Kiri

    Resolutsiooni liik: Riigikantselei resolutsioon Viide: Justiits- ja Digiministeerium /  / ; Riigikantselei /  / 2-5/25-02178

Resolutsiooni teema: Euroopa Parlamendi ja nõukogu määruse eelnõu Euroopa ärikukru loomise kohta

Adressaat: Justiits- ja Digiministeerium Ülesanne: Tulenevalt Riigikogu kodu- ja töökorra seaduse § 152` lg 1 p 2 ning Vabariigi Valitsuse reglemendi § 3 lg 4 palun valmistada ette Vabariigi Valitsuse seisukoha ja otsuse eelnõu järgneva algatuse kohta, kaasates seejuures olulisi huvigruppe ja osapooli:

- Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the establishment of European Business Wallets, COM(2025)838 Tähtaeg: 02.01.2026

Adressaat: Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium, Kaitseministeerium, Kliimaministeerium, Kultuuriministeerium, Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium, Rahandusministeerium, Regionaal- ja Põllumajandusministeerium, Siseministeerium, Sotsiaalministeerium, Välisministeerium Ülesanne: Palun esitada oma sisend Justiits- ja Digiministeeeriumile seisukohtade kujundamiseks antud eelnõu kohta (eelnõude infosüsteemi (EIS) kaudu). Tähtaeg: 18.12.2025

Lisainfo: Eelnõu on kavas arutada valitsuse 15.01.2026 istungil ja Vabariigi Valitsuse reglemendi § 6 lg 6 kohaselt sellele eelneval nädalal (07.01.2026) EL koordinatsioonikogus. Esialgsed materjalid EL koordinatsioonikoguks palume esitada hiljemalt 02.01.2026. 

Kinnitaja: Merli Vahar, Euroopa Liidu asjade direktori asetäitja Kinnitamise kuupäev: 28.11.2025 Resolutsiooni koostaja: Sandra Metste [email protected],  

.

Euroopa Parlamendi ja nõukogu määruse eelnõu Euroopa ärikukru loomise kohta (KOM(2025)838)

Otsuse ettepanek koordinatsioonikogule

Kujundada seisukoht

Kaasvastutaja sisendi tähtpäev 18.12.2025

KOKi esitamise tähtpäev 07.01.2026

VV esitamise tähtpäev 15.01.2026

Peavastutaja Justiits- ja digiministeerium, kaasvastutajad Majandus- ja kommunikatsiooniministeerium, Rahandusministeerium, Kliimaministeerium, Sotsiaalministeerium, Välisministeerium, Kaitseministeerium, Kultuuriministeerium, Haridus- ja teadusministeerium, Regionaal- ja põllumajandusministeerium, Siseministeerium.

Seisukoha valitsusse toomise alus ja põhjendus

Algatuse reguleerimisala nõuab vastavalt Eesti Vabariigi põhiseadusele seaduse või Riigikogu otsuse vastuvõtmist, muutmist või kehtetuks tunnistamist (RKKTS § 152¹ lg 1 p 1);

Algatuse vastuvõtmisega kaasneks oluline majanduslik või sotsiaalne mõju (RKKTS § 152¹ lg 1 p 2);

Sisukokkuvõte

Ettepaneku eesmärk on luua Euroopa ettevõtjatele ja avaliku sektori asutustele ühtne digitaalne tööriist, et lihtsustada ettevõtete suhtlust ja toimingute tegemist riigiasutuste ja teiste ettevõtetega, et vähendada seeläbi halduskoormust. Ettevõtjad saaksid ettepaneku kohaselt dokumente digitaalselt allkirjastada, ajatempliga varustada ja pitseerida; turvaliselt luua, säilitada ja vahetada kontrollitud dokumente ning suhelda turvaliselt teiste ettevõtjate või haldusasutustega nii oma riigis kui teistes ELi liikmesriikides. Eesmärk on muuta ettevõtte tegevuse laiendamine teistesse liikmesriikidesse, maksude maksmine ja riigiasutustega suhtlemine ELis lihtsamaks, ühtlasi vähendada ettevõtjate haldusmenetlusi ja -kulusid.

Mõju ja sihtrühm

Mõju valdkonnad

2

Majandus

Ettevõtlus

Sihtrühm: Ettevõtjad

Mõju sihtrühmale: Edendatakse ettevõtlust.

Halduskoormus

Kas lahendusega kaasneb mõju halduskoormusele? Jah

Hinnata mõju ettevõtete halduskoormusele.

Riigieelarve

Kas lahendusega kaasneb mõju riigieelarvele? Jah

Hinnata mõju, kuna potentsiaalselt kaasneb mõju riigieelarvele.

Kaasamine

Kaasata algatustega seotud huvigrupid.

EN EN

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 19.11.2025

COM(2025) 838 final

2025/0358 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the establishment of European Business Wallets

{SWD(2025) 837 final}

EN 1 EN

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

This explanatory memorandum accompanies the proposal for a Regulation on the

establishment of European Business Wallets. The legal instrument aims to provide a

harmonised, trusted, and user-friendly digital framework for economic operators and public

sector bodies to securely identify, authenticate and exchange data with full legal effect across

EU borders.

Recent technological and societal developments require a new harmonised and digital

approach to business-to-government and business-to-business interactions. AI, cloud

computing and secure digital identity are moving at an unprecedented pace, affecting the way

of doing business in Europe: processes have shifted from being document-based to automated

and data-driven. For instance, 91% of scaleups consider digital technologies critical to their

growth. These developments, combined with the EU’s strategic priorities for competitiveness,

digital sovereignty, simplification and digital-by-default public services, create the need for

agile solutions that can support trusted cross-border business transactions at scale.

The Draghi and Letta reports have warned that persistence of administrative burdens, and

fragmentation of the Single Market significantly weaken Europe’s competitiveness,

discourage EU firms from scaling up, and increase dependence on high-risk providers. Yet the

digital infrastructure available to public sector bodies and economic operators remains

fragmented and, compliance and reporting obligations complex: most stakeholders consulted,

highlighted the lack of cross-border interoperability as a major source for red tape. Across the

Union, public authorities still operate within heterogeneous digital environments that limit the

full realisation of cross-border public services: the eGovernment Benchmark 2024 shows that

while 88 % of public services are available online to national users, cross-border users can

access only 56 % of those services digitally and interoperability barriers remain among the

top obstacles to efficient e-government. For economic operators active in multiple Member

States ensuring smooth transaction, such as tax registration, licensing or procurement

applications, is key to remain competitive.

The practical consequences of the status quo are burdensome. Stakeholders reported for

example, employing two full-time staff solely for sustainability reporting obligations, or

incurring costs exceeding €100,000 for specialised consultancy in this area. Also, economic

operators estimate that around 20% of staff time is absorbed by compliance-related activities.

In cross-border contexts, this often requires manual or paper-based verification that delay

transactions and multiply administrative costs. These costs are disproportionate especially for

SMEs, where compliance obligations divert significant resources from strategic high-value

activities: the European Investment Bank estimates that regulatory compliance consumes

1.8% of turnover for firms overall and 2.5% for smaller companies. Know-Your-Customer

procedures in the financial sector alone can take 30 to 50 days per corporate client, with each

dossier requiring dozens of hours of manual processing.

For public sector bodies, structural barriers prevent the full transition to modern, digital, and

accessible services and the creation of a seamless EU administrative space. Although the

digitalisation of public services is showing signs of increased maturity, it will not, at current

rates, reach the target set in the Europe’s Digital Decade Report of having 100% of public

services online by 2030. This scenario limits scalability, raises administrative costs, and slows

EN 2 EN

down service delivery. Digitising interactions means more efficient administrative procedures,

better service delivery and opportunities for requalification of public resources to more

strategic tasks. Evidence shows that digitalisation in the public sector can make

administrations more effective, either by expanding services without additional budget or by

redeploying human resources towards higher-value activities.

The absence of a trusted, standardised channel for business-to-government and business-to-

business interaction allowing to exchange attributes undermines traceability and security.

Credentials are often shared via email or proprietary portals, which offer limited guarantees of

authenticity, increasing exposure to fraudulent practices, such as invoice scams, which

already generate over €26 million annually in illicit profits, according to Europol and EUIPO.

Thus, while privacy and minimal disclosure are essential for natural persons, businesses

require transparency and traceability of exchanges to support risk management, compliance

and fraud prevention. The EU has already achieved a major milestone in its simplification

agenda with the European Digital Identity Framework - a state-of-the-art, privacy-friendly

and interoperable system for digital identification empowering citizens and legal entities to

share data securely across borders. The European Business Wallets proposal aims at

complementing the European Digital Identity Wallets by introducing a market-driven digital

tool designed for the specific needs of business transactions.

The current drive for simplification and digitalisation is anchored in the Union’s political

agenda. The EU’s Strategic Agenda 2024–2029, the European Council conclusions and the

Commission’s Competitiveness Compass all underline the urgency of reducing administrative

burdens, with explicit targets of a 25% reduction in overall burdens and 35% for SMEs. The

Draghi and Letta reports identify fragmentation and administrative complexity as major

obstacles to Europe’s competitiveness, while President von der Leyen’s 2025 State of the

Union made clear that internal barriers continue to hinder economic operators more than

external ones. In March and June 2025, the European Council reaffirmed the need for

“simplicity by design,” and in early 2025 the Commission explicitly identified the

establishment of European Business Wallets as a cornerstone of a simpler and faster Europe.

Against this economic and political background, the European Business Wallets proposal

delivers on the simplification demand by achieving the following specific objectives:

– Reduce administrative burdens, streamline compliance processes, and improve

service delivery

– Ensure economic operators and public sector bodies have access to secure and

trusted digital identification across borders, meeting user needs and demand

• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

The European Business Wallets proposal builds on and extends the ecosystem established

under the European Digital Identity Framework (EUDI) - Regulation (EU) 910/2014 on

electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market, as

amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183. The European Business Wallets aim to complement

the EUDI Framework by offering functionalities tailored to the needs of public sector bodies

and economic operators, including the digital management of representation rights and

mandates, and a secure channel for exchanging official documents and attestations supported

by a common directory. Full interoperability with the European Digital Identity Wallets will

be guaranteed.

EN 3 EN

The proposal is complementary to the EU company law acquis and uses the existing European

Unique Identifier which all limited liability companies and commercial partnerships (as well

as the future 28th regime companies) have in accordance with EU company law. In addition,

the proposal is compatible with the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS),

developed in accordance with the codified Company Law Directive (EU) 2017/1132. Finally,

the proposal is also in line with Beneficial Ownership Registers Interconnection System

(BORIS), developed in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (EU)

2015/849. These interconnections use the European Unique Identifier (EUID) to uniquely

identify companies and other legal entities, and legal arrangements in the EU, but do not

cover all economic operators or public sector bodies, such as sole traders, self-employed or

public institutions. The European Business Wallets extend this ecosystem by offering a

trusted and interoperable mean for all these entities.

• Consistency with other Union policies

This proposal is embedded in the Union’s wider policy agenda to boost competitiveness,

reduce administrative burdens and deliver a digitally integrated Single Market. It contributes

directly to the goals set out in the Commission’s Single Market Strategy which calls for more

effective digitalisation in the EU to enable the optimal functioning of the Single Market as

well as to the EU Strategic Agenda 2024–2029, the Competitiveness Compass, the SME

Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe, and the Digital Decade Policy Programme. All

of which highlight the need for simplification, interoperability and digital-by-default public

services. The European Business Wallets proposal deliver on these strategic priorities by

offering a concrete instrument to make compliance and cross-border interactions simpler,

faster and more reliable for economic operators and public sector bodies.

Furthermore, the proposal ensures complementarity with key legislative initiatives as follows:

– The Single Digital Gateway (SDG) and its Once-Only Technical System (OOTS)

implement the “once-only” principle, requiring authorities to reuse data already held

in another Member State without repeated submissions by businesses. The European

Business Wallets proposal will complement the SDG and OOTS by providing trusted

identification and authentication of economic operators and public administrations

and a secure exchange layer that enables businesses and public sector bodies to share

and reuse verified data and official attestations seamlessly across borders.

– The Digital Product Passport (DPP), central to the EU’s circular economy agenda,

depends on trusted access to conformity and sustainability data. The Business

Wallets proposal can prove legal identity and any granted access rights, allow

conformity declarations to be signed and sealed, and ensure product data is

exchanged securely and verifiably across borders.

– The Interoperable Europe Act (IEA) establishes the framework for cross-border

interoperability of public services. The Business Wallets proposal will complement

this by serving as a trusted infrastructure that administrations can integrate into

digital-by-default service delivery, reinforcing the removal of technical and

organisational barriers.

– The upcoming proposal on the 28th Regime corporate legal framework will provide

simple, flexible and fast procedures for companies to set up and operate and attract

investment in the EU through digital solutions. It will ensure that digital tools such

as the EU Company certificate and the EU digital Power of Attorney can be used in

the European Business Wallets.

EN 4 EN

– The VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package modernises VAT reporting, introduces

mandatory e-invoicing across borders and strengthens fraud prevention. The

Business Wallets proposal will enable secure storage and verifiable exchange of

VAT attestations and transaction data, thereby supporting real-time reporting and

trusted invoicing.

2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

• Legal basis

The legal basis for the proposal is Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the

European Union (TFEU), which provides for the adoption of measures at EU level to ensure

the proper functioning of the internal market. Secure identification, trust services, and

seamless exchange of verifiable electronic attestations are essential for economic operators

and public sector bodies to participate effectively in the Single Market.

The functioning of the internal market relies on uniform and consistent rules applied across all

relevant public sectors bodies performing equivalent functions or providing comparable

services. European Union institutions, agencies, offices and bodies (Union entities) often

carry out similar activities to national public sector bodies and have key supervisory and

regulatory roles. Thus, their involvement in supporting the proper functioning of the Single

Market is necessary. Excluding them would create regulatory gaps, fragmentation and uneven

application of the rules, thereby undermining the Business Wallet’s objective of safeguarding

the integrity, stability and resilience of the internal market. In addition, simplification remains

a key driver of the EU’s commitment to building a bolder, simpler, and faster Union. A

competitive and well-functioning Single Market requires active participation from both

national and EU-level authorities, with the latter leading by example. Accordingly, Union

entities should adopt and use the European Business Wallet, extending simplification and

efficiency to their interactions with economic operators.

The current disparities in the way Member States identify economic operators, verify

mandates and exchange official data and documentation in digital form may pose risks of

obstacles to fundamental freedoms or cause significant distortions of competition. By

providing a harmonised solution for secure business identification and data exchange, the

European Business Wallets proposal aim to remove administrative barriers, prevent further

divergences, and ensure that all economic operators can compete on a level playing field

within the EU.

• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

Economic operators and public sector bodies across the Union should be able to rely on

highly secure and trustworthy digital identity solutions, including the portability of electronic

attestations of attributes that can be used across the Single Market in a user-friendly and

efficient manner. These needs cannot be sufficiently met by Member States acting

individually, as national solutions remain fragmented in scope, effect and technical design.

Hence, action at EU level is necessary to ensure that all public authorities, both national and

European, recognise and apply the same interoperable solutions when interacting with

economic operators. This guarantees a coherent regulatory environment and avoids parallel

procedures or incompatible systems that would be contrary to the objectives of simplification

and optimal functioning of the internal market. Obstacles to the freedom of establishment and

EN 5 EN

the freedom to provide services arise because credentials issued digitally in one Member State

cannot always be reused or relied upon in another.

In addition, distortions of competition occur when operators face unequal conditions

depending only on their place of establishment. In Member States where procedures are fully

digitalised, companies can register for VAT or provide attestations within days at low cost,

while in less digitalised domestic environments, the same process may require courier

services, or lengthy manual checks, taking weeks and diverting staff from productive

activities. The eGovernment Benchmark 2024 reveals substantial differences across Member

States in the digital availability and usability of key public services: the average overall score

of the 10 top-performers within the EU27 is 87 points, compared to 64 points for the 10

bottom-performers - a gap that highlights persistent disparities in the digitalisation of EU

public services. These disparities translate into different compliance costs of digitalisation

disproportionately harm SMEs and micro-enterprises, weakening their ability to compete in

the Single Market and limiting their participation in economic opportunities such as public

procurement.

EU-level intervention is the most efficient way to restore a level playing field: a common,

harmonised framework ensures that all economic operators, regardless of size or location, can

rely on a single tool to interact with public authorities and partners across the Union. By

removing administrative barriers and creating uniform conditions, the European Business

Wallets proposal strengthens legal certainty, trust and competitiveness.

Regarding added value, the European Business Wallets will eliminate duplication and lower

compliance costs, enhance data quality and transparency, and provide public sector bodies

with more reliable information, thereby improving service delivery. For economic operators,

particularly SMEs, this means that the time and resources saved can be redirected to

innovation, growth and international expansion. At the same time, EU-level harmonisation

prevents dependency on high-risk providers, strengthens the resilience of critical

infrastructures, and consolidates the Union’s digital sovereignty. Beyond the internal market,

the initiative can also enhance the Union’s role as a global standard-setter for trusted digital

infrastructures, supporting European competitiveness in international trade.

• Proportionality

This initiative is proportionate to the objectives sought, as it limits obligations to what is

strictly necessary to ensure a secure, harmonised and interoperable framework for digital

interactions between economic operators and public sector bodies. The European Business

Wallets do not prescribe a single rigid business model or technical design but rather set a

framework that combines interoperability with flexibility, fostering competition and

innovation.

