Swedish Companies Registration Office): “We are happy to be in Amsterdam and grateful that the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and KvK (Dutch Chamber of Commerce) are hosting the second EWC general assembly on-site. EWC is at the forefront in enabling the European digital identity wallets for individuals and businesses, especially when it comes to traveling, making payments, and ensuring wallets for legal persons. We have come a long way in the first year of work in EWC, now we are fully ready to pilot. 2024 will be one of the most exciting years in digital identity.”
The assembly also facilitated valuable discussions with the participation of the EU Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) and the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST). Norbert Sagstetter (DG Connect): “The legislative negotiations have strengthened all policy objectives pursued with the European Digital Identity Regulation. All European Citizens will be able to use trusted and secure digital identification that fully protects personal data from 2026 on. Large-scale pilots like EWC are key to ensure that these objectives are implemented in practice and that citizens and companies will be able to benefit from the possibilities of the wallet from day one.”
Their involvement underscores the collaborative effort across various branches of the EU to support the seamless integration of digital identity solutions into the everyday lives of citizens and businesses. Implementation and preparatory activities for the pilots have already commenced, setting a solid foundation for the next stages of the project. The insights gained from these initial phases will be instrumental in refining the functionalities and ensuring the security and privacy standards of the EU Digital Identity Wallet.
Laurent Loup (Sicpa) and Stef Haartman (ia Gen Digital): “This EWC GA has gathered important stakeholders in the industry of travel and payment. The presentations, demonstrations, and discussions held during those two days show already the importance and the tremendous impact that the EUDI wallet will have on those industries and on the European citizens. It will simplify processes and user experience, increase the level of trust and data quality for relying parties, and protect privacy when sharing data online. We are thrilled to discover further achievements in the coming months.”
Prof. Andriana Prentza (University of Piraeus) and Xavier Juredieu (Archipels): “Members including business registries, wallet providers, and relying parties are ready to engage in the piloting phase. Exciting time to validate user acceptance from individuals and businesses. In addition, it is interesting to see the alignment between our work on Organizational Digital identity and what DG JUST is proposing on the company law upcoming update.”
Esther Makaay (Signicat) and Viky Manaila (Intesi Group): “It was so good to meet everyone face-to-face again after so many online hours working together. We had some great working sessions on (a.o.) trust models, wallet-demos, and the interoperability test bed.”
Erwin Nieuwlaar (KVK, Dutch Chamber of Commerce): “The KVK is very satisfied with the outcomes of the EWC General Assembly. Organizing this event for the members of the European Digital Wallet Consortium was a great experience, and we are pleased to have significantly enhanced the visibility of the organizational identity. Over the coming months, we will continue to refine, improve, and implement this identity to bring tangible benefits to businesses in the future. Lastly, we extend our sincere thanks to all participants of the EWC General Assembly for their valuable contributions!”
Michael Hartmann (msg systems ag): “The General Assembly saw an intensive exchange between the stakeholders. The various business cases were demonstrated and discussed in their existing and prepared form. Interest in the exchange was at the centre, as were the experiences, developments, and simplifications for the EU. We have already achieved a lot and can now continue the path to an EUDI wallet with our exchange. We are well-positioned in terms of structures; the exchange has been intensified.”
About the EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium: The EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium (EWC) is a consortium co-financed by the European Union, tasked with conducting large-scale pilots to test and demonstrate the effectiveness of the EU Digital Identity Wallet for the travel use case, organizational digital identity. With members from across Europe, the EWC is at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to enhance digital identity verification and utilization across the continent.
