1What is it?
eIDAS 2.0 is a major overhaul of the EU's digital identity rules, introducing a mandatory European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) that every member state must offer to citizens by 2026. This smartphone-based wallet would store your legal identity, driving licence, diplomas, medical records, and other official credentials in digital form. It is designed to work across all 27 EU countries, allowing citizens to identify themselves online and in person without relying on commercial platforms like Google or Facebook. Critically, private platforms with over 5 million users will be legally required to accept this wallet as a login method. The project represents the largest single expansion of state-managed digital identity infrastructure in European history.
2What is it officially for?
The European Commission officially aims to give every EU citizen access to a secure, universally accepted digital identity usable in any member state by 2030. Institutions claim the wallet will reduce dependence on US tech giants for online authentication and return control of personal data to citizens. The framework is also presented as an economic enabler, allowing seamless cross-border access to banking, healthcare, and public services. Official texts emphasize that use of the wallet will be voluntary and that only minimal necessary data will be shared per transaction. The EU also frames eIDAS 2.0 as a sovereignty project — reducing Europe's reliance on foreign digital infrastructure.
3What it can change for citizens
Citizens would gain a standardised tool to access public and private services across all EU countries without creating dozens of separate accounts, which is a genuine convenience. However, the wallet concentrates an unprecedented amount of sensitive personal data — health, legal status, financial history — into a single state-issued digital container, creating a powerful single point of failure if breached or abused. Civil liberties organisations including the EDRi network have warned that 'voluntary' use may become practically compulsory as services progressively require wallet-based authentication. The mandatory acceptance clause for large platforms also means the wallet could become the default internet identity layer across Europe, reshaping how citizens are tracked and verified online. Citizens in countries with weaker rule-of-law protections face higher risks of government misuse of the infrastructure.