Furthermore, obligations for public sector bodies are balanced by transitional arrangements:

flexible implementation periods allow public sector bodies sufficient time to adapt their

administrative and IT systems and preventing disruption. The proposal does not create new

administrative procedures that must be completed by economic operators or public sector

bodies. It instead provides a common, trusted channel for fulfilling obligations that already

exist under Union law. Being sector-agnostic in nature, the initiative does not touch upon the

content of current obligations and simply provides a mean to simplify compliance with

European and national existing rules, while helping overcoming fragmentation and treatment

disparities across the Single Market.

EN 6 EN

The costs of adoption and maintenance will be sustained by economic operators and public

sector bodies. In particular these relate to onboarding, training and IT adaptation. However,

these costs are outweighed by efficiency gains from simplified processes, reduced duplication,

and greater legal certainty. Moreover, training costs, that constitute the most substantial one-

off costs, could be partly supported by existing Union initiatives for digital transformation and

capacity-building, which can help alleviate training and adaptation costs.

The proposal is also proportionate in terms of its expected impact on economic operators. It

also uses the existing European Unique Identifier (EUID) which avoids extra costs for 18

million companies. SMEs and micro-enterprises, which face the greatest relative burden from

administrative complexity in terms of both costs and staff time, are expected to benefit the

most from the simplification and efficiency gains deriving from the use of European Business

Wallets. This is fully consistent with the EU’s political priorities, including the EU Start-up

and Scale-up Strategy, the upcoming 28th regime and the recommendations of the Draghi

Report, which emphasise the need to reduce red tape and administrative barriers as a

prerequisite for SMEs competitiveness and growth.

Notably, the proposal does not impose any obligation on economic operators. It requires

public sector bodies to enable the use of European Business Wallets for specified

functionalities, ensuring that economic operators like small and medium enterprises have the

choice to adopt the Business Wallets and to benefit from simplified procedures. This approach

aligns with the “Think Small First” principle by avoiding unnecessary regulatory pressure on

SMEs. Self-employed individuals and sole traders may also rely on their European Digital

Identity Wallets to access trust services offered for the European Business Wallets, including

the secure communication channel or e-signatures, without the need to acquire a fully-fledged

Business Wallet. This ensures proportionate treatment of smaller operators by preventing the

imposition of an undue burden.

Finally, the initiative is also proportionate in its regulatory design, as it relies on ex post

supervision by the specified supervisory bodies and a notification procedure rather than prior

authorisation. This approach ensures effective oversight and accountability of providers

without introducing unnecessary administrative delays or costs, while maintaining a high

level of trust and security.

Taken together, these elements show that the proposal respects the principle of

proportionality. By combining a clear common framework with flexibility for innovation, it

delivers in the most efficient way on addressing pressing needs of both economic operators

and public sector bodies.

• Choice of the instrument

The choice of a regulation as the legal instrument is justified by the need to ensure a uniform

framework of application for the secure identification, authentication and the exchange of

attestations by economic operators and public sector bodies across the Single Market. Only

directly applicable rules can guarantee that the European Business Wallets operate seamlessly

throughout the Single Market and that their legal effects are recognised and applied equally in

all Member States, which is essential to safeguard the fundamental freedoms of establishment

and the provision of services, currently weakened by divergent national solutions and

fragmented procedures.

EN 7 EN

The direct applicability of a regulation, in accordance with Article 288 TFEU, will prevent

further legal fragmentation and ensure that economic operators and public sector bodies can

rely on a common instrument with the same legal certainty across the Union.

In addition, in order to guarantee the consistent application of all related instruments and

taking into consideration that the EUDI Framework is itself established by a Regulation, the

present proposal should likewise take the same legal form.

3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER

CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

• Stakeholder consultations

Targeted consultations were undertaken specifically for the European Business Wallets,

reflecting their distinct focus on B2G and B2B interactions. A Call for Evidence ran between

May and June 2025 and received nearly one hundred contributions from companies, business

associations, registries, public authorities and citizens across 17 Member States and several

third countries. The Commission also carried out surveys, in-depth interviews and a series of

dedicated workshops with Member States, registries, SMEs, industry representatives and trust

service providers. The feedback was complemented by input from conferences and ad hoc

dialogues with stakeholders throughout 2025.

The consultation strategy focused on specific issues relevant to economic operators and public

sector bodies, including operational requirements, technical integrations, workflow

optimisations, and integration of reporting obligations, tailored to capture the technical and

practical realities faced by professional users.

Stakeholders highlighted that existing digital tools and channels for administrative activities

are highly fragmented, particularly for cross-border exchanges, leading to repetitive data

submissions and administrative burdens. Several administrative activities were described as

burdensome, particularly those involving document exchange, compliance, and verification

across Member States. These activities are often time-consuming, repetitive, and prone to

human error.

Respondents anticipated that the European Business Wallets could significantly reduce the

cost and complexity of administrative tasks. Benefits cited included faster services, improved

data accuracy, and enhanced cross-border operations. Many stakeholders expressed openness

to adopting a cloud-based solution like the European Business Wallets, especially if it

streamlines processes and reduces costs. However, concerns were raised about integration

challenges and the need for clear guidance and support. In addition, stakeholders identified

various use cases and cost-saving opportunities, including automating identity verification,

streamlining compliance processes, and enabling secure cross-border transactions. The

potential benefits were quantified in terms of time saved on administrative tasks and the

reduction of manual processes.

The consultation results highlighted the need for a harmonised approach to business identity,

representation, and regulatory compliance. Recommendations included the need for

technological neutrality, ensuring the Wallets are technologically neutral, flexible, and future

proof, relying on harmonised standards and protocols. Interoperability is crucial, with the

Wallets integrated with existing frameworks, such as the EU Digital Identity Wallet, to ensure

seamless cross-border operations. The Wallets should be based on sustainable, market-driven

models, with clear guidelines and support for adoption. Special attention should be given to

EN 8 EN

SMEs, considering their challenges in adopting digital tools and the need for clear, actionable

use cases.

The stakeholder consultation strategy provided valuable insights into the needs, challenges,

and expectations of economic operators and public sector bodies regarding the European

Business Wallets. The findings informed the development of the regulation, ensuring that it

addresses the specific needs of professional users by: being technological neutral and future-

proof; enabling the secure retrieval of data from business registries and other authentic

sources, guaranteeing traceable interaction; allowing for a market-driven model and finally,

making the acceptance of the Business Wallets mandatory for public sector bodies to ensure

consistent and effective uptake across the EU.

The initiative also builds on the extensive public consultation carried out in 2021 in the

context of the revision of the eIDAS Regulation, which gathered broad feedback on digital

identity and trust services. The results of that consultation remain valid for understanding user

expectations regarding interoperability, legal certainty, cross-border usability, and trust.

Therefore, no open public consultation was held.

• Collection and use of expertise

In preparing this initiative, the Commission drew on external expertise. Beyond regular

exchanges with Member State experts, business registries and industry representatives, the

Commission contracted specialised consultancy firms to support the collection and analysis of

evidence. These contractors conducted targeted interviews and surveys with stakeholders,

gathered qualitative and quantitative feedback, and carried out a cost/benefit analysis for the

Staff Working Document. Their work was complemented by the Commission’s in-house

expertise.

• Staff Working Document

For this proposal a derogation from an impact assessment was granted as the European

Business Wallets build directly on the policy choice already assessed in 2021 for the

European Digital Identity Framework and adapts it to the specific context and needs of

economic operators and public sector bodies. The proposal therefore follows the 2021

preferred option, namely the establishment of a harmonised wallet framework with Union-

wide legal effect, customising it to professional interactions. However, a Staff Working

Document analysing in detail the expected costs and benefits of the proposal was prepared.

The document provides the intervention logic (problems, drivers and objectives), describes

the policy option, and quantifies economic impacts for both public sector bodies and

economic operators on the basis of mixed-method research including quantitative and

qualitative analysis of public sources, survey data and interview data combined with

secondary sources (full details on the methodology are provided in the Staff Working

Document).

To meet the objectives of simplification, administrative burden reduction and secure cross-

border digital interactions, the initiative requires all public sector bodies in the EU to accept

the European Business Wallets in their interaction with economic operators for the purpose of

the core minimum functionalities (identification/authentication; signing/sealing; submission

and receipt of documents and official notifications), which have legal effect equivalent to

paper or in-person processes across the EU. The instrument is technology-neutral and market-

driven: it does not prescribe a single design, leaves room for innovative features beyond the

common layer, and ensures interoperability with eIDAS trust services and authentic sources.

EN 9 EN

The impacts of the policy option are outlined in detail in Annex 3 of the Staff Working

Document. The costs benefits analysis indicates that there are annual direct costs both for

economic operators and public sector bodies. They are divided in one-off costs for training

and onboarding, activation and IT implementation, contracting/procurement costs, and in

recurring costs for licensing fees and maintenance. Overall, when the Business Wallets reach

their full potential and the adoption rate, for both public sector bodies and economic

operators, would reach 100%, the total estimated costs and benefits could reach the following

figures:

Stakeholder No. in the

EU

Year 1 (€bn) Year 2 (€bn)

Benefits Costs Net

benefits Benefits Costs

Net

benefits

Public

sector

bodies

95,825 19.13 7.32 11.81 19.13 1.15 17.98

Economic

operators 32,721,957 205.82 60.67 145.15 205.82 27.23 178.59

Total 224.95 67.99 156.96 224.95 28.38 196.57

Among micro-enterprises, self-employed individuals and sole traders could use their EU

Digital Identity Wallets to access the newly introduced communication channel to interact

with the Business Wallet ecosystem, without purchasing the full Business Wallet. Based on

current market prices across the EU, the estimated annual recurring cost for this service is

around €45, suggesting that these operators could connect to the ecosystem at a relatively low

cost.

Importantly, the magnitude of the net benefits depends on the rate of usage of the European

Business Wallets by economic operators, and SMEs in particular - which represent the largest

share of economic operators. The higher the usage, the higher the resulting efficiency,

simplification and cost savings across the internal market. Several scenarios are considered in

the Staff Working Document: at lower adoption levels, the initiative already generates

measurable efficiency gains for economic operators, with public authorities reaching positive

returns shortly thereafter. As usage expands, both categories of stakeholders experience clear

net benefits, particularly SMEs and micro-enterprises, as network effects begin to take hold.

At higher rates of use, the European Business Wallets become a de facto standard for

business-to-government exchanges, with growing spill-over effects in business-to-business

contexts. (for a more detailed analysis, see Chapter 6 and, Annex 3 and 4 of the Staff Working

Document).

In addition, beyond direct savings, the initiative generates substantial indirect benefits for the

wider EU economy and society, articulated into three areas. The first area is economic

opportunities and market competitiveness. Reduced time spent on compliance frees resources

that can be redirected into innovation, and cross-border service expansion. By improving data

quality and transparency, the initiative also facilitates fraud reduction and optimisation of

internal processes. A second area is trust and resilience, where the European Business Wallets

are expected to increase trust in digital transactions, and to strengthen the EU’s cyber-

resilience and operational continuity, including during crises. A third area is environmental

sustainability, where gains are expected from the reduction of paper-based processes and the

facilitation of more efficient sustainability reporting.

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For public sector bodies, the European Business Wallets are expected to bring structural and

lasting improvements in administrative efficiency and service quality. By automating

verification, document handling and data exchange, the initiative reduces manual processing

and the risk of human error, accelerating decision-making and enhancing the reliability of

outcomes for citizens and companies. The consolidation of authentication and communication

systems into a harmonised EU framework strengthens cybersecurity and digital sovereignty,

allowing coordinated risk management and secure data flows. In parallel, the availability of a

traceable, standardised channel for information exchange streamlines regulatory supervision,

allowing authorities to rely on accurate, auditable data and to deploy innovative RegTech

solutions that improve oversight and compliance monitoring.

Together, these indirect benefits reinforce the EU’s competitiveness, strengthen trust in digital

infrastructures, and support broader policy objectives such as the Green Deal and the Digital

Decade.

• Regulatory fitness and simplification

This proposal establishes the European Business Wallets as a single, harmonised tool for

economic operators to identify, sign, store, submit and receive documents in their interactions

with public authorities. It will allow to replace fragmented national procedures with a secure

and interoperable solution, thereby removing administrative complexity and reducing

compliance costs.

For public sector bodies, it streamlines reporting and verification processes, enabling more

efficient supervision and record-keeping. For economic operators, in particular SMEs, it

eliminates duplicative procedures and disproportionate burdens. The latter stand to gain the

most, as they are disproportionately burdened by fragmented and duplicative administrative

procedures. Direct benefits are estimated at €4,000 per year at individual level for

microenterprises and €42,250 per year for larger SMEs, but the impact goes beyond cost

savings: simplified cross-border procedures will enable faster establishment abroad, easier

access to finance, and stronger participation in procurement markets. By ensuring legal

certainty and uniform application, the proposal promotes the free movement of goods and

services, while at the same time fosters innovation, allowing market-driven features

flourishing.

• Fundamental rights

While this legislative proposal primarily addresses legal persons, it indirectly supports the

protection of several fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of

the European Union. By providing a harmonised and trusted instrument for cross-border

business interactions, the initiative strengthens the freedom to conduct a business (Article 16)

by removing unnecessary barriers in the Single Market. It also facilitates the exercise of the

freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work (Article 15), as businesses and

professionals can expand their activities across borders more easily and at lower cost.

In their role as “gatekeepers” of administrative procedures within the Single Market, public

sector bodies will be enabled to offer more transparent and efficient procedures, thereby

indirectly reinforcing the right to good administration (Article 41). The European Business

Wallets also contribute to ensuring a high level of protection of personal data (Article 8) in

line with existing EU laws, in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/67. For example, the selective

disclosure feature, inspired by the European Digital Identity Framework, also serves as a

measure for the protection of personal data as users of the European Business Wallets are able

EN 11 EN

to control the type and amount of data communicated to other European Business Wallets

owners and relying parties. In addition, when preparing the implementation of the European

Digital Directory, the relevant data protection principles and obligations, such as data

minimisation and data protection by design and by default, should be considered.

Finally, by increasing the accuracy and reliability of business credentials, the proposal

indirectly strengthens consumer protection (Article 38) and contributes to overall trust and

confidence in the Single Market dynamics.

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

The inclusion of Union entities will have financial implications, which will be predominantly

covered by the EU budget under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034.

These costs are mainly associated with the implementation and use of the European Business

Wallets by Union entities and the establishment and maintenance of the European Digital

Directory within the Commission.

A detailed overview of the costs involved is provided in the ‘financial statement’ linked to

this proposal.

5. OTHER ELEMENTS

• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements

The impact of the proposed Regulation will be monitored and evaluated in accordance with

the Better Regulation Guidelines, covering its implementation and application. The

monitoring arrangement constitutes an important part of the proposal. The Commission will

monitor its implementation with a view to generating the necessary and relevant information

that will feed into a future evaluation and to provide solid evidence for policymaking. In

particular the following aspects will be evaluated and monitored: 1) reduction of

administrative burden of regulatory compliance and reporting requirements on businesses

through demonstrable economic benefits; 2) improvement of public service delivery and 3)

enhancement of competitiveness thanks to the Business Wallets’ introduction.

Given the horizontal reach of this regulation and considering the extensive uses-cases that the

Business Wallets could support across various economic sectors, it will be important to ensure

the efficient and collaborative coordination of its implementation. To this end, a cross-

Commission interservice group chaired by DG CONNECT will be established.

On the application of the proposed instrument, the European Commission and the National

Competent Authorities will assess also: 1) development of a market for secure digital

identification and trust services between economic operators and public sector bodies; 3)

trustability and security of available solutions and their compliance with all requirements to

provide European Business Wallets and 3) adoption of the Business Wallets among different

sectors.

Four years following the adoption of the Regulation, the Commission will carry out an

evaluation to assess how effectively the European Business Wallets have met their objectives.

The evaluation will look in particular at the usability of the wallets’ minimum core

functionalities, the compliance level of wallets’ providers, the functioning of national

supervision and penalties, performance of the qualified electronic registered delivery services

and the use of Business Wallets and the qualified registered delivery service. Member States

EN 12 EN

will provide the Commission with the necessary data and evidence for this assessment (for an

in-depth analysis of the monitoring and evaluation aspect, see Chapter 9 of Staff Working

Document).

• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal

Chapter I sets out the subject matter and scope of the proposal that applies to the provision

and acceptance of European Business Wallets. It also sets out the definitions used throughout

the instrument. The definition of the European Business Wallets is deliberately broad and

technologically neutral to allow flexibility for varying market-driven solutions and future

technological developments, a digital wallet that allows owners to store, manage, and share

verified identification data and electronic attestations of attributes, as well as to issue and

delegate mandates in a legally recognised manner.

