European Parliament begins deliberations.

On 19 November 2025, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Regulation establishing European Business Wallets (EBW). The aim is to digitalise and simplify interactions between companies and with public administrations within the European Union (EU). To this end, a Europe-wide digital identity for economic operators and public authorities will be introduced, building on the existing eIDAS framework. The EBW will enable, in particular, secure identification and authentication, electronic signatures, the exchange of documents and legally binding communication across borders. While the use of the EBW will remain voluntary for companies under the proposal, public authorities will be required to provide the core functionalities.

Draft report in ITRE

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is responsible for this file in the European Parliament. On 15 April, it held a first exchange of views on the draft report by rapporteur Eero Heinäluoma (S&D, FI). The draft report broadly supports the introduction of the EBW and considers it an important contribution to improving digital identification, authentication and data exchange in the Single Market, particularly in cross-border contexts. It emphasises that the EBW should function as an interoperable overarching architecture integrating existing national and European systems rather than creating parallel structures.

The draft report maintains the voluntary use of the EBW for companies and the mandatory implementation by public authorities. However, the implementation deadline should not – as proposed by the Commission – start 24 months after publication in the Official Journal but only 24 months after the entry into force of the relevant implementing acts; the transitional arrangements for the use of existing alternative solutions would be aligned accordingly. The rapporteur also places a strong emphasis on interoperability. Existing national and European digital infrastructures – such as the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS), the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS) and the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) – should be taken into account and integrated to ensure a coherent and cost-efficient implementation. Furthermore, data exchange should not only take place via documents but also through structured, machine-readable data formats.

Draft opinions in JURI and IMCO

Both the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) are providing opinions on the file. The JURI draft opinion by rapporteur Axel Voss (EPP, DE) emphasises, inter alia, the use of the EBW for interactions between companies and public authorities in the context of electronic declarations in line with the once-only principle. It also calls for clear and timely implementing acts to ensure a stable technical framework. Further clarifications concern the automatic allocation of a European Unique Identifier (EUID), which should, where possible, be based on or linked to existing national identifiers, as well as shorter implementation and transition periods for public authorities (implementation of core functionalities within 18 months instead of 24 months and a corresponding reduction of the transitional period to 24 months).

The IMCO draft opinion by rapporteur Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová (Renew, SK) focuses in particular on promoting the use of the EBW by economic operators, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed. It highlights the potential to reduce administrative burdens and improve the functioning of the Single Market. It also emphasises user-friendliness, accessibility and the avoidance of disproportionate burdens. Compared to the ITRE and JURI drafts, however, the IMCO draft does not include major changes regarding implementation deadlines for public authorities and places less emphasis on interoperability with existing European solutions.

Relevance for social security

As public authorities, social security institutions will be required to enable the use of the core functionalities of the wallets. In addition, the EBW is relevant in the context of cross-border applications and procedures, particularly in relation to the coordination of social security systems. One example is the application for A1 certificates, where the EBW could complement existing procedures and facilitate secure cross-border applications. Furthermore, the A1 certificate is expected to be stored in the future as a digital document in the EUDI Wallet, which will also serve as the basis for the planned European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS). This creates interfaces and increases the need for coordination between different instruments relevant to cross-border social protection.