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Apr 2025
This article was originally published as the second edition of Decoding, our monthly briefing on the latest trends in government technology. Sign up here to receive future editions directly in your inbox.
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Governments across Europe are working to establish trusted digital identity systems that protect user data, enhance accessibility, and drive cross-border interoperability. As digital interactions become increasingly central to daily life, ensuring privacy, security, and digital sovereignty remains a key challenge.
In response, the EU is advancing strategic initiatives like EuroStack, a sovereign and secure foundation designed to enable seamless digital interactions across member states. At the heart of this stands the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet). The EU is hoping that the wallet will be a game-changer for how citizens will store, access and manage digital credentials.
This edition of Decoding marks the first part of our series Decoding Europe’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and explores how EuroStack, which aims to provide a unified, secure framework for seamless digital interactions across member states, and the EUDI Wallet can shape the future of digital identity in the EU.
The EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) is a cornerstone of Europe's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), enabling citizens to securely authenticate themselves across borders while maintaining control over their data.
With the revised eIDAS 2.0 regulation in force since May 2024, all member states must introduce or certify at least one EUDI Wallet to all citizens, residents, and businesses by 2027. This initiative marks a step toward a coordinated and unified framework for digital identity in Europe.
Europe has a strong foundation in national digital identity systems, with solutions like Denmark's MitID and Estonia's e-ID. However, these remain largely siloed. The EUDI Wallet builds on successful cross-border collaborations to establish an interoperable European system. The EUDI Wallet presents an opportunity to enhance digital service delivery while ensuring compliance with EU-wide security and privacy standards.
To ensure proper implementation, the EU launched four large-scale pilot programmes in April 2023. These projects test the technical specifications for the Common Toolbox, which will form the basis of the EUDI Wallet. Over 350 entities, including public authorities and private companies from 26 EU member states, Norway, Iceland, and Ukraine, are participating in these pilots. The projects are co-funded by the European Commission and guided by the eIDAS Expert Group. The four large-scale pilot programmes include:
For decision-makers, ensuring that digital identity systems run on secure, EU-based infrastructure will be critical to safeguarding digital sovereignty. The open-source approach fosters transparency and innovation, but balancing security, usability, and strategic independence will require careful implementation and procurement decisions.
→ Read more about the EUDI Wallet and European DPI here.
The UK is making significant progress in its digital identity strategy with the formation of a Parliamentary Digital ID Group, tasked with guiding the development of the Gov.UK Wallet. This initiative aims to centralise and standardise digital identity verification for public services, streamlining access for citizens while ensuring robust security and privacy protections. The new advisory group will collaborate closely with government agencies and industry stakeholders to address key challenges, including interoperability, data protection, and public trust.
Sweden’s digital identity landscape is evolving with new market-driven initiatives. In March 2025, the digital mailbox service Kivra acquired Truid, a startup specialising in secure digital authentication. This signals a growing trend where private companies play a larger role in shaping digital ID ecosystems. The framework for digital identity wallets is being overseen by the Agency for Digital Government, ensuring they meet regulatory requirements and maintain high security standards. Kivra aims to integrate Truid’s technology into its platform, enabling seamless verification for government and financial services. The acquisition empowers users with greater control over their data, aligning with the EU's vision for digital identity frameworks.
Germany is actively working to implement the EUDI Wallet while also advancing its BundID and DeutschlandID initiatives. Adoption of the BundID has been slow, with only 10 of 16 federal states using it. To accelerate the development of the German EUDI wallet, the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation has launched the Funke innovation competition, inviting tech providers to test solutions for secure digital identity management.
A notable cross-border partnership involves Deutsche Telekom and Swedish ID specialist Scytáles, who are developing age verification technology for the EUDI Wallet. This collaboration aims to ensure privacy-first digital authentication across sectors.
France is expanding its digital identity with the France Identité and Carte Vitale applications. France Identité allows its 1.8 million users to store their national ID and driver’s license digitally, with voting authorisation features. Launched in March 2025, the Carte Vitale application enables digital healthcare access. Instead of relying on tech giants like Apple and Google, France developed its own apps, reinforcing its digital sovereignty. However, France Identité only works with the latest biometric ID card, posing compatibility challenges.