Chapter II establishes the key components for the European Business Wallets framework. It

sets out the principle of legal equivalence, serving as a provision which equates actions

performed through a European Business Wallet to those carried out in person, on paper, or via

any other means or processes: an essential element to remove administrative frictions in

concerned exchanges. The principle of equivalence also applies to the use of the qualified

electronic registered delivery service by self-employed persons and sole traders. In the same

chapter, a minimum, interoperable set of core functionalities, together with qualified

electronic registered delivery service as a standalone service to users of European Digital

Identity Wallets, is defined alongside with technical requirements, further expanded in the

Annex and envisioned to be complemented by implementing acts. Provisions of this chapter

also address who can provide European Business Wallets, the relevant requirements that must

be met by such legal persons and the process that an eligible entity must undergo at national

level in order to be included in the trusted list of providers. To guarantee consistent cross-

border recognition, the proposal relies on European Business Wallets’ owners' identification

data issued as electronic attestations of attributes by qualified trust service providers, national

public sector bodies, or by the Commission for Union entities. Using these attestations

ensures that every Business Wallet owner can be reliably identified on the basis of official and

verifiable information. In addition, a unique identifier is attributed to each Business Wallet

owner. Where a European Unique Identifier is assigned under Company Law Directive (EU)

2017/1132 or the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the Business Wallets will use the

European Unique Identifier as the unique identifier. In other cases, Member States designate

existing national registers and corresponding registration numbers as the authentic source for

generating an equivalent identifier. The structure and technical specifications of this identifier,

ensuring Union-wide uniqueness and interoperability, will be defined by implementing acts.

To enable a straightforward communication through the Business Wallets, the proposal also

establishes a European Digital Directory, which will be created and maintained by the

Commission, will enable economic operators and public sector bodies to be easily contacted,

while implementing adequate measures for the protection personal data. In this regard, the

Commission will establish standards, technical specifications and the categories of

information to be communicated to the Commission for the Directory through implementing

acts.

Chapter II also establishes the governance and supervision mechanism. To minimise

fragmentation and leverage existing expertise, the proposal names the existing eIDAS

supervisory bodies to act as the supervisory authorities in each Member State for Business

Wallets’ providers established in the respective territories. These authorities also assist

providers of Business Wallets in accessing the information needed for the issuance of owner

EN 13 EN

identification data by issuers of owner identification data based on information available from

authentic sources, cooperate closely with the competent authorities for qualified trust service

providers, and notify the Commission of the national registries holding data on economic

operators and public sector bodies. In this regard, the Regulation provides for the role and

tasks of such authorities. Given the Treaties’ institutional balance, EU institutions, bodies and

agencies (Union entity) are not subject to Member State supervision. The proposal rather

provides a Union-level supervisory arrangement under the Commission.

In Chapter III the obligations placed on public sector bodies are set out. These provisions

ensure that public sector bodies enable economic operators to use the European Business

Wallets for the purposes of identifying, authenticating, signing or sealing, submitting

documents, and sending or receiving notifications in administrative or reporting procedures.

For the exchange of documents and notifications, public sector bodies must themselves hold a

European Business Wallet and use the secure communication channel. The obligations have

to be met by set time frames. Public sector bodies may also recognise the use of European

Business Wallets and the communication channel (for sole traders and self-employed) as the

sole means for submitting electronic documents and attestations when required under Union

law. The Commission will review these obligations and their scope over time.

Chapter IV sets out the international dimension of the European Business Wallet framework,

establishing the possibility for the recognition of systems developed in third countries that

offer functionalities equivalent to the proposal where relevant conditions guarantee a

comparable level of trust, security, and interoperability. This approach allows the EU to

facilitate trusted global exchanges with non-EU partners while maintaining the Union’s high

standards for digital identity, authentication, and data integrity.

Chapter V contains the horizontal and closing provisions. It provides for the evaluation and

review of the proposed regulation to assess the effectiveness of its implementation and the

functioning of the supervisory framework.

EN 14 EN

2025/0358 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the establishment of European Business Wallets

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular

Article 114 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(1) ,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1) In its Communication of 29 January 2025 ‘A Competitiveness Compass for the EU’(2)

the Commission announced that European Business Wallets, building on the European

Digital Identity Framework, will constitute the cornerstone for conducting business in

a simple and digital manner within the Union, providing companies with a seamless

environment in which to interact with public administrations.

(2) Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3)

establishes the European Digital Identity Framework and introduces the European

Digital Identity Wallets, enabling users to securely store and manage their digital

identity and electronic attestations of attributes, and to access a wide range of online

services. The European Digital Identity Framework features new trust services,

including the issuance of electronic attestations of attributes, thereby enhancing the

security and reliability of online transactions and interactions.

(3) In order to foster a competitive and digital European economy, and to facilitate cross-

border business, it is necessary to establish a seamless and secure environment for

digital interaction between economic operators and public sector bodies in different

configurations.

(4) In order to ensure the interoperability and security of European Business Wallets, the

technical specifications established in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and subsequent

implementing regulations established pursuant to that Regulation as well as the

technology and standards developments and the work carried out on the basis of

1 OJ C 365, 23.9.2022, p. 18.

2 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic

and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘A Competitiveness Compass for the EU’, COM(2025) 30 final.

3 Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and

trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/910/oj).

EN 15 EN

Recommendation (EU) 2021/946, and in particular the Architecture and Reference

Framework, should apply, with the specifications laid down in this Regulation taking

precedence in the event of any inconsistency.

(5) In order to enhance the functioning of the digital single market, ensure interoperability

and reduce administrative burdens, it is essential to ensure compatibility between and

European Business Wallets and existing systems and solutions at both Union and

national level. As prescribed by the Interoperable Europe Act and to enhance secure

and efficient data exchanges across the Union, the implementation of the European

Business Wallets should, to the extent possible, where appropriate and following

technical analysis, make use of existing EU digital infrastructures and building blocks,

including those developed under the Once Only Technical System, the Business

Registers Interconnection System and the European Digital Identity Wallet, thereby

ensuring complementarity, interoperability, and efficient use of public resources.

(6) The European Business Wallets are a digital tool for economic operators to interact

with public sector bodies in the context of meeting reporting obligations and fulfilling

administrative procedures. The use of the core functionalities of the European

Business Wallets to identify and authenticate, sign or seal, submit documents and send

or receive notifications should be without prejudice to procedural requirements that

might be part of an administrative procedure and that cannot be fulfilled by the core

functionalities of the European Business Wallets. These procedural requirements may

include any additional safeguards or verifications, such as checks to ensure the

awareness or understanding of the contents of a document or the implications of the

signature of a contract, or specific actions that are required as part of an administrative

procedure and are not supported by the core functionalities of the European Business

Wallets. Public sector bodies should therefore ensure that all relevant procedural

requirements are met, including any specific actions or processes which need to be

fulfilled as part of an administrative procedure and which cannot be performed

through the European Business Wallets.

(7) Public sector bodies have the flexibility to decide how to ensure that they can accept

European Business Wallets considering the diversity of their IT infrastructure and

their needs for interoperability. This approach allows public sector bodies to maintain

their existing operational frameworks, while benefiting from the advantages of the

European Business Wallets.

(8) This Regulation is without prejudice to the procedural autonomy, the constitutional

requirements and the judicial independence that govern the organisation and

functioning of national justice systems of the Member States, as well as to the

framework, integrity and procedural safeguards of judicial proceedings.

(9) This Regulation is without prejudice to the Member States’ responsibility for

safeguarding national security and their power to safeguard other essential State

functions, including ensuring the territorial integrity of the State and maintaining law

and order.

(10) This Regulation should be without prejudice to the right of legal persons to submit

only once information to public sector bodies as well as to the right of Member States

to continue using other systems for the submission of documents and data between

competent authorities as established under Union law, such as in Regulation

EN 16 EN

2018/1724(4) and Directive (EU) 2017/1132 establishing the Business Registers

Interconnection System

(11) In order to reduce administrative burden and improve competitiveness, all entities

conducting economic activities, including companies, organisations, self-employed

persons, sole traders and any other type of business, regardless of size, sector or legal

form, should be able to use European Business Wallets. To ensure that legally valid

notifications, and documents can be exchanged, and reporting obligations fulfilled by

means of European Business Wallets, it is necessary to establish a reliable and secure

communication channel that can be used by European Business Wallet owners across

the Union. A qualified electronic registered delivery service (‘QERDS’) should

therefore be integrated as a secure communication channel in the European Business

Wallets, and should enable the secure and legally valid exchange of information

between parties, as provided for in Article 43 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.

(12) In order to provide a tailored solution for self-employed persons and sole traders, it is

essential to ensure the seamless integration of European Digital Identity Wallets with

European Business Wallets. That integration should enable those persons to

authenticate using their European Digital Identity Wallet and access trust services

offered for the European Business Wallets, including the QERDS established as a

secure communication channel in this Regulation, using those Wallets, without the

need to create a separate business identity. Providers of European Business Wallets

should therefore be allowed to offer the secure communication channel as a standalone

service to self-employed persons and sole traders that use European Digital Identity

Wallets in a business capacity, with ensured interoperability to facilitate app

switching, as well as trust services such as electronic signatures and qualified and non-

qualified time stamping services. Such access to the secure communication channel for

self-employed persons and sole traders, should be promoted by ensuring an offer, at

reasonable and affordable prices, that reflects the usage needs and is accompanied by

terms of use that do not impose an undue burden on those persons.

(13) The European Business Wallets, in combination with Regulation (EU) 2018/1724,

should support the forthcoming 28th Regime(5) by providing the digital infrastructure

for fully digital procedures, enabling start-ups and scale-ups to conduct EU-wide

operations in a rapid and efficient manner. The Business Wallets should provide the

digital infrastructure for the 28th Regime's digital-first strategy, streamlining cross-

border interactions and reducing administrative burden, such as facilitating the secure

storing and signature of contracts and certificates or submitting, receiving and sharing

electronic applications and documents. By providing this infrastructure, the Business

Wallets should help make the "digital by default" principle a reality, facilitating the

growth and development of EU companies and enhancing their competitiveness.

(14) Given the objective of creating a unified digital ecosystem for electronic identification,

authentication, and the exchange of electronic documents, notifications, and

attestations of attributes, the inclusion of Union entities among public sector bodies

covered this Regulation, is necessary. Such an inclusion should create a coherent

4 Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October 2018 establishing a single digital

gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance and problem-solving services and amending Regulation

(EU) No 1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, pp. 1, ELI: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1724/oj/eng) 5 European Commission, Call for Evidence: 28th regime – a single harmonized set of rules for innovative companies throughout

the EU, 8th of July, available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14674-28th-regime-a-single-

harmonized-set-of-rules-for-innovative-companies-throughout-the-EU_en

EN 17 EN

framework for owners of European Business Wallets to engage with all levels of

public administration thereby reducing administrative complexities and driving uptake

of the European Business Wallets.

(15) In order to ensure the proper issuance and integration of European Business Wallets

throughout the operations and systems of Union entities, this Regulation should have

due regard to the specific nature and structure of such institutions, bodies, offices and

agencies. To ensure the respect of administrative autonomy and security of Union

entities. They should be allowed to acquire European Business Wallets from already

established providers of European Business Wallets, or develop their own European

Business Wallets or act themselves as provider for Union entities. Where Union

entities act as providers of European Business Wallets, they should also be subject to a

supervisory framework. In such cases, the Commission should be tasked to the

supervise the provision of European Business Wallets by Union entities.

(16) Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 established a framework for electronic identification

and trust services in the internal market. Building on the ecosystem established by

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, the European Business Wallets should offer economic

operators and public sector bodies a secure and reliable solution for digital

identification and authentication, data sharing, and the delivery of legally valid

notifications. The trust framework for European Business Wallets, including the use of

trusted lists, should build upon the structures established under Regulation (EU) No

910/2014.

(17) The European Business Wallets should allow individuals granted the power to act on

behalf of an entity in legal, financial, and administrative matters to exercise their

functions by signing any attestations, declarations, or documents executed through a

legally valid electronic signature within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 910/2014,

which establishes that electronic signatures shall have the equivalent legal effect of a

handwritten signature.

(18) To support the delegation of powers and mandates within a professional context, the

European Business Wallets should incorporate a mandate and role-based authorisation

system that governs access to services and transactions within the European Business

Wallet in such a way as to preserve the integrity of the identity of the owner of that

Wallet. That system should enable economic operators and public sector bodies to

assign rights to authorised representatives through clearly defined technical mandates

allowing the owner of a specific European Business Wallet to grant full rights to

generally use the solution and act on its behalf, and an administrative mandate,

allowing the owner of a Business Wallet to assign roles and responsibilities to various

users of the solution within their organisation. This authorisation system should ensure

compatibility with the EU digital power of attorney, as established by Directive (EU)

2025/25 of the European Parliament and of the Council6. This authorisation system

should be robust and scalable, to ensure that economic operators and public sector

bodies, as the owners of European Business Wallets, can delegate authority to multiple

users, including employees or other authorised natural or legal persons, thereby

facilitating the efficient and secure management of internal activities and ensuring that

access to European Business Wallets and their functions is controlled and auditable.

6 Directive (EU) 2025/25 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 amending Directives 2009/102/EC

and (EU) 2017/1132 as regards further expanding and upgrading the use of digital tools and processes in company law (OJ L, 2025/25,

10.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2025/25/oj).

EN 18 EN

This system should govern access to services and transactions within the European

Business Wallet, preserving the integrity of the owners' identities.

(19) In order to facilitate the conduct of cross-border business transactions, reduce

administrative burdens, and promote economic growth, it is necessary to establish a

clear and predictable legal framework that recognises the legal equivalence between

the use of the European Business Wallets, or their core functionalities and the secure

communication channel where the latter is used by self-employed persons and sole

traders, and other accepted methods for economic operators to identify, authenticate,

submit documents and receive notifications when interacting with public sector bodies

in the Union. To that end, the use of the core functionalities of a European Business

Wallet, or the secure communication channel where the latter is used by self-employed

persons and sole traders, should have the same legal effect as if lawfully carried out in

person, in paper form, or via any other means or process that would otherwise be

deemed compliant with applicable legal, administrative, or procedural requirements.

(20) To ensure a consistent user experience and to guarantee the utility, reliability, and

interoperability of European Business Wallets across the Union, providers of

European Business Wallets should implement a core set of functionalities. They

should retain the freedom to offer additional features as part of their commercial

offering, fostering innovation and responding to market needs. In order to ensure

uniform conditions for the development and use of the core functionalities,

implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to set out requirements

and technical specifications necessary to ensure interoperability and seamless

functioning across the Union. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with

Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and the Council(7) and

should include the powers to define the necessary standards and protocols for the

secure communication channel, taking into account the latest technological

developments.

(21) European Business Wallets should simplify the complex interactions between

economic operators and public sector bodies, and could also facilitate interactions

among economic operators themselves, reducing administrative burden on economic

operators in a broad range of economic sectors. In order to foster innovation and

competitiveness, the European Business Wallets should enable sector-specific use

cases and enhance operational efficiencies, while ensuring flexibility and adaptability

to support the unique requirements of different sectors, including, but not limited to,

agriculture, energy, environment, social security coordination.

(22) The use of the European Business Wallets in such contexts can aid in the reduction of

costs and promote a wide range of applications and use cases across the Union, such as

the submission of declarations, applications for public funding, access to public

services and facilitating secure data sharing and access within data spaces, such as the

submission of A1 certificates concerning posted workers provided for under

Regulation (EU) 883/2004.

(23) The establishment of the European Business Wallets alongside the Once Only

Technical System is expected to create powerful synergies that maximise efficiency

and operational ease. In particular, economic operators should be able to use the

7 Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and

general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55,

28.2.2011, p. 13, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/182/oj).

EN 19 EN

European Business Wallet to hold and transmit evidence retrieved from competent

public authorities through the Once-Only Technical System. Where appropriate,

economic operators should also be able to combine evidence held in the European

Business Wallet with evidence retrieved via the Once Only Technical System in the

context of public procedures. Consequently, by providing a secure digital platform for

storing and exchanging business documents, the European Business Wallets should

facilitate the exchange of such documents between public sector bodies through the

mechanisms established under Once-Only Technical System.

(24) In order to ensure coordination between the Union’s ongoing digitalisation of judicial

cooperation, the modernisation of secure cross-border information exchange, and the

need to provide economic operators with efficient digital tools to interact with

authorities, it is necessary to establish a coherent framework that enables smooth

interaction between such relevant systems. Enhancing such coordination will reduce

administrative burden, improve legal certainty, and strengthen the effectiveness of

cross-border cooperation, by ensuring that communication channels used by economic

operators function seamlessly within the European digital market. In that context,

European Business Wallets should complement the systems set out in Regulation (EU)

2023/2844 and Regulation (EU) 2023/969, where a seamless interaction between

these systems and the Business Wallets should be maintained through the Business

Wallets gateway, enabling relevant authorities to maintain these systems whilst

promoting simplification for European companies.

(25) To facilitate a flexible and efficient exchange of information and services when using

European Business Wallets, and to ensure seamless integration of European Business

Wallets with existing digital identity solutions, it should be possible to use European

Digital Identity Wallets and electronic attestations of attributes for onboarding to and

access management of the European Business Wallets. This should enable users to

leverage existing digital identities and electronic attestations of attributes to access

European Business Wallets, thereby streamlining the onboarding process and

enhancing the overall user experience. The use of electronic attestations of attributes in

the context of the European Business Wallets should cater to the diverse needs of

European Business Wallet owners and may be used to issue and enable the secure and

trustworthy verification of key attributes, such as an owner's current address, VAT

registration number, tax reference number, Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), Economic

Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number and excise number. European

Business Wallets should support a wide range of use cases, from simple authentication

and identification to more complex transactions and interactions.

(26) In order to ensure the secure and trustworthy operation of European Business Wallets,

providers of European Business Wallets should ensure that each European Business

Wallet they provide is pre-configured to interact with certain trust services, which are

required to enable the core functionalities of European Business Wallets, including the

creation of qualified electronic signatures, the creation of qualified electronic seals,

and the issuance and validation of qualified and non-qualified electronic attestations of

attributes. To support these functionalities, European Business Wallets should allow

for the sharing and storage of specific information and documents relating to the

owner, such as messages and documents for the secure communication channel,

signed and sealed documents, and sets of attributes for attestation-related services.

(27) To allow for the legal recognition of electronic attestations of attributes presented via

European Business Wallets, it is necessary to allow for the creation and validation of

linked attestations, whereby one attestation is cryptographically linked to another in a

EN 20 EN

manner that allows the verification of the authenticity and integrity of each individual

attestation, and of all linked attestations collectively. To that end, the European

Business Wallet infrastructure should, through the use of the chain of attestations,

enable the submission of a single instance of an attestation and facilitate its subsequent

reuse across relevant procedures. Such functionality should allow European Business

Wallet owners to transmit a reference to a document where appropriate with a

cryptographic element, such as a hash key to a sealed attestation issued by a European

Business Wallet, thereby attesting to the integrity and authenticity of the original

submission.

(28) In order to ensure that the standards and technical specifications for European

Business Wallets ensure harmonisation across various solutions, it is necessary to

define the standards and protocols for the core functionalities and technical

requirements for European Business Wallets in an Annex to this Regulation. The

Annex should set out the requirements for the implementation of European Business

Wallets. To ensure the long-term viability and effectiveness of the European Business

Wallets, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to establish

and update the procedures and technical specifications on the implementation of core

functionalities, thereby allowing for the integration of additional features and new

technologies that would enable new use cases, such as agentic AI or the provision of a

digital identity to an owner’s asset, and enabling the European Business Wallets to

continue to support the evolving needs of economic operators in a secure and

trustworthy manner. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation

(EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and the Council. To the extent

possible, the standards and technical specifications of the European Business Wallet

should take into account relevant technical solutions and standards used by existing

ICT systems by economic operators, facilitating the alignment of these systems to be

aligned to and made interoperable with the European Business Wallet.

(29) To support the timely development of the market for European Business Wallets, the

adoption of the implementing acts on core functionalities and the accompanying

technical specifications should be prioritised. Where appropriate, these should build on

the existing standards including those out in the Architecture and Reference

Framework provided for in the context of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, to support

the re-use of familiar technical standards and uptake of the European Business

Wallets.

(30) To ensure the high level of trust, functionality, and security of European Business

Wallets necessary to the cross-border provision of their services, and in particular to

mitigate the risk of fraud, providers of European Business Wallets should be subject to

clear and proportionate requirements and obligations without being subject to

additional national requirements.

(31) To ensure proper supervision in line with this Regulation, entities that would like to

become providers of European Business Wallets should be required to notify their

intention to provide such European Business Wallets to the supervisory bodies prior to

offering their services. In order to safeguard the integrity and accountability of

European Business Wallet providers and to ensure the security of data stored or

exchanged in the European Business Wallets ecosystem, providers should be

established within the Union. This should ensure that such providers fall under the

jurisdiction and supervision of a competent body in a Member State, allowing for

effective enforcement of this Regulation and the protection of users' rights and data.

EN 21 EN

Furthermore, providers of European Business Wallets should not present a risk to the

security of the Union, namely by not being subject to control by a third country or by a

third-country entity, to ensure that the Union's critical digital infrastructure remains

secure and resilient. In line with the requirements set out in this Regulation, the

Commission may adopt implementing acts to ensure cooperation and interoperability

with solutions established or endorsed by like-minded partners of the Union.

(32) The Union must protect its security interest against providers which could represent a

persistent security risk due to the potential interference from third countries. To that

end, it is necessary to reduce the risk of persisting dependency on high-risk suppliers

in the internal market, including in the ICT supply chain, as they could have

potentially serious negative impacts on the security of economic operators and public

sector bodies across the Union and the Union’s critical infrastructure, especially with

regards to the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data and services. Any

restrictions should be based on a proportionate risk assessment and corresponding

mitigation measures as defined in Union policies and laws. Such limitations may

apply, for example, to high-risk suppliers, as identified under Union law.

(33) In order to establish the identity of economic operators in a secure and reliable

manner, this Regulation should allow for the use of qualified electronic attestations of

attributes to issue European Business Wallet owner identification data. Qualified

electronic attestations of attributes can be easily updated or revoked. The use of

qualified electronic attestations of attributes for establishing the identity of economic

operators provides an efficient, and secure solution that is suited to the needs of the

digital economy. Qualified trust service providers issuing these attestations are

regulated under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and are subject to strict requirements

and scrutiny, ensuring a high level of security and trust in the issuance process. The

authentic sources used to verify the data contained in the qualified electronic

attestations of attributes are business registers and other registers, and the use of the

Business Registers Interconnection System (‘BRIS’) and the Beneficial Ownership

Registers Interconnection System (‘BORIS’) should be promoted to facilitate the

verification of this data, thereby ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the

identification data.

(34) This Regulation should not affect the functioning or the role of business registers as

authentic sources and should not alter the way they operate or the data filed therein but

rather build upon and complement the existing infrastructure. In this regard, where

electronic attestations of attributes are issued by or on behalf of an authentic source,

such as a business register, the register could directly issue the relevant data, further

enhancing the security and reliability of the identification process.

(35) Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 requires Member States to ensure that measures are

taken to allow qualified trust service providers to verify by electronic means, at the

request of the user, the authenticity of the attributes listed in Annex VI of Regulation

(EU) No 910/2014, such as educational and professional qualifications, titles and

licenses, powers and mandates to represent natural or legal persons, public permits and

licenses and financial and company data. The European Business Wallets framework

should build on this existing requirement that should cover all official data that is

relevant for economic operators in the context of the European Business Wallets and

enable the electronic verification of attributes to facilitate the issuance of European

Business Wallet owner identification data and other electronic attestations of

attributes.

EN 22 EN

(36) As all economic operators and entities conducting economic activities should be able

to use European Business Wallets, including self-employed persons and sole traders,

European Business Wallet owner identification data should be provided in a manner

that is specifically designed to verify their identity and attested attributes within a

business context. To ensure consistency with existing Union frameworks and facilitate

cross-border interoperability, the European Business Wallet framework should use the

European Unique Identifier (EUID) provided by the codified Company Law Directive

(EU) 2017/1132(8) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU)2021/369(9) as

well as Regulation (EU) 2024/1624(10) and Commission Implementing Regulation

(EU) 2021/369(11). Companies and other legal entities as well as arrangements such as

trusts are assigned a European Unique Identifier to enable their unequivocal

identification in cross-border situations. The European Unique Identifier is currently

made publicly accessible through BRIS and used by BORIS. Accordingly, the

European Business Wallet framework should rely on the issuance and recording

process of European Unique Identifiers as the means of verifying the identity of

economic operators to which European Unique Identifiers are provided in accordance

with Directive (EU) 2017/1132. The European Business Wallet framework should rely

on the issuance and recording process of European Unique Identifiers for other

economic operators falling under Directive (EU) 2015/849.

(37) To ensure that all European Business Wallet owners can be reliably identified and

their electronic attestation of attributes are associated with a unique entity, it is also

necessary to assign a unique identifier to other economic operators and public sector

bodies. To ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of unique identifiers, in

particular their effectiveness and consistency, implementing powers should be

conferred on the Commission to specify the detailed requirements for the unique

identifiers. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No

182/2011. Given the diverse approaches among Member States regarding the

registration of some economic operators and public sector bodies, it is important to

ensure transparency and accessibility for providers of European Business Wallet

owner identification data. To this end, Member States should notify to the

Commission the authentic sources that are relevant for the issuance of European

Business Wallet owner identification data.

(38) In order to ensure the efficient, secure, and transparent functioning of the European

Business Wallet framework, it is necessary to establish a European Digital Directory,

that includes personal data of economic operators. The Commission should be

8 Directive (EU) 2017/1132 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 relating to certain

aspects of company law (codification) (OJ L 169, 30.6.2017, pp. 46–127, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2017/1132/oj

9 Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 on the prevention of the use of the financial

system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (OJ L, 2024/1624, 19.6.2024, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1624/oj)

10 Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 on the prevention

of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money-laundering or terrorist financing, and

amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (OJ L …,

19.6.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1624/oj 11 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/369 of 1 March 2021 establishing the technical

specifications and procedures required for the system of interconnection of central registers referred to

in Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 71, 2.3.2021, pp. 11–

17, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2021/369/oj

EN 23 EN

empowered to set up and maintain this Directory, as a trusted source of information on

economic operators and public sector bodies using European Business Wallets. The

Directory should enable European Business Wallet owners to be easily contacted to

promote legal certainty in relation to dealings between businesses and in relation to

interactions with public sector bodies, particularly in the view of promoting trade

between Member States. European Business Wallet Providers, liaising with the

Commission, should submit the necessary information to support the functioning of

the European Digital Directory and collaborate with the relevant qqualified trust

service providers to ensure that the data submitted remains accurate. Such actions shall

not indirectly create a requirement for economic operators to update such information.

In this regard the Digital Directory will rely on the information made available by

business registers also through BRIS while ensuring that such information will not be

duplicated.

(39) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council applies to

all personal data processing activities under this Regulation. Where the European

Digital Directory includes the processing of personal data this will be carried out in

accordance with the relevant data protection principles, such as the data minimisation

and purpose limitation principle, obligations, such as data protection by design and by

default, and include, where appropriate, features of pseudonymisation.

(40) To avoid excessive regulatory burdens, ex post supervision of providers of European

Business Wallets and monitoring of their activities should be provided for, rather than

requiring prior compliance verification for every aspect of their operations. This

approach should allow for a more flexible and efficient regulatory environment, while

maintaining the necessary safeguards to protect users and ensure compliance with the

requirements of the European Business Wallets framework. The notification process

for providers of European Business Wallets should be streamlined and efficient, with

clear requirements and timelines for applicants. Qualified trust service providers,

which are already subject to a robust regulatory framework under Regulation (EU) No

910/2014, should benefit from a particularly light process to be able to provide

European Business Wallets.

(41) In order to ensure transparency and accountability in the European Business Wallet

ecosystem, a publicly available list of notified providers of European Business Wallets

should be established and maintained by the Commission. That list should include

information transmitted by the national supervisory bodies concerning providers,

including qualified trust service providers, that have completed the notification

process. Making that information publicly available should enable users to verify the

authenticity and trustworthiness of providers, thereby promoting a high level of

security and trust in the European Business Wallet ecosystem.

(42) Effective oversight by supervisory bodies, vested with sufficient powers and provided

with adequate resources, is essential to ensure that European Business Wallets made

available in the Union comply with the requirements laid down in this Regulation. To

best ensure such oversight and relevant expertise, Member States should designate the

same supervisory body or bodies as designated pursuant to Article 46a(1) and Article

46b(1) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.

(43) Due consideration should be given to ensuring effective cooperation between

supervisory bodies designated under this Regulation, Article 46b of Regulation (EU)

No 910/2014 and the competent authorities designated or established pursuant to

Article 8(1) of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the

EN 24 EN

Council(12)Since the competent authorities are distinct entities, they should cooperate

closely and in a timely manner, including by exchanging relevant information to

ensure effective supervision and compliance of European Business Wallet providers

with the applicable obligations under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive

(EU) 2022/2555.

(44) To harmonise the enforcement of this Regulation, national supervisory bodies should

be empowered to impose administrative fines. It is necessary to specify the upper limit

of administrative fines and the criteria for their determination in order to promote

equal treatment of providers of European Business Wallets across the Union

regardless of their Member State of establishment. The competent supervisory

authority should assess each case individually, taking into account all relevant

circumstances, including the nature, gravity and duration of the infringement, its

consequences and any measures taken to ensure compliance and mitigate harm. In this

regard, Member States should notify the Commission of the rules laid down in

national law allowing the supervisory body to impose penalties by [Publications

Office, insert the date 12 months after the entry into force of this Regulation] and

should notify the Commission without delay of any subsequent amendments to those

rules.

(45) In order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and to protect the

rights of economic operators, it is necessary to establish a mechanism for the

Commission to intervene in cases where a provider of European Business Wallets is

found to be non-compliant with the requirements of this Regulation and no effective

measures have been taken by the competent supervisory authority to remedy the

situation. This mechanism should allow for the Commission to carry out an evaluation

of compliance, consult with the Member States concerned and the provider, and adopt

implementing acts to provide for corrective or restrictive measures. This should enable

the Commission to take swift and effective action to address any non-compliance and

to ensure that the European Business Wallets are used in a secure and trustworthy

manner.

(46) The Cooperation Group established pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 should

be given the additional responsibility for the coordination of national practices and

policies related to this Regulation and facilitate discussions between competent

authorities regarding the Regulation's application and enforcement, thereby delivering

on the objectives of the Cooperations Group’s establishment and retaining expertise

for the benefit of implementing the European Business Wallet framework.

(47) In order to support effective take-up and interoperability, all public sector bodies

should be required to enable the use of the European Business Wallet in all relevant

administrative procedures for the purposes of identification and authentication, signing

or sealing documents, submitting documents and sending or receiving notifications. In

this regard, public sector bodies should by [Publications Office, please insert the date

24 months after the entry into force of this Regulation] ensure that the use of European

Business Wallets by economic operators is possible and that, where the receipt or

communication of documents or notifications is concerned, they are able to access the

12 Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures

for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014

and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (OJ L 333, 27.12.2022, pp. 80–

152, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2022/2555/oj)

EN 25 EN

Business Wallets’ secure communication channel. To ensure seamless and

interoperable application of this Regulation in this regard, public sector bodies should

own a European Business Wallet for the purposes of receiving or sending documents

and notifications. The obligation for public sector bodies to accept European Business

Wallets by economic operators should not affect systems used for the exchange or

submission of documents or data between competent authorities.

(48) In order to avoid disrupting existing interactions between economic operators and

public sector bodies, it is necessary to enable a transition period until [Publications

Office, please insert the date 36 months after the entry into force of this Regulation].

During such period public sector bodies may choose not to offer the European

Business Wallets' secure communication channel and instead support alternative

solutions already in place which enable economic operators to communicate with

public sector bodies prior to offering the European Business Wallets’ secure

communication channel. In order to ensure an adequate level of security and

interoperability, any alternative solution used during this transition period should

comply with the requirements for Qualified Electronic Registered Delivery Services

set out in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and offer a gateway to European Business

Wallets. The gateway should enable users of European Business Wallets to access the

alternative solutions used during the transition period. After this period, public sector

bodies should support the secure communication channel of the European Business

Wallets to ensure a harmonised and efficient means of communication across the

Union, to the benefits of European businesses.

(49) European Business Wallets contribute to the provision of a cross-border digital public

service within the meaning of the Interoperable Europe Act (EU) 2024/903. The

assessment required under that Regulation has been carried out, and the resulting

report will be published on the Interoperable Europe Portal.

(50) To ensure that the European Business Wallets ecosystem continues to meet the needs

of economic operators and public sector bodies, it is necessary to assess its

implementation and impact in light of the purpose of this Regulation. The evaluation

should, in particular, take into account the risk of legal fragmentation within the

internal market regarding the electronic submission of documents and attestations of

attributes as well as the technological developments and progression of the market for

European Business Wallets and associated trust services.

(51) To avoid duplication and reduce administrative burden, public sector bodies should

not require the same information or documents to be submitted again through physical

or alternative digital means, or in the inverse, once these have been validly transmitted

via the European Business Wallet in accordance with this Regulation. Accordingly,

Member States should not adopt or maintain additional national requirements

regarding matters falling within the scope of this Regulation, unless explicitly

provided for herein, since this would affect its direct and uniform application.

(52) In order to enable effective access to Union procedures and markets and facilitate the

participation of economic operators established outside the Union in the European

Business Wallet framework, it is necessary to enable providers of European Business

Wallets to issue European Business Wallets to such operators, provided that their

identity can be verified with a high level of certainty. To prevent duplicate

registrations and safeguard the integrity of the internal market, such operators should

not be allowed to obtain more than one set of European Business Wallet owner

identification data and one unique identifier. Member States’ should cooperate to

EN 26 EN

mitigate the risk of duplicate registrations and ensure the uniqueness of registrations of

economic operators established outside of the Union.

(53) The implementing act concerning the requirements and procedures for the unique

identifier should encompass the conditions for their issuance to third country

economic operators. In particular, it should set the conditions that promote

coordination between providers of European Business Wallet owner identification

data, ensuring that each third country economic operator is attributed only one unique

identifier for the purpose of the European Business Wallet owner identification data.

Prior to the provision of a European Business Wallet to an economic operator

established outside the Union the relevant provider should confirm that the conditions

for verifying the identity of the economic operator have been met. That should allow

economic operators from third countries to use European Business Wallets, while

preserving the security and trustworthiness of the ecosystem.

(54) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the recognition and

interoperability of business wallets or similar systems and framework from third

countries to support and promote partnerships and cooperation, implementing powers

should be conferred on the Commission to set the conditions under which such similar

systems or framework benefit from the provisions of this Regulation. Those powers

should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European

Parliament and of the Council.

(55) Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 offers a secure and convenient means for natural

persons, such as citizens and residents, to identify themselves and access online

services. It requires Member States to ensure that European Digital Identity Wallets

are provided to legal persons, despite a lack of clarity on the specific technical

implementation of European Digital Identity Wallets for legal persons. This

uncertainty about the purpose and functioning of the European Digital Identity Wallets

for legal persons increases legal and technical complexity for Member States. It is

therefore necessary to amendment Article 5a of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 to

ensure that the mandatory issuance of European Digital Identity Wallets relates only to

natural persons.

(56) The framework established by this Regulation should provide a secure, Union-wide

digital infrastructure and should therefore constitute the principal instrument for such

purposes. To fully realise the benefits of the European Business Wallet framework for

both economic operators and public sector bodies, it is necessary to promote its use as

the default tool for secure digital identification, authentication, and the exchange of

electronic documents and attestations of attributes.

(57) To ensure a coherent and horizontal application across sectors of Union legislation,

reduce administrative cost on economic operators and to improve budgetary

efficiency, Union law concerning electronic identification, authentication, or the

exchange of electronic documents, notifications, or attestations of attributes,

particularly where specific technical requirements, systems, or protocols are

established, should be applied in a manner consistent with this Regulation.

Accordingly, any future legislative or non-legislative initiatives in these fields should

adhere to the Business-Wallet-by-Default principle and should be designed and

developed to build upon and enable the use of European Business Wallets. Where such

alignment is not possible, the Commission should provide a written justification

through an Impact Assessment, accompanying the relevant initiative, setting out the

reasons for not enabling the use of European Business Wallets. The Commission

EN 27 EN

should evaluate and review this Regulation by [Publications Office, please insert the

date 3 years post adoption] and every four years thereafter and report to the European

Parliament and the Council. This review is essential for assessing the continued

relevance of the prescribed core functions and technical specifications, especially

those associated with the QERDS as a secure communication channel, in the context

of the latest technological advancements. Furthermore, the Commission should

evaluate the notification procedures for providers of European Business Wallet, as

well as the implementation and effectiveness of the rules on penalties established by

Member States, to evaluate market developments and compliance levels.

(58) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article

42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the

Council(13), and delivered an opinion on [insert date].

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Chapter I - Subject matter, scope and definitions

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation enables secure digital identification and authentication, data sharing and

legally valid notifications, reduces administrative burdens and compliance costs, and supports

cross-border business and competitiveness. In particular, it:

(1) establishes a framework for the provision of European Business Wallets;

(2) establishes the principle of equivalence, giving equivalent legal effect to actions and

transactions carried out through a European Business Wallet as to actions and

transactions lawfully carried out in person, in paper form, or via any other means or

processes that would be deemed compliant with applicable legal, administrative, or

procedural requirements;

(3) establishes rules for the issuance of European Business Wallet owner identification

data for the identification of economic operators and public sector bodies;

(4) establishes the European Digital Directory;

(5) designates the European unique identifier (EUID), as established and governed by

Directive (EU) 2017/1132, as the unique identifier for European Business Wallet

owners, and establishes a similar unique identifier for European Business Wallets

owners to whom the European Unique Identifier is not available;

(6) lays down the notification mechanism under which providers of European Business

Wallets shall be established;

(7) lays down obligations for public sector bodies concerning European Business

Wallets;

(8) provides a framework for the supervision of Union entities, where such public sector

bodies provide European Business Wallets;

13

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural

persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39, ELI: http://data.

europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1725/oj).

EN 28 EN

(9) provides a framework for the recognition of third-country systems similar to the

European Business Wallets and the issuance of European Business Wallets to third

country economic operators.

Article 2

Scope

1. This Regulation applies to the provision and acceptance of European Business

Wallets and the issuance and acceptance of European Business Wallet owner

identification data, and to the use of European Business Wallets by economic

operators and public sector bodies.

2. This Regulation is without prejudice to the existing systems and procedures

mandated by Union law governing the exchange of documents and data between

competent authorities.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘European Business Wallet’ means a digital solution that allows European

Business Wallet owners to securely store, manage, and present European

Business Wallet owner identification data and electronic attestations of

attributes to Business Wallet-relying parties and other entities using European

Business Wallets and European Digital Identity Wallets for the following

purposes:

(a) to authenticate and provide the verified proofs required by a relying

party;

(b) to access and use electronic attestations of attributes, electronic

signatures, electronic seals, electronic registered delivery services, and

electronic time stamps;

(c) to enable the creation, management and delegation of mandates to

authorised representatives;

and that may support additional functionalities in accordance with this

Regulation;

(2) ‘European Business Wallet owner identification data’ means a set of data that

enables the establishment of the identity of a European Business Wallet owner

and that is issued by a provider of European Business Wallet owner

identification data;

(3) ‘provider of European Business Wallet owner identification data’ means a

qualified trust service provider or public sector body or the Commission

issuing European Business Wallet owner identification data;

(4) ‘economic operator’ means any natural or legal person, or a group of such

persons, including temporary associations of undertakings, acting in a

commercial or professional capacity for purposes related to their trade,

business, craft or profession;

EN 29 EN

(5) ‘public sector body’ means a Union entity, a national, state, regional or local

authority, a body governed by public law or an association formed by one or

several such entities or bodies , or a private entity mandated by at least one

such entities, authorities, bodies or associations to provide public services,

when acting under such a mandate;

(6) ‘Union entity’ means a Union institution, body, office and agency set up by or

pursuant to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of

European Union or the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy

Community;

(7) ‘European Business Wallet owner’ means an economic operator or public

sector body that owns or has a right of use of a European Business Wallet;

(8) ‘trust service’ means trust service as defined in Article 3, point (16) of

Regulation (EU) 910/2014;

(9) ‘attribute’ means attribute as defined in Article 3, point (43) of Regulation

(EU) 910/2014;

(10) ‘electronic attestations of attributes’ means electronic attestations of attributes

as defined in Article 3, point (44) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(11) ‘qualified attestation of attributes’ means qualified attestation of attributes as

defined in Article 3, point (45) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(12) ‘European Digital Identity Wallet’ means European Digital Identity Wallet as

defined in Article 3, point (42) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(13) ‘electronic signature’ means an electronic signature as defined in Article 3,

point (10) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(14) ‘qualified electronic signature’ means a qualified electronic signature as

defined in Article 3, point (12) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(15) ‘electronic seal’ means an electronic seal as defined in Article 3, point (25) of

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(16) ‘qualified electronic seal’ means qualified electronic seal as defined in Article

3, point (27) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(17) ‘qualified electronic stamp’ means a qualified electronic stamp as defined in

Article 3, point (34) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(18) ‘authorised representative’ means a natural or legal person acting on behalf of

the European Business Wallet owner in executing and operating functions of a

designated European Business Wallet on the basis of an authorisation granted

by a European Business Wallet owner;

(19) ‘mandate’ means the authorisation granted by a European Business Wallet

owner to an authorised representative, enabling that representative to act on

behalf of the owner in executing and operating functions of a designated

European Business Wallet;

(20) ‘electronic document’ means an electronic document as defined in Article 3,

point (35) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(21) ‘qualified electronic registered delivery service’ means a qualified electronic

registered delivery service as defined in Article 3, point (37) of Regulation

(EU) No 910/2014;

EN 30 EN

(22) ‘user’ means a natural or legal person, or a natural person representing another

natural person or a legal person, that uses European Business Wallets or

European Business Wallet electronic identification means provided in

accordance with this Regulation;

(23) ‘European Business Wallet-relying party’ means a natural person, an economic

operator or public sector body that relies upon European Business Wallets;

(24) ‘wallet unit attestation’ means a data object that describes the components of

the European Business Wallet unit or allows authentication and validation of

those components;

(25) ‘European Business Wallet unit’ means a unique configuration of a European

Business Wallet solution that includes European Business Wallet front-end and

European Business Wallet back-end, wallet secure cryptographic applications

and wallet secure cryptographic devices provided by a provider to a European

Business Wallet to a specific European Business Wallet owner;

(26) ‘European Business Wallet solution’ means a combination of software,

hardware, services, settings, and configurations, including European Business

Wallet front-end and back-end, one or more wallet secure cryptographic

applications and one or more wallet secure cryptographic devices;

(27) ‘critical assets’ means assets within or in relation to a European Business

Wallet unit of such extraordinary importance that where their availability,

confidentiality or integrity are compromised, that would have a very serious,

debilitating effect on the ability to rely on the European Business Wallet unit;

(28) ‘wallet secure cryptographic application’ means an application that manages

critical assets by being linked to and using the cryptographic and non-

cryptographic functions provided by the wallet secure cryptographic device;

(29) ‘wallet secure cryptographic device’ means a tamper-resistant device that

provides an environment that is linked to and used by the wallet secure

cryptographic application to protect critical assets and provide cryptographic

functions for the secure execution of critical operations;

(30) ‘trust service provider’ means a trust service provider as defined in Article 3,

point (19) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(31) ‘qualified trust service provider’ means qualified trust service provider as

defined in Article 3, point (20) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(32) ‘electronic attestation of attributes issued by or on behalf of a public sector

body responsible for an authentic source’; means a electronic attestation of

attributes issued by or on behalf of a public sector body responsible for an

authentic source as defined in Article 3, point (46) of Regulation (EU) No

910/2014;

(33) ‘authentic source’ means authentic source as defined in Article 3, point (47) of

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(34) ‘attestation scheme’ means a set of rules applicable to one or more types of

electronic attestation of attributes;

(35) ‘catalogue of schemes means a digital repository listing schemes for the

attestation of attributes registered in accordance with this Regulation and that is

maintained and published online by the Commission;

EN 31 EN

(36) ‘European unique identifier’ means the European Unique Identifier referred to

in Directive (EU) 2017/1132;

(37) ‘national register’ means an official database or system established and

maintained by or on behalf of a national government or its designated

authority, which records, stores, and manages information pertaining to legal

entities, including but not limited to companies, partnerships, foundations,

associations as well as businesses as natural persons such as sole-traders and

self-employed persons or other registrable persons or organisations;

(38) ‘API’ or ‘Application Programming Interface’ means a set of definitions and

protocols for building and integrating application software to share data;

(39) ‘submission’ or ‘submit 'means any transmission of structured or unstructured

data, files, forms, or records by between a public sector body and an economic

operator or between economic operators or between public sector bodies,

where such transmission is required, requested, or permitted under Union or

national law, and is intended to support a legal, administrative, or procedural

purpose;

(40) ‘notification’ means any transmission of information, decisions, requests, or

acknowledgements between a public sector body and an economic operator or

between economic operators or between public sector bodies, which is

required, requested, or permitted under Union or national law, and which is

intended to produce legal effects or inform the recipient of rights, obligations,

or procedural developments;

(41) ‘administrative procedure’ means a sequence of actions, defined by Union or

national law, that must be taken by economic operators or public sector bodies

to comply with obligations, provide information, or obtain a decision,

authorisation, or benefit from a public sector body in the exercise of

administrative functions;

(42) 'European Business Wallet front-end' means the user interface component,

regardless of platform or form factor, that interacts with users acting on behalf

of the owner, and is part of the European Business Wallet unit;

(43) 'European Business Wallet back-end' means the server-side components,

including software, services, and infrastructure, that provide the necessary

functionality and support for the European Business Wallet Frontend, and form

part of the European Business Wallet unit.

Chapter II – European Business Wallets

Article 4

Principle of equivalence

Where a European Business Wallet owner makes use of any of the core functionalities of a

European Business Wallet referred to in Article 5(1), the resulting action shall have the same

legal effect as if the action had been lawfully carried out in person, in paper form, or via any

other means or processes that would be deemed compliant with applicable legal,

administrative, or procedural requirements.

Where a self-employed person or a sole trader makes use of the qualified electronic registered

delivery service in the circumstances set out in Article 5(3), the resulting action shall have the

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same legal effect as if the action had been lawfully carried out in person, in paper form, or via

any other means or processes that would be deemed compliant with applicable legal,

administrative, or procedural requirements.

Article 5

Core functionalities of European Business Wallets

1. Providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure that the European Business

Wallets they provide enable European Business Wallet owners to make use of the

following core functionalities:

(a) securely issue, request, obtain, select, combine, store, delete, share and present

electronic attestations of attributes;

(b) selectively disclose European Business Wallet owner identification data and

attributes contained in electronic attestations of attributes, in the context of the

functionalities listed in point a;

(c) request and share European Business Wallet owner identification data and

electronic attestations of attributes in a secured way between European

Business Wallets and European Digital Identity Wallets and with European

Business Wallet-relying parties;

(d) sign by means of qualified electronic signatures and seal by means of qualified

electronic seals, as applicable;

(e) bind data in electronic form to a particular time by means of qualified

electronic time stamps;

(f) issue electronic attestations of attributes to European Business Wallets and

European Digital Identity Wallets;

(g) issue electronic attestations of attributes through the European Business Wallet

of the owner, allowing the issued attestation to be linked to other relevant

attestations forming part of a chain;

(h) enable the use of qualified and non-qualified electronic attestations of attributes

to allow European Business Wallet owners and their authorised representatives

to authenticate themselves;

(i) transmit and receive electronic documents and data by means of a qualified

electronic registered delivery service capable of supporting confidentiality and

integrity;

(j) authorise multiple users to access and operate the European Business Wallet of

the owner, and for the European Business Wallet owner to manage and revoke

such authorisations;

(k) authorise European Business Wallet-relying parties to request electronic

attestations of attributes issued to the European Business Wallet owner, and for

the European Business Wallet owner to manage and revoke such

authorisations;

(l) export their data, including issued European Business Wallet owner

identification data, electronic attestations of attributes, communication logs,

and interaction records, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable

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format, at the request of the owner or in the event of termination of service or

revocation of the notification of the provider of the European Business Wallet;

(m) access a log of all transactions;

(n) access a common dashboard for accessing, storing and verifying

communications exchanged through the qualified electronic registered delivery

service referred to in point (i).

2. Providers of European Business Wallets may offer additional functionalities beyond

those listed in paragraph 1 provided that such functionalities do not interfere with or

compromise the confidentiality, availability, or integrity of the minimum core

functionalities, and the reliability and interoperability of the European Business

Wallets they provide.

3. Providers of European Business Wallets shall enable the provision of the qualified

electronic registered delivery service referred to in paragraph 1, point (i) as a

standalone service to users of European Digital Identity Wallets.

4. Providers of European Business Wallets shall implement the functionalities referred

to in paragraph 1 in accordance with requirements set out in the Annex.

5. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish a list of reference

standards and where necessary, establish specifications and procedures for the core

functionalities of European Business Wallets referred to in paragraph 1 of this

Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the

examination procedure referred to in Article 19.

Article 6

Technical features for European Business Wallets

1. Providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure that the European Business

Wallets they provide support common protocols and interfaces:

(a) for the issuance of European Business Wallet owner identification data,

qualified and non-qualified electronic attestations of attributes and qualified

and non-qualified certificates to European Business Wallets;

(b) for European Business Wallet-relying parties to request and validate European

Business Wallet owner identification data and electronic attestations of

attributes;

(c) for the sharing and presenting to European Business Wallet-relying parties of

European Business Wallet owner identification data, electronic attestation of

attributes and of selectively disclosed data;

(d) to allow interaction with the European Business Wallets automatically without

manual intervention or through direct user action;

(e) to securely onboard the European Business Wallet owner remotely via an

authorised representative with an electronic identification means of that

authorised representative which meets the requirements of Regulation (EU) No

910/2014 with regard to the assurance levels ‘substantial’ or ‘high’;

(f) for interaction between European Business Wallets, and between European

Business Wallets and European Digital Identity Wallets for the purpose of

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receiving, validating and sharing European Business Wallet owner

identification data and electronic attestations of attributes in a secure manner;

(g) for authenticating European Business Wallet-relying parties by implementing

authentication mechanisms, where authentication is required;

(h) for European Business Wallet-relying parties to verify the authenticity and

validity of European Business Wallets, where the verification of the

authenticity and validity is required;

(i) for the provision of the qualified electronic registered delivery service referred

to in Article 5(1), point (i), including an interface to the European Digital

Directory established pursuant to Article 10;

(j) for the assigning to each European Business Wallet owner, for the purposes of

the qualified electronic registered delivery service referred to in Article 5(1),

point (i) and the European Digital Directory referred to in Article 10, at least

one unique digital address;

(k) for the provision of wallet unit attestations to all European Business Wallet

units, containing public keys and corresponding private keys protected by a

wallet secure cryptographic device;

(l) for the management of critical assets, for the use of at least one wallet secure

cryptographic application and wallet secure cryptographic device and, where

critical assets relate to performing electronic identification at assurance level

substantial, for ensuring that such cryptographic operators or other operations

processing critical assets are performed in accordance with the requirements

for the characteristics and design of electronic identification means at

assurance level substantial as set out in Commission Implementing Regulation

(EU) 2015/1502.

2. Providers of European Business Wallets shall also:

(a) ensure that the European Business Wallet owner identification data is digitally

associated with the European Business Wallet of the owner;

(b) ensure that, for the purposes of the functionality referred to in Article 5(1),

point (j):

– mappings between roles and attributes are verifiable, auditable, revocable

and traceable to their legitimate issuers;

– conflicts of roles, over-delegation, or expired authorisations are

automatically detected and prevented in real time;

– all authorisation logic is interoperable across Member States.

(c) ensure security-by-design;

(d) provide validation mechanisms, in order to ensure that the authenticity and

validity of European Business Wallets can be verified;

(e) provide a mechanism enabling European Business Wallet owners to easily

request technical support and report technical problems or any other incidents

having a negative impact on the use of European Business Wallets;

(f) ensure that the validity of the European Business Wallets can be revoked in the

following circumstances:

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– upon the explicit request of the European Business Wallet owner;

– where the security of the European Business Wallet has been

compromised;

– upon the permanent or temporary cessation of activity of the European

Business Wallet owner;

– where the provider of the European Business Wallet is not included in

the list referred to in Article 12(5).

