21 organizations (companies, universities, etc.) came together to sign a manifesto. The objective is to propose European cooperation on self-sovereign digital identity. These entities wish to take advantage of the French presidency of the European Union, which will end on June 30, so that France can make progress on the potential revision of the eIDAS regulation.
Accelerate the adoption of the proposed revision of the eIDAS regulation
Promulgated in 2014, the eIDAS regulation (for electronic Identification Authentication and Trust Services) is a set of rules governing electronic identification and electronic documents, while strengthening the trust of electronic transactions within the entire European Union.
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However, 21 French players consider that this regulation does not concretely establish a European digital identity which, according to them, would make it possible to ” ensure that all solutions and components of the French digital identity reflect European values “.
Thus, Docaposte, digital subsidiary of La Poste, Atos, AGdatahub, La Caisse des Dépôts, IN Groupe, Archipels, Orange Business Services (OBS), Suez or even the University of Lille and the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, with the support of ten other organisations, have decided to take the lead in challenging the French government, but also Europe around this subject.
A revision of the eIDAS regulation which must focus on self-sovereign identity
For the signatories of the manifesto, the work that must be carried out soon must be centered on self-sovereign identity (SSI). The objective of this approach is to allow an identity to be controlled and managed without the intervention of a third-party administrative authority.
They claim that currently some private sector solutions […] could grow at the expense of user privacy and our digital sovereignty “. They therefore call for the consolidation of collaboration between the private sector, which would provide technology and infrastructure, and the public sector, which would promote research and the contribution of trust between each of the players.
In June 2021, the European Commission had already expressed itself on the creation of a European digital identity. The objective is to set up a European digital identity wallet allowing the storage and management of official documents directly from their smartphone. Thus, EU citizens would no longer have to keep their official documents such as their identity card or driving license in their wallets.
The twenty organizations also deplore the absence of France in the bilateral agreements already signed by certain EU countries and call on it to join the movement. Germany, for example, has already equipped itself with a digital identity card and has signed an agreement with Spain for the establishment of a concrete common digital identity system. Finland and the Netherlands have also followed suit and are also cooperating with Germany.