Italy's IT-Wallet System is a major advancement in digital identity, allowing citizens to add digital versions of their documents to the national digital services app. This initiative is part of Italy's commitment to digital innovation, aiming to improve accessibility and convenience for citizens. Since its launch in December 2024, the IT-Wallet System had grown to be used by over 4 million citizens by February 2025. The initiative reflects Italy's proactive approach to integrating digital identity into public services, enhancing user experience and operational efficiency.
South Korea has launched a nationwide digital ID system on smartphones, marking a significant step in its digital transformation strategy. The initiative, launched in March 2025, is part of a broader effort to integrate digital identity into public services, enhancing convenience and security for citizens. The system supports the country's push towards digital innovation, reflecting its commitment to leveraging technology for societal benefit.
In February 2025, e-Boks announced a strategic partnership with the startup dewa to launch e-Wallet, Denmark's first digital identity solution of its kind. e-Wallet is also the first Danish-developed wallet to be fully conformant with the European Blockchain Service Infrastructure.
The collaboration between dewa and e-Boks marks an important step in the rollout of the EUDI Wallet, providing a scalable solution that meets upcoming EU requirements. The wallet will be piloted at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where dewa's founders first met, developed the concept, and received the first prize at the DTU X-Tech+ award, recognising their innovation and impact.
DTU will be the first Danish institution to pilot the e-Wallet, enabling students to use digital IDs. As part of the pilot project, DTU students will gain access to a digital student ID, which can supplement or replace physical ID cards. The initiative will explore how the wallet can be integrated into daily campus life, including facility access and exam registration. e-Wallet has been available for download in App Store and Google Play since March 2025.
The European Commission expects 80% of EU citizens to have access to a digital identity wallet by 2030, creating a pressing need for solutions that combine high security with accessibility. e-Wallet ensures compliance with EU regulations, giving users full control over their data while offering an intuitive platform for seamless access to digital identities and certificates. Additionally, the solution is designed for cross-border functionality within the EU's eIDAS 2.0 framework.
We asked Lorenz Carl Flechtenmacher, CEO of dewa, and Erik Abildgaard Knudsen, CPO at e-Boks, to share their perspectives on the pilot and the broader potential of the EUDI Wallet for Danish companies:
What are the success criteria for the pilot project?
"The aim is to test cost efficiency, security, convenience for the user & sustainable impact. So the success criteria would be better performance on these factors than the existing physical solution." - Lorenz Carl Flechtenmacher, CEO dewa.
What opportunities and future European collaboration does the EUDI bring to Danish companies? "The EUDI Wallet presents significant opportunities for Danish companies, streamlining cross-border operations and fostering innovation, enhanced European collaboration, and seamless interactions across member states. This includes verification of identities, signing of documents, and payments as well as accelerating processes like opening of bank accounts etc. within a secure and standardized digital framework." - Erik Abildgaard Knudsen, CPO e-Boks.
→ Read more about e-Wallet here.
📆 "GenAI Meets Public Administrations" – Info day: Explore funding opportunities and strategies for future adoption of generative AI in the public sector at this EU-hosted virtual info day.
14 April 2025, online. Read more and register here.
📆 Learning Session on GovTech: Join this interactive online session to explore the role of GovTech in driving interoperability across the public sector.
24 April 2025, online. Read more and register here.
📆 Not just another AI conference: Join experts, policymakers, and industry leaders for a full-day program focused on the real-world impact of AI, governance, and innovation.
24 April 2025, Lyngby. Read more and register here (event held in Danish).
📆 Fremtidens AI er Ansvarlig AI: A high-level afternoon event dedicated to responsible AI in Denmark, featuring practical case studies, panel discussions, and networking.
29 April 2025, Copenhagen. Read more and register here (event held in Danish).
📆 European Identity & Cloud Conference 2025: Europe’s leading event on digital identity, security, privacy, and governance, gathering experts, policymakers, and innovators for deep-dive sessions and networking.
6-9 May 2025, Berlin. Read more and register here (virtual participation available).
For questions, comments, or suggestions about this article, please get in touch with Emilia.
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