(g) without undue delay, notify to the Commission:

– the mechanism allowing for the validation of the European Business

Wallet owner identification data;

– the mechanism by which to validate the authenticity and validity of

European Business Wallets.

3. The Commission shall make available the information notified pursuant to paragraph

2, point (g) of this Article to the public through a secure channel, in electronically

signed or sealed form suitable for automated processing.

4. Providers of European Business Wallets shall implement the technical features

provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 in accordance with the requirements set out in the

Annex.

5. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish a list of reference

standards and where necessary, establish specifications and procedures for the

technical features of European Business Wallets provided for in paragraphs 1, 2 and

3 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the

examination procedure referred to in Article 19.

Article 7

Requirements and obligations for providers of European Business Wallets

1. European Business Wallets shall be provided by providers of European Business

Wallets that are included in the list established pursuant to Article 12(5).

2. Given the role of European Business Wallets in the Unions digital infrastructure,

providers of European Business Wallets shall be established in the Union, have their

principal place of business and main operations in the Union and not present a risk to

the security of the Union. In particular they shall not be subject to control by a third

country or by a third-country entity.

3. Providers of European Business Wallets shall comply with the requirements set out

in Article 19a of Regulation (EU) 910/2014. That obligation shall not apply to

providers of European Business Wallets that are qualified trust service providers.

4. Providers of European Business Wallets shall comply with the requirements set out

in Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council on

measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union.

5. Providers of European Business Wallets shall comply with applicable cybersecurity

requirements laid down in Union and national law, including those relating to the

identification of high-risk suppliers. Providers shall also ensure that their suppliers of

software and security solutions comply with these requirements and conform to the

relevant security standards and requirements.

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6. Providers of European Business Wallets shall:

(a) implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the

confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, interoperability, and availability of the

European Business Wallets they provide with other European Business Wallets

and European Digital Identity Wallets;

(b) ensure that European Business Wallet owners are clearly informed, in a user-

friendly, concise and accessible manner, about the terms and conditions of use

of the European Business Wallet, including the scope and limitations of core

and additional functionalities, cybersecurity standards, and the European

Business Wallet owner’s rights with regard to data portability, redress, and

termination of service;

(c) ensure that authorised representatives of European Business Wallet owners are

clearly informed, in a user-friendly, concise and accessible manner, about their

rights and obligations in relation to their European Business Wallet unit, in

particular, the right to request revocation of their wallet unit attestation, using

the authentication mechanism provided in point 1 of the Annex;

(d) cooperate with the competent supervisory bodies referred to in Article 13(1), or

with the Commission in the cases referred to in Article 13(10) and 14(1) and

respond without undue delay to any request for information or documentation

necessary to verify compliance with this Regulation;

(e) notify the relevant national supervisory bodies, or the Commission in the cases

referred to in Article 14(1), of any substantive changes to their services or

overall structure which may impact the compliance of the provider with this

Regulation;

(f) notify European Business Wallet owners in the event of suspension, revocation

or voluntary termination of the providers of European Business Wallet`s

services and of the removal of the provider of European Business Wallet from

the list established pursuant to Article 12(5) and ensure the transfer or deletion

of the European Business Wallet owner data in accordance with the European

Business Wallet owners instructions, including European Business Wallet

owner identification data;

(g) ensure that the information on European Business Wallet owners, pursuant to

Article 10(2), is notified to the Commission and that the information initially

submitted to the Commission is kept up to date and corroborated using the

providers of the European Business Wallet owner identification data issuing

the unique identifiers referred to in Article 8(5), point (b).

Article 8

European Business Wallet owner identification data

1. Providers of European Business Wallet owner identification data shall issue

European Business Wallet owner identification data to European Business Wallets of

European Business Wallet owners. Where European Business Wallet owners are

Union entities, the Commission shall issue European Business Wallet owner

identification data to the European Business Wallets of those Union entities.

2. Member States shall notify to the Commission the relevant authentic sources for the

verification of the required attributes for the issuance of the European Business

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Wallet owner identification data. On the basis of the information received pursuant to

this paragraph, the Commission shall make available on the Commission’s website,

in a machine-readable format, a list of the notified relevant authentic sources.

3. European Business Wallet owner identification data shall be issued in a format

compliant with one of the standards listed in Annex II of Commission Implementing

Regulation (EU) 2024/2979 and as:

(a) qualified electronic attestations of attributes, when provided by qualified trust

service providers;

(b) electronic attestations of attributes issued by or on behalf of a public sector

body responsible for an authentic source, when provided by a public sector

body so responsible;

(c) electronic attestations of attributes, when provided by the Commission.

4. European Business Wallet owner identification data issued by the Commission shall

have the same legal effect as qualified electronic attestations of attributes and

attestations of attributes issued by, or on behalf of, a public sector body responsible

for an authentic source.

5. European Business Wallet owner identification data shall contain at least the

following attributes:

(a) the official name of the economic operator or public sector body, as recorded in

the relevant register or official record;

(b) the relevant unique identifier attributed in accordance with Article 9.

6. The Commission shall establish and maintain an attestation scheme for European

Business Wallet owner identification data. That scheme shall be listed in the

catalogue of schemes for the attestation of attributes referred to in Article 8 of

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1569.

7. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, set out requirements for

European Business Wallet owner identification data issued pursuant to this Article,

including procedures for Member States to notify to the Commission the relevant

authentic sources. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the

examination procedure referred to in Article 19.

Article 9

Unique identifiers

1. Where an economic operator has been attributed a European Unique Identifier, that

identifier shall be used as the unique identifier referred to in Article 8(4), point (b) of

this Regulation.

2. Where an economic operator or public sector body has not been attributed a

European Unique Identifier, a unique identifier shall be created in accordance with

the implementing act referred to in paragraph 4.

3. Where a public sector body is a Union entity, the Commission shall create and

attribute a unique identifier to that Union entity in accordance with paragraph 4 of

this Article.

4. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish specifications,

requirements and procedures relating to the unique identifier referred to in paragraph

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2 of this Article, including measures to ensure that European Business Wallet owners

are not attributed more than one unique identifier. Those implementing acts shall be

adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19.

Article 10

European Digital Directory

1. The Commission shall establish, operate and maintain a European Digital Directory

which shall act as the trusted source of information for European Business Wallet

owners and shall take the form of a web application comprising of two interfaces:

(a) a machine-readable interface exposed through an API for automated

system-to-system communication;

(b) a secure, web-based platform that provides access to authenticated and

authorised users and system online portal for European Business Wallet

users.

2. For the purpose of maintaining the European Digital Directory, providers of

European Business Wallets shall, upon the provision of a European Business Wallet,

provide to the Commission the categories of information set out in the implementing

act referred to in paragraph 6

3. The Commission shall ensure that the relevant information shall be included in the

European Digital Directory.

4. The Commission shall make the European Digital Directory only accessible to

European Business Wallet owners and their authorised representatives and providers

of European Business Wallets.

5. Any modification or revocation concerning the information referred to in paragraph 2

shall, without undue delay and in any event within one working day, be

communicated by the providers of European Business Wallet directly to the

Commission for the purpose of maintaining the European Digital Directory.

6. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish standards and

technical specifications for the unique digital addresses and the categories of

information to be communicated to the Commission for the purpose of the European

Digital Directory. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the

examination procedure referred to in Article 19.

Article 11

Notification of providers of European Business Wallets

1. Entities that intend to provide European Business Wallets shall notify that intention

together with the information listed in paragraph 2 to the competent supervisory

body.

2. The notification referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information:

(a) the entity’s legal name, any commercial names used, website URL,

contact email, telephone number, and physical address;

(b) the entity’s register number issued by a national register, where available

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(c) a description of how the core functionalities, set out in Article 5(1) shall

be offered by the European Business Wallets the entity intends to

provide;

(d) a description of any additional functionalities supported by the European

Business Wallets the entity intends to provide;

(e) a declaration of conformity with the requirements of this Regulation.

3. Qualified trust service providers shall not be subject to the review and verification

procedure set out in paragraphs 4 to 6. Upon submitting the information listed in

paragraph 2, the competent supervisory body shall inform the Commission within

two working days with a view to the addition of that provider to the list referred to in

Article 12(5) and it may immediately offer European Business Wallets.

4. Upon receipt of a notification, the supervisory body shall have 30 days to review the

information submitted.

When that review leads the supervisory body to conclude that the information is

complete and the description referred to in paragraph 2 point (c) appears to

correspond to the requirements laid down in Article 5(1), it shall inform the

Commission within two working days with a view to the addition of that provider to

the list referred to in Article 12(5).

5. When that review leads the supervisory body to conclude that the information is not

complete or the description referred to in paragraph 2 point (c) appears not to

correspond to the requirements laid down in Article 5(1), it shall request additional

information or explanations from the notifying entity and set a reasonable deadline,

not exceeding 15 calendar days, for response. If that information or those

explanations allow the supervisory body to conclude that the information is complete

and the description referred to in paragraph 2 point (c) appears to correspond to the

requirements laid down in Article 5(1), it shall inform the Commission within two

working days with a view to the addition of that provider to the list referred to in

Article 12(5). If not, or no response is received, the supervisory body shall inform the

notifying entity that it will not be added to the list referred to in Article 12(5).

6. Where the supervisory body has not provided the notifying entity with a substantive

response on the outcome of the review referred to in paragraph 4 within 30 calendar

days of receiving the notification, the information shall be considered as complete

and the description referred to in paragraph 2 point (c) shall be considered as

appearing to correspond to the requirements laid down in Article 5(1), and the

supervisory body shall inform the Commission within two working days with a view

to the addition of that provider to the list referred to in Article 12(5)

7. Member States shall ensure that notifying entities have the right to an effective

judicial remedy against a decision of the supervisory authority, without prejudice to

any other administrative or non-judicial remedy, in cases where the supervisory

authority refuses to list them as a provider of European Business Wallets or takes no

decision within a reasonable timeframe.

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Article 12

List of notified providers of European Business Wallets

1. Supervisory bodies shall inform the Commission of any changes to the information

provided pursuant to Article 11, within 24 hours of having become aware of any

changes.

2. The information provided by the supervisory bodies referred to in Article 11 and

Article 12(1) shall include the following:

(a) the purpose of the submission, which may be one of the following:

– the registration of a notified provider of European Business Wallets not

previously present on the list referred to in paragraph 5;

– a change to previously submitted information regarding providers of

European Business Wallets currently present on the list referred to in

paragraph 5;

– a request to remove a provider of European Business Wallets from the

list referred to in paragraph 5;

(b) name and, where applicable, the commercial name of the provider of

European Business Wallets;

(c) the Member State in which the provider of European Business Wallets

has its principal place of establishment;

(d) the name of the competent supervisory body;

(e) an indication whether the provider of European Business Wallets is a

qualified trust service provider.

3. On the basis of the information received pursuant to this Article, the Commission

shall establish and maintain on the Commission’s website, in a machine-readable

format, a list of providers of European Business Wallets.

Article 13

Governance and supervision

1. In each Member State, the supervisory bodies designated pursuant to Article 46a of

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 shall also be the supervisory bodies for the purposes

of this Regulation.

2. Those supervisory bodies shall be responsible for supervisory tasks as regards

providers of European Business Wallets having their principal place of establishment

in that Member State.

3. Member States shall ensure that the supervisory bodies referred to in paragraph 1

have the necessary powers and adequate resources for the exercise of their tasks in an

effective, efficient and independent manner.

4. The role of national supervisory bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall be to:

(a) monitor compliance with the requirements laid down in this Regulation and

take action, if necessary, in relation to providers of European Business Wallets,

by means of ex post supervisory activities;

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(b) act as the main liaison office for providers of European Business Wallet owner

identification data, facilitating access to information from relevant national

authorities and registries, where necessary, for the issuance of European

Business Wallet owner identification data and unique identifiers.

5. The tasks of the supervisory bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the

following:

(a) review and assess the notifications submitted in accordance with Article 11;

(b) investigate substantiated claims, particularly those made by European Business

Wallets owners, that a provider of European Business Wallets fails to comply

with any of its obligations under this Regulation and to take action if

necessary;

(c) verify the existence and correct application of termination plans where a

provider of European Business Wallets ceases its activities, including how

information is kept accessible;

(d) ensure that providers of European Business Wallets remedy any failure to fulfil

the requirements laid down in this Regulation;

(e) impose penalties in accordance with paragraphs 6 to 9;

(f) inform the relevant competent authorities designated or established pursuant to

Article 8(1) of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the Member States concerned of

any significant security breach or loss of integrity of which it becomes aware in

the performance of its tasks and, in the case of a significant security breach or

loss of integrity which concerns other Member States, to inform the single

point of contact designated or established pursuant to Article 8(3) Directive

(EU) 2022/2555 of the Member State concerned and the single points of

contact designated pursuant to Article 46c(1) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014

in the other Member States concerned, and to inform the public or require the

provider of European Business Wallets to do so where the supervisory body

determines that disclosure of the breach of security or loss of integrity would

be in the public interest;

(g) cooperate with supervisory authorities established pursuant to Article 51 of

Regulation (EU) 2016/679, in particular, by informing them, without undue

delay, where personal data protection rules appear to have been breached and

about security breaches which appear to constitute personal data breaches;

(h) cooperate, as appropriate, with other national supervisory bodies;

(i) set up and ensure clear publicity of a complaint mechanism whereby

complaints can be filed by providers of European Business Wallets in

accordance with Article 11(7);

(j) report to the Commission on its main activities;

(k) revoke the inclusion in the list established pursuant to Article 12(5) of a

provider of European Business Wallets if the supervisory body determines that

the provider no longer meets the requirements laid down in this Regulation or

that the provider has failed to comply with the obligations imposed by this

Regulation;

(l) cooperate with the supervisory authorities designated pursuant to Article 46b of

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 by the Member States, in particular, to ensure

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that economic operators established outside the Union are issued only one set

of European Business Wallet owner identification data and European business

Wallet unique identifier.

6. Member States shall lay down the rules allowing the supervisory body referred to in

paragraph 1 of this Article to impose penalties applicable to infringements of this

Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are

implemented. Those penalties shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Those

rules shall not affect Article 31 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 and Article 83 of

Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

7. By [Publications Office, insert the date 12 months after the entry into force of this

Regulation] Member States shall notify the Commission of the rules laid down by

Member States in accordance with paragraph 6 and shall notify the Commission

without delay of any subsequent amendments to the rules. The Commission shall

regularly update and maintain an easily accessible public register of those rules.

8. Member States shall take into account the following non-exhaustive and indicative

criteria for the imposition of penalties in accordance with paragraph 6:

(a) the nature, gravity, scale and duration of the infringement;

(b) any action taken by the infringing party to mitigate or remedy the damage

caused by the infringement;

(c) any previous infringements by the infringing party;

(d) the financial benefits gained or losses avoided by the infringing party due to

the infringement, insofar as such benefits or losses can be reliably established;

(e) any other aggravating or mitigating factor applicable to the circumstances of

the case;

(f) the infringing party’s total annual turnover in the preceding financial year in

the Union.

Member States shall ensure that infringements of this Regulation committed by

providers of European Business Wallets be subject to administrative fines of a

maximum of 2% of the total worldwide annual turnover in the preceding financial

year.

9. Where the legal system of a Member State does not provide for administrative fines

being imposed by administrative authorities, fines initiated by the supervisory body

and imposed by competent national courts, which have an equivalent effect to the

administrative fines imposed by supervisory bodies, shall be considered to comply

with the requirements laid down in paragraph 6. In any event, the fines imposed shall

be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. That Member State shall notify to the

Commission the provisions of the laws which it adopts pursuant to this paragraph by

[Publications Office, insert the date 12 months after the entry into force of this

Regulation] and, without delay, any subsequent amendment law or amendment

affecting them.

10. In circumstances which justify an immediate intervention to preserve the proper

functioning of the internal market and where the Commission has sufficient reason to

consider that the European Business Wallets provided by a provider are non-

compliant with the requirements laid down in this Regulation and no effective

measures have been taken by the competent supervisory authority, the Commission

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shall carry out an evaluation of compliance. The Commission shall inform the

relevant authorities accordingly and the provider shall cooperate as necessary.

11. Based on the evaluation, the Commission may decide that a corrective or restrictive

measure is necessary, and after consulting the Member States concerned and the

provider, the Commission may determine the appropriate course of action. The

Commission shall take into account the nature and severity of the non-compliance, as

well as the potential impact on the internal market and the rights of economic

operators.

12. On the basis of the consultation, the Commission may adopt implementing acts to

provide for corrective or restrictive measures, including temporarily suspending the

provider from the list of notified providers or requiring the provider to take specific

actions to bring the European Business Wallets into compliance with the Regulation.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination

procedure.

13. The Commission shall immediately communicate the implementing acts to the

provider and Member States shall implement those implementing acts without delay

and inform the Commission accordingly. These measures shall be applicable for the

duration of the exceptional situation that justified the Commission’s intervention,

provided that the European Business Wallets concerned are not brought into

compliance with this Regulation.

Article 14

European Digital Identity Cooperation Group

The European Digital Identity Cooperation Group established pursuant to Article 46e of

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 shall be responsible for facilitating cooperation and

information sharing among Member States and the Commission on matters related to the

European Business Wallets. This shall include sharing best practices, discussing technical and

operational issues, and coordinating efforts to ensure the proper implementation and

functioning of the European Business Wallets.

Article 15

Governance and supervision of Union entities that are providers of European Business

Wallets

1. Where a Union entity is a provider of European Business Wallets the Commission

shall be its supervisory body.

