Council adopts general approach for negotiations with Parliament.

On 9 June, the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council adopted its general approach on the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of European Business Wallets (EBW). The Member States have thus agreed on their negotiating position for discussions with the European Parliament. The proposed EBW are intended to provide businesses and public authorities with a digital identity that can be used across the European Union (EU) and to enable secure electronic interactions. Their functionalities include identification and authentication, electronic signatures and the exchange of documents and credentials across borders.

Changes to obligations for public authorities

The Council’s general approach maintains both the voluntary use of EBW by businesses and the general obligation for public authorities to enable the use of the core wallet functionalities in relevant administrative procedures. However, it removes the Commission’s proposal requiring public authorities themselves to possess an EBW, including a qualified electronic registered delivery service (QERDS). In addition, the fixed implementation deadlines relevant to public authorities have been deleted. Instead, the obligation to enable the use of the core EBW functionalities will only apply two years after the application of the last relevant implementing act. Implementation is therefore more closely linked to the prior adoption of the necessary technical specifications.

Further changes on interoperability and legal equivalence

Additional amendments concern interoperability and the legal equivalence of digital actions. The Council clarifies that existing procedures for the exchange of documents and data between competent authorities that are required under Union or national law remain unaffected. It also specifies that legal equivalence applies only to actions carried out using the qualified trust services of the EBW. Existing Union and national requirements relating to electronic formats, as well as administrative and procedural rules, will continue to apply.

Next steps

The European Parliament has not yet adopted its position. The lead committee is the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), whose report is currently being prepared. The Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) and the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) have already adopted opinions that will feed into the ITRE report (JURI, IMCO). According to the current timetable, Parliament is expected to adopt its position in October. Interinstitutional negotiations can then begin. A political agreement is targeted by the end of the year. This is also in line with the timetable set out in the interinstitutional One Europe, One Market Roadmap, which identifies the EBW as one of the priority initiatives for further deepening the Single Market.

Relevance for social security

As public authorities, social security institutions will in future be required to enable the use of the core functionalities of the EBW. In addition, EBW are relevant for cross-border applications and procedures in the context of the coordination of social security systems. One example is the application for Portable Documents A1 (PD A1), where EBW could complement existing procedures and facilitate secure cross-border applications. Furthermore, the PD A1 is expected to be stored in the future as a digital document in the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet), which in turn is intended to provide the basis for the planned European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS). This creates interfaces and an increased need for coordination between different instruments relevant to cross-border social security.