2. The role of the Commission acting as a supervisory body in accordance with

paragraph 1 shall be to monitor compliance with the requirements laid down in this

Regulation and take action, if necessary, in relation to providers of European

Business Wallets, by means of ex post supervisory activities.

3. When acting as a supervisory body in accordance with paragraph 1, the Commission

shall perform the tasks referred to in Article 13(5) points a, b, c, d, h and k.

The Commission shall prepare a report on its main activities in this respect.

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Chapter III – Acceptance of the European Business Wallets

Article 16

Obligations on public sector bodies

4. By [Publications Office, please insert the date 24 months after the entry into force of

this Regulation] public sector bodies shall enable economic operators to take the

following actions by using the core functionalities of European Business Wallets as

set out in Article 5(1):

(a) identify and authenticate;

(b) sign or seal;

(c) submit documents;

(d) send or receive notifications.

The actions listed in points (a) to (d) of the first subparagraph shall take place for the

purpose of meeting a reporting obligation or fulfilling an administrative procedure.

5. For the purposes of paragraph 1, points (c) and (d), public sector bodies shall have

European Business Wallets, including the qualified electronic registered delivery

service referred to in Article 5(1), point (i).

6. By way of derogation from paragraph 2 and until [Publications Office, insert the date

36 months after entry into force of this Regulation], public sector bodies may choose

not to offer the qualified electronic registered delivery service referred to in Article

5(1), point (i), and support instead other existing alternative solutions which enable

economic operators to take the actions listed in paragraph 1, points (c) and (d),

provided those solutions:

(a) comply with the requirements applicable to qualified electronic

registered delivery services set out in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(b) offer a gateway that enables European Business Wallet owners to submit

documents and send and receive notifications using the qualified

electronic registered delivery service referred to in Article 5(1), point (i).

After the expiry of the derogation period laid down in this paragraph, public sector

bodies may continue to support the alternative solutions referred to in that

subparagraph but shall, in accordance with paragraph 2, have European Business

Wallets, including the qualified electronic registered delivery service referred to in

paragraph 1 of Article 5(1), point (i).

Chapter IV - International aspects

Article 17

Business wallets and other similar instruments and frameworks offered in third

countries

1. The Commission may adopt implementing acts establishing that business wallets or

systems offering similar functions that are issued by providers established in third

countries are to be considered as offering assurances that are equivalent to European

EN 45 EN

Business Wallets issued in accordance with this Regulation, provided that such

business wallets or systems are interoperable with the trust framework laid down in

Regulation (EU) 910/2014 and allow for the support of at least an identification and

authentication functionality and the exchange of electronic attestations of attributes.

Such implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination

procedure referred to in Article 19.

2. The Commission may adopt implementing acts establishing that third country

frameworks for systems offering similar functions as the European Business Wallets

are to be considered as offering assurances that are equivalent to European Business

Wallets issued in accordance with this Regulation, provided that the systems

provided under that framework are interoperable with the trust framework laid down

in Regulation (EU) 910/2014 and allow for the support of at least an identification

and authentication functionality and the exchange of electronic attestations of

attributes. Such implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the

examination procedure referred to in Article 19.

3. Prior to the adoption of the implementing acts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the

Commission shall assess whether the assurances can be considered as equivalent to

the requirements under this Regulation.

4. The Commission shall, where available information reveals that those assurances can

no longer be considered as equivalent to the requirements under this Regulation, to

the extent necessary, repeal, amend or suspend the act referred to in paragraphs 1 and

2 by means of an implementing act.

5. The Commission shall publish on its website a list of frameworks, business wallets

or systems offering similar functions that are issued by providers established in third

countries in relation to which the Commission has adopted an implementing act

pursuant to this Article.

Article 18

Issuing of European Business Wallets to economic operators established outside the

Union

1. Providers of European Business Wallets may provide European Business Wallets to

economic operators established in a third country under the condition that such

economic operators have been issued European Business Wallet owner identification

data and a unique identifier in accordance with this Article.

2. For the purposes of this Article, economic operators shall request only one set of

European Business Wallet owner identification data from one provider of European

Business Wallet owner identification data.

3. Where an economic operator established outside the Union requests a European

Business Wallet, the provider of European Business Wallets shall notify this request

to the supervisory body of the Member State in which the provider is notified.

4. Providers of European Business Wallets shall request European Business Wallet

owner identification data from a provider of European Business Wallet owner

identification data on behalf of the economic operator established in a third country.

5. Providers of European Business Wallet owner identification data may issue

European Business Wallet owner identification data and unique identifiers pursuant

EN 46 EN

to Articles 8 and 9 to economic operators established outside the Union, provided

that:

(a) the identity proofing and verification of those economic operators fulfils one

or, when needed, a combination, of the methods for verification of identity set

out in Article 24 (1a) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(b) the economic operator has not been issued another set of European Business

Wallet owner identification data.

6. Member States shall cooperate to ensure that providers of European Business Wallet

owner identification data can verify that an economic operator established outside the

Union has not yet been issued European Business Wallet owner identification data.

Chapter V – Final provisions

Article 19

Committee procedure

The Commission shall be assisted by the committee established by Article 48 of Regulation

(EU) No 910/2014. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation

(EU) No 182/2011.

Article 20

Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 910/2014

In Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, Article 5a is amended as follows:

(1) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1. For the purpose of ensuring that all natural persons in the Union have secure, trusted and

seamless cross-border access to public and private services, while having full control over

their data, each Member State shall provide at least one European Digital Identity Wallet

within 24 months of the date of entry into force of the implementing acts referred to in

paragraph 23 of this Article and in Article 5c(6).’

(2) in paragraph 5 point (f) is replaced by the following:

‘(f) ensure that the person identification data, which is available from the electronic

identification scheme under which the European Digital Identity Wallet is provided, uniquely

represents the natural person or the natural person representing the natural or legal person, and

is associated with that European Digital Identity Wallet;’;

(3) in paragraph 9 point c) is replaced by the following:

‘(c) upon the death of the user.’;

(4) Paragraph 15 is replaced by the following:

’15. The use of European Digital Identity Wallets shall be voluntary. Access to public and

private services, access to the labour market and freedom to conduct business shall not in any

way be restricted or made disadvantageous to natural persons that do not use European Digital

Identity Wallets. It shall remain possible to access public and private services by other

existing identification and authentication means.’.

EN 47 EN

Article 21

Evaluation and review

7. The Commission shall review the application of this Regulation and shall, by

[Publications Office, insert the date – 3 years after entry into force], submit a report

to the European Parliament and to the Council. The report shall evaluate the

effectiveness of the provisions of this Regulation with regard to facilitating the

submission of electronic documents and electronic attestations to public sector

bodies, by the usage of the European Business Wallets, as well as technological,

market, and legal developments. The report shall also assess whether it is necessary

to modify the scope of this Regulation or its specific provisions to set out an

obligation for the use of the European Business Wallets to address the risks of legal

fragmentation.

8. The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following aspects:

(a) the minimum core functionalities of European Business Wallets;

(b) the level of compliance of providers of European Business Wallets and

the notification procedure and criteria established in Article 11;

(c) the application and functioning of the rules on penalties laid down by the

Member States pursuant to Article 13;

(d) the detailed requirements and technical specifications for the qualified

electronic registered delivery service referred to in Article 5(1) point I;

No later than one year before the report referred to in paragraph 1 is due, Member

States shall provide the Commission with the information necessary for the

preparation of the reports.

Article 22

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in

the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from [Publications Office, insert the date – 1 year after entry into force].

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

EN 1 EN

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL AND DIGITAL STATEMENT

1. FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE ................................................. 3

1.1. Title of the proposal/initiative ...................................................................................... 3

1.2. Policy area(s) concerned .............................................................................................. 3

1.3. Objective(s) .................................................................................................................. 3

1.3.1. General objective(s) ..................................................................................................... 3

1.3.2. Specific objective(s) ..................................................................................................... 3

1.3.3. Expected result(s) and impact ...................................................................................... 3

1.3.4. Indicators of performance ............................................................................................ 3

1.4. The proposal/initiative relates to: ................................................................................. 4

1.5. Grounds for the proposal/initiative .............................................................................. 4

1.5.1. Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative ............................................................ 4

1.5.2. Added value of EU involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g.

coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For

the purposes of this section 'added value of EU involvement' is the value resulting

from EU action, that is additional to the value that would have been otherwise

created by Member States alone. ................................................................................. 4

1.5.3. Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past .................................................. 4

1.5.4. Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with

other appropriate instruments ....................................................................................... 5

1.5.5. Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for

redeployment ................................................................................................................ 5

1.6. Duration of the proposal/initiative and of its financial impact .................................... 6

1.7. Method(s) of budget implementation planned ............................................................. 6

2. MANAGEMENT MEASURES................................................................................... 8

2.1. Monitoring and reporting rules .................................................................................... 8

2.2. Management and control system(s) ............................................................................. 8

2.2.1. Justification of the budget implementation method(s), the funding implementation

mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed .................. 8

2.2.2. Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up

to mitigate them............................................................................................................ 8

2.2.3. Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio between

the control costs and the value of the related funds managed), and assessment of the

expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure) ........................................... 8

2.3. Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities ................................................................ 9

3. ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE ............ 10

3.1. Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s)

affected ....................................................................................................................... 10

EN 2 EN

3.2. Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations ................................... 12

3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations.................................... 12

3.2.1.1. Appropriations from voted budget ............................................................................. 12

3.2.1.2. Appropriations from external assigned revenues ....................................................... 17

3.2.2. Estimated output funded from operational appropriations......................................... 22

3.2.3. Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations ............................... 24

3.2.3.1. Appropriations from voted budget .............................................................................. 24

3.2.3.2. Appropriations from external assigned revenues ....................................................... 24

3.2.3.3. Total appropriations ................................................................................................... 24

3.2.4. Estimated requirements of human resources.............................................................. 25

3.2.4.1. Financed from voted budget....................................................................................... 25

3.2.4.2. Financed from external assigned revenues ................................................................ 26

3.2.4.3. Total requirements of human resources ..................................................................... 26

3.2.5. Overview of estimated impact on digital technology-related investments ................ 28

3.2.6. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework.............................. 28

3.2.7. Third-party contributions ........................................................................................... 28

3.3. Estimated impact on revenue ..................................................................................... 29

4. DIGITAL DIMENSIONS .......................................................................................... 29

4.1. Requirements of digital relevance .............................................................................. 30

4.2. Data ............................................................................................................................ 30

4.3. Digital solutions ......................................................................................................... 31

4.4. Interoperability assessment ........................................................................................ 31

4.5. Measures to support digital implementation .............................................................. 32

EN 3 EN

1. FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

1.1. Title of the proposal/initiative

Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the establishment of the

European Business Wallets

1.2. Policy area(s) concerned

Communications Netwokrs, Content and Technology

Internal Market

1.3. Objective(s)

1.3.1. General objective(s)

The general objective of this initiative is to ensure the proper functioning of the

internal market by meeting economic operators’ and public sector bodies’ specific

needs in the area of digital identification and trust services and providing them with a

harmonised, trusted, and user-friendly instrument for secure and legally valid

identification, authentication and data exchange

1.3.2. Specific objective(s)

Specific objective No 1

Reduce administrative burdens, streamline compliance processes, and improve

service delivery.

Specific objective No 2

To ensure economic operators and public sector bodies have access to secure and

trusted digital identification across borders, meeting user needs and market demand.

1.3.3. Expected result(s) and impact

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted.

Overall, the biggest main expected beneficiaries of the initiative are economic

operators and public sector bodies. By establishing a harmonised and trusted digital

framework for business identification, authentication, and document exchange and

storage, the initiative will reduce administrative burdens and compliance costs both

at national and EU level. The European Business Wallets will allow companies to

interact seamlessly with public authorities and business partners across borders,

eliminating repetitive submissions of data and accelerating key processes such as

registration, licensing, and reporting. SMEs and micro-enterprises in particular will

benefit from simplified, secure, and interoperable digital channels, freeing resources

for innovation, growth, and cross-border expansion.

Public sector bodies will gain in efficiency, quality, and reliability of service

delivery. The Business Wallets will streamline administrative procedures by enabling

automation of verification and document handling, reducing manual intervention,

duplication, and error rates. The secure communication channel will improve data

quality and transparency, supporting better regulatory oversight and facilitating the

use of innovative RegTech solutions.

1.3.4. Indicators of performance

Specify the indicators for monitoring progress and achievements.

EN 4 EN

To ensure consistency and proportionality, the monitoring framework draws on the three-

pillar structure referenced in the impact assessment for the revision of the eIDAS Regulation,

implementation, application, and contextual indicators, and adapts it to the specific scope of

the European Business Wallets. This ensures alignment while avoiding duplication of

monitoring obligations and respecting Better Regulation principles, including proportionality

and re-use of existing data streams. Additionally, a set of additinal indicators, specifically

linked to the Specific Objectives will be leveraged to assess the outcomes of the initiative via

proxy-indicators. These broader macro-economic and administrative-burden trends remain

contextual and will be interpreted alongside eIDAS data to support statistical inference rather

than implying direct causality.

The new set of indicators linked to the Specific Objectives is reported underneath:

Monitoring and

evaluation aspect

and relevant

objectives

Indicator(s) Responsibility for

collection Source(s)

SO1: Reduce administrative burdens, streamline compliance processes, and improve service delivery.

To reduce the

administrative burden

of regulatory

compliance and

reporting

requirements on

businesses through

demonstrable

economic benefits

Quantifiable reduction in the

burden of government regulation

indicator

European Commission Single Market and

Competitiveness

Scoreboard 14

To improve public

service delivery

Measured improvements in

Digital Public Services for

Business indicators under the

eGov benchmark, particularly in

respect of online service delivery

and interoperability signifiers

(specific indicators: (cross-

border) online availability;

(cross-border) eID; pre-filled

forms; OOTS)

European Commission eGovernment

benchmark study

feeding the Digital

Decade Policy

Programme

To enhance European

competitiveness

Measurable improvements in the

exports of goods to other EU

countries by SMEs in the

industrial sector (% of SMEs)

European Commission Single Market and

Competitiveness

Scoreboard

SO2: To ensure economic operators and public sector bodies have access to secure and trusted digital

identification across borders, meeting user needs and market demand.

To develop a market

for secure digital

identification and

trust services between

Number of compliant and

notified European Business

Wallet providers, including

Qualified Trust Service Providers

Supervisory bodies Data reported to

European Commission

European Digital

14 Plus any potential KPI on administrative burden reduction following the review of the Digital Decade

Policy Programme

EN 5 EN

Monitoring and

evaluation aspect

and relevant

objectives

Indicator(s) Responsibility for

collection Source(s)

economic operators

and public sector

bodies

Directory

To ensure that

available solutions

are trusted and secure

and comply with all

requirements to

provide European

Business Wallets

Number of withdrawn

authorisations of notified

European Business Wallet

providers, excluding any

providers who have voluntarily

ceased their commercial

provision of business wallets and

related services

Number and level of penalties

imposed on European Business

Wallet providers

Supervisory bodies Data reported to

European Commission

To stimulate adoption

of the European

Business Wallet

across all sectors of

the economy

Number of European Business

Wallets issued to economic

operators and public sector

bodies and registered in the

European Digital Directory 15

European Commission European Digital

Directory

1.4. The proposal/initiative relates to:

 a new action

 a new action following a pilot project / preparatory action16

 the extension of an existing action

 a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action

1.5. Grounds for the proposal/initiative

1.5.1. Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative

The Regulation will require public sector bodies to accept European Business Wallets for the

purposes of identification and authentication, signing or sealing documents, submitting

documents, and sending or receiving notifications. Public sector bodies have 24 months after

entry into force of the Regulation to ensure they can accept Business Wallets for these

purposes. For a transition period of up to 36 months after entry into force, public sector bodies

may continue to support other existing communication solutions instead of implementing the

Business Wallets’ communication channel, provided that these solutions comply with

applicable requirements set out in Regulation (EU) 910/2014 and offer a gateway between

these existing solutions and the communication channel of the Business Wallets. After this

15 The number of wallets is not necessarily equivalent to number of owners because one owner attributed

with one unique identifier may have multiple wallets registered to them, but it will be a good

approximation to determine the levels of usage 16 As referred to in Article 58(2), point (a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation.

EN 6 EN

transition period, public sector bodies will have to support the Business Wallets’

communication channel, either instead of or in addition to other eIDAS-compliant solutions.

1.5.2. Added value of EU involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g.

coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For

the purposes of this section 'added value of EU involvement' is the value resulting

from EU action, that is additional to the value that would have been otherwise

created by Member States alone.

Reasons for action at EU level (ex-ante)

Divergent national digital identity solutions hinder the freedom of establishment and the

freedom to provide services, undermining the optimal functioning of the Single Market. The

current fragmentation creates duplication, delays, and additional costs for economic

operators especially cross-border. Uneven levels of digitalisation of public sector bodies

may also distort competition, giving economic operators in more advanced Member States a

procedural advantage and weakening the level playing field in the Single Market.

The functioning of the internal market relies on uniform and consistent rules applied across

all relevant public sectors bodies performing equivalent functions or providing comparable

services. The Commission often carry out similar activities to national public sector bodies

and have key supervisory and regulatory roles. Thus, their involvement in supporting the

proper functioning of the Single Market is necessary. Excluding them would create

regulatory gaps, fragmentation and uneven application of the rules, thereby undermining the

Business Wallet’s objective of safeguarding the integrity, stability and resilience of the

internal market. In addition, simplification remains a key driver of the EU’s commitment to

building a bolder, simpler, and faster Union, as outlined in the 2025 Work Programme. A

competitive and well-functioning Single Market requires active participation from both

national and EU-level authorities, with the latter leading by example. Accordingly, the

Commission should adopt and use the European Business Wallet, extending simplification

and efficiency to their interactions with economic operators.

Expected generated EU added value (ex-post)

The European Business Wallets will eliminate duplication and reduce compliance costs,

while also improve transparency, data quality, and provide public sector bodies with more

reliable information, enhancing service delivery. At the same time, EU-level harmonisation

prevents dependency on high-risk providers, strengthens the resilience of critical

infrastructures, and consolidates the Union’s digital sovereignty. Beyond the internal

market, the initiative can also enhance the Union’s role as a global standard-setter for trusted

digital infrastructures, supporting European competitiveness in international trade.

1.5.3. Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past

The European Business Wallets proposal builds on and extends the ecosystem of trust

established under the European Digital Identity Framework - Regulation (EU) 910/2014, the

legal reference in the EU on electronic identification and trust services for electronic

transactions in the internal market, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183. This

frameowrk - a state-of-the-art, privacy-friendly and interoperable system for digital

identification empowering citizens and legal entities to share data securely across borders -

represents already a major milestone in the EU simplification agenda.

The European Business Wallets proposal aims at complementing the European Digital

Identity Wallets by introducing a market-driven digital framework designed for the specific

needs of businesses transactions, including treceability, the digital management of

EN 7 EN

representation rights and mandates, and a secure channel for exchanging official documents

and attestations supported by a common directory. All this will be achieved while

guaranteeing full interoperability with the European Digital Identity Wallets

Recent technological and societal developments require a new harmonsied and digital

approach to business-to-governement and business-to-business interactions. AI, cloud

computing and secure digital identity are moving at an unprecedented pace, affecting the

way of doing business in Europe: processes have shifted from being document-based to

automated and data-driven. For instance, 91% of scaleups consider digital technologies

critical to their growth. These developments, combined with the EU’s strategic priorities for

competitiveness, digital sovereignity, simplification and digital-by-default public services,

create the need for agile solutions that can support trusted cross-border business transactions

at scale.

As a consequence, the demand for means to identify and exchange and store different

business credentials, securely and with full legal effect across border has increased radically.

The Regulation also builds on the achievements of Directive (EU) 2025/25, which

introduced the EU Company Certificate and digital EU power of attorney. These pioneering

tools aim to ease administrative burdens in cross-border operations for Union companies by

reducing fragmentation. This regulation takes the next step to offer a tool for enabling

companies to seamlessly exchange EU Company Certificates and digital powers of attorneys

via European Business Wallets.

1.5.4. Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with

other appropriate instruments

The initiative supports the EU’s simplification and competitiveness goals by providing

economic operators with tools such as the Business Wallets, enabling trusted, secure, and

user-friendly compliance with administrative requirements through harmonised

identification, authentication, and data exchange. Hence, it is fully in line with the

objectives of the MFF.

The inclusion of the Commission will have financial implications, which will be

predominantly covered by the EU budget under the Multiannual Financial Framework

(MFF) 2028-2034. These costs are mainly associated with the implementation and use of

the European Business Wallets, the establishment and maintenance of the European Digital

Directory within the Commission, the integration of these with existing IT systems and the

establishment of supervisory activities related to the European Business Wallets.

The estimated direct costs for the Commission as user amount to approximately €7 million

during the first year due to expenditure for initial implementation (procurement process),

licensing fee and maintenance costs for the European Business Wallet. As of the second

year, the Commission will incur additional €5 million in recurring annual costs. For the

European Digital Directory, the setup cost is estimated at just under €2 million, with

annual maintenance costs projected at €1.7 million in the second year and €1.3 million in

subsequent years.

In addition, potential costs for integrating the Business Wallets into all the relevant IT

systems are estimated at €33.8 million for the first year and €7.5 million for the second

year. As the systems are already in place, the costs are related to the first two years as it is

an integration and not a development of a new system.

Synergies with other instruments are illustrated as follows:

EN 8 EN

- The Single Digital Gateway (SDG) and its Once-Only Technical System (OOTS)

implement the “once-only” principle, requiring authorities to reuse data already held in

another Member State without repeated submissions by businesses. The European

Business Wallets will complement the SDG and OOTS by providing trusted identification

and authentication of economic operators and public administrations and a secure

exchange layer that enables businesses and public sector bodies to share and reuse verified

data and official attestations seamlessly across borders.

- The Digital Product Passport (DPP), central to the EU’s circular economy agenda,

depends on trusted access to conformity and sustainability data. The Business Wallets can

prove legal identity and any granted access rights, allow conformity declarations to be

signed and sealed, and ensure product data is exchanged securely and verifiably across

borders.

- The Interoperable Europe Act (IEA) establishes the framework for cross-border

interoperability of public services. The Business Wallets will complement this by serving

as a trusted infrastructure that administrations can integrate into digital-by-default service

delivery, reinforcing the removal of technical and organisational barriers.

- The upcoming proposal on the 28th Regime corporate legal framework will provide

simple, flexible and fast procedures for companies to set up and operate and attract

investment in the EU through digital solutions. It will ensure inter-operability with the

business wallet and ensure that digital tools such as the EU Company certificate and the

EU digital Power of Attorney are compatible with the Business Wallet so that companies

can use these with their Business Wallet.

- The VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package modernises VAT reporting, introduces

mandatory e-invoicing across borders and strengthens fraud prevention. The Business

Wallets will enable secure storage and verifiable exchange of VAT attestations and

transaction data, thereby supporting real-time reporting and trusted invoicing.

1.5.5. Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for

redeployment

The staff requested in the amount of 20 FTEs will be redeployed by existing allocations of

the DG that is assigned to the management of the action or other Commission services.

EN 9 EN

1.6. Duration of the proposal/initiative and of its financial impact

 limited duration

–  in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY

–  financial impact from YYYY to YYYY for commitment appropriations and

from YYYY to YYYY for payment appropriations.

 unlimited duration

– Implementation with a start-up period from 2028 to 2029,

– followed by full-scale operation.

1.7. Method(s) of budget implementation planned

 Direct management by the Commission

–  by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;

–  by the executive agencies

 Shared management with the Member States

 Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to:

–  third countries or the bodies they have designated

–  international organisations and their agencies (to be specified)

–  the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund

–  bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation

–  public law bodies

–  bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that

they are provided with adequate financial guarantees

–  bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with

the implementation of a public-private partnership and that are provided with

adequate financial guarantees

–  bodies or persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions in the

common foreign and security policy pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on

European Union, and identified in the relevant basic act

– bodies established in a Member State, governed by the private law of a

Member State or Union law and eligible to be entrusted, in accordance with

sector-specific rules, with the implementation of Union funds or budgetary

guarantees, to the extent that such bodies are controlled by public law bodies or

by bodies governed by private law with a public service mission, and are provided

with adequate financial guarantees in the form of joint and several liability by the

controlling bodies or equivalent financial guarantees and which may be, for each

action, limited to the maximum amount of the Union support.

EN 10 EN

2. MANAGEMENT MEASURES

2.1. Monitoring and reporting rules

The Regulation will be reviewed threer years after its full application. The

Commission must report on the findings to the European Parliament and to the

Council.

2.2. Management and control system(s)

2.2.1. Justification of the budget implementation method(s), the funding implementation

mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed

The Regulation establishes harmonised rules for the provision of eID and QERDS to

economic operators and public sector bodies in the internal market while ensuring

the respect of trust and users’ control over their own data. These new rules require

the development of technical specifications and standards, and supervision and

coordination of the activities of European Union Institutions, Bodies, Offices and

Agencies.

In addition, there is also a need to take into consideration the resources needed to

communicate and coordinate with third countries on interoperability and equivalence

of third country solutions.

In order to face these tasks, it is necessary to appropriately resource the

Commission’s services. The enforcement of the provisions of the new Regulation is

estimated to require 20 FTEs.

2.2.2. Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up

to mitigate them

One of the main issues leading to shortcomings in the current legislative framework

is the lack of harmonisation of national systems in the context of business-to-

government interactions, which results in red tape and administrative burdens,

particularly across borders. To mitigate this issue, the initiative builds on early

engagement with potential providers and coordination with ongoing Large-Scale

Pilots to ensure technological readiness and interoperability. In parallel, close

cooperation with Member States and related EU initiatives will help prevent further

fragmentation and foster a coherent, competitive, and trusted provider ecosystem

within the Single Market.

2.2.3. Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio between

the control costs and the value of the related funds managed), and assessment of the

expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure)

For the meeting expenditure of the expert group, given the low value per transaction

(e.g. refunding travel costs for a delegate for a meeting if the meeting is physical),

standard internal control procedures seem sufficient.

Also for pilot projects, DG CNECT standard procedures should be sufficient.

2.3. Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities

The existing fraud prevention measures applicable to the Commission will cover the

additional appropriations necessary for this Regulation.

EN 11 EN

3. ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

3.1. Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget

line(s) affected

• Existing budget lines

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines.

Heading of

multiannual

financial

framework

Budget line Type of

expenditure Contribution

Number

Diff./Non-

diff. 17

from

EFTA

countries 18

from

candidate

countries

and

potential

candidates 19

From

other

third

countries

other assigned

revenue

MFF headings and budget lines to be

determined 20

Diff./Non

-diff. YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO

[XX.YY.YY.YY]

Diff./Non

-diff. YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO

[XX.YY.YY.YY]

Diff./Non

-diff. YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO

• New budget lines requested

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines.

Heading of

multiannual

financial

framework

Budget line Type of

expenditure Contribution

Number

Diff./Non-

diff.

from

EFTA

countries

from

candidate

countries

and

potential

candidates

from

other

third

countries

other assigned

revenue

[XX.YY.YY.YY]

Diff./Non

-diff. YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO

17 Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations. 18 EFTA: European Free Trade Association. 19 Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans. 20 Budget lines for the new MFF are not yet known.

EN 12 EN

[XX.YY.YY.YY]

Diff./Non

-diff. YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO

[XX.YY.YY.YY]

Diff./Non

-diff. YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO

EN 13 EN

3.2. Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations

3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations

–  The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations

–  The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below

– The amounts indicated are strictly indicative, pending the final outcome of the MFF negotiations 2028-2034.

– This initiative will be financed by redeployment within the operational programmes of the next MFF, and partially by administrative

expenditure. At this stage, it is not possible to indicate accurately the contribution from each MFF heading and programme, while it is

expected that a significant contribution will come from programmes under heading 2 of the 2028-2034 MFF (e.g. the European

Competitiveness Fund).

–

3.2.1.1. Appropriations from voted budget

EUR million (to three decimal places)

First Year

Second

Year

Following

Years

(yearly

amount)

TOTAL

appropriations under

HEADINGS 1 to 4

Commitments 45,442 16,867 8,929

of the multiannual

financial framework Payments 45,442 16,867 8,929

The figures as shown in the table above arestrictly indicative pending the outcome of the MFF negotiations.

EN 14 EN

First Year Second Year

Following Years

(yearly amount)

TOTAL

appropriations

under HEADINGS

1 to 4

Commitments 45.442 16.867 8.929

of the multiannual

financial framework Payments 45.442 16.867 8.929

The figures as shown in the table above are strictly indicative pending the outcome of the MFF negotiations.

3.2.2. Estimated output funded from operational appropriations (not to be completed for decentralised agencies)

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places)

Indicate

objectives and

outputs

Year 2028

Year 2029

Year 2030

Year 2031

Enter as many years as necessary to show the

duration of the impact (see Section1.6) TOTAL

OUTPUTS

EN 15 EN

 Type21

Avera

ge

cost

N o

Cost N o

Cost N o

Cost N o

Cost N o

Cost N o

Cost N o

Cost Total

No

Total

cost

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 122…

- Output

- Output

- Output

Subtotal for specific objective No 1

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 2 ...

- Output

Subtotal for specific objective No 2

TOTALS

21 Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g. number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 22 As described in Section 1.3.2. ‘Specific objective(s)’

EN 16 EN

3.2.3. Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations

–  The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an

administrative nature

–  The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative

nature, as explained below

3.2.3.1. Appropriations from voted budget

EUR million (to three decimal places)

VOTED

APPROPRIATIONS

First Year Second Year Following Years

(yearly amount)

Human resources 2.629 2.629 2.629

Other administrative

expenditure pm pm pm

TOTAL 2.629 2.629 2.629

The figures in the table above are all strictly indicative pending the outcome of the MFF negotiations.

The appropriations required for human resources and other expenditure of an administrative nature

will be met by appropriations from the DG that are already assigned to management of the action

and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together, if necessary, with any additional allocation

which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual allocation procedure and in the light of

budgetary constraints.

3.2.4. Estimated requirements of human resources

–  The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources

– The proposal/initiative requires the use of human resources, as explained below

EN 17 EN

3.2.4.1. Financed from voted budget

Estimate to be expressed in full-time equivalent units (FTEs)

VOTED APPROPRIATIONS First Year Second Year Following Years

Ÿ Establishment plan posts

(officials and

temporary staff)

20 01 02 01 (Headquarters and

Commission’s

Representation Offices)

7 7 7

20 01 02 03 (EU Delegations) 0 0 0

(Indirect research) 0 0 0

(Direct research) 0 0 0

Other budget lines (specify) 0 0 0

• External staff (inFTEs)

20 02 01 (AC, END from the

‘global envelope’) 13 13 13

20 02 03 (AC, AL, END and JPD

in the EU Delegations) 0 0 0

Admin.

Sup

port

line

- at

Headquarters 0 0 0

[XX.01.YY.YY] - in EU

Delegations 0 0 0

(AC, END - Indirect research) 0 0 0

(AC, END - Direct research) 0 0 0

Other budget lines (specify) -

Heading 4 0 0 0

Other budget lines (specify) -

Outside Heading 4 0 0 0

TOTAL 20 20 20

Considering the overall strained situation in Heading 4, in terms of both staffing and the level of

appropriations, the human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already

assigned to the management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG or other

Commission services.

The staff required to implement the proposal (in FTEs):

EN 18 EN

To be covered by

current staff

available in the

Commission

services

Exceptional additional staff*

To be financed

under Heading 4

or Research

To be financed

from BA line

To be financed

from fees

Establishment

plan posts

7 N/A

External staff

(CA, SNEs, INT)

13

Description of tasks to be carried out by:

Officials and temporary staff The tasks to be carried out by the officials and temporary staff pertain the legal

workstream, the technical workstream, the coordination and international outreach and

the supervisory role.

External staff The tasks to be carried out by the external staff pertain the legal workstream, the

technical workstream, the coordination and international outreach and the supervisory

role.

3.2.5. Overview of estimated impact on digital technology-related investments

Compulsory: the best estimate of the digital technology-related investments entailed

by the proposal/initiative should be included in the table below.

This expenditure refers to the operational budget to be used to re-use/ buy/ develop

IT platforms/ tools directly linked to the implementation of the initiative and their

associated investments (e.g. licences, studies, data storage etc). The information

provided in this table should be consistent with details presented under Section 4

“Digital dimensions”.

TOTAL

Digital and IT

appropriations

First

Year

Second

Year

Following

Years

IT expenditure 42,813 14,238 6,300

3.2.6. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework

The proposal/initiative:

–  can be fully financed through redeployment within the relevant heading of the

proposed multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2028-2034

–  requires use of the unallocated margin under the relevant heading of the MFF

and/or use of the special instruments as defined in the MFF Regulation

EN 19 EN

–  requires a revision of the MFF

3.2.7. Third-party contributions

The proposal/initiative:

–  does not provide for co-financing by third parties

–  provides for the co-financing by third parties estimated below:

Appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places)

Year 2024

Year 2025

Year 2026

Year 2027

Total

Specify the co-financing body

TOTAL appropriations co-

financed

3.3. Estimated impact on revenue

–  The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue.

–  The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact:

–  on own resources

–  on other revenue

–  please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines

EUR million (to three decimal places)

Budget revenue line:

Appropriations

available for the

current financial

year

Impact of the proposal/initiative23

Year 2024 Year 2025 Year 2026 Year 2027

Article ………….

For assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected.

Other remarks (e.g. method/formula used for calculating the impact on revenue or

any other information).

23 As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net

amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 20% for collection costs.

EN 1 EN

9. 4. DIGITAL DIMENSIONS

4.1. Requirements of digital relevance

If the policy initiative is assessed as having no requirement of digital relevance:

Justification of why digital means cannot be used to enhance policy implementation and why the ‘digital by default’ principle is not

applicable

N/A

Otherwise:

High-level description of the requirements of digital relevance and related categories (data, process digitalisation & automation, digital

solutions and/or digital public services)

Reference to the

requirement Requirement description

Actors affected or concerned

by the requirement High-level Processes Categories

Article 4 Principle of equivalence

European Business Wallet

owners

Self-employed persons

Sole traders

Union entities

Use of the EBW and

the qualified

electronic registered

delivery service as

digital solutions

Process

digitalisation

Digital solutions

Digital public

service

Article

5(1),(2),(3),(4)

European Business Wallet (EBW)

functionalities

Providers of European Business

Wallets

European Business Wallet

owners

Authorised representatives of

European Business Wallet

owners

Business Wallet-relying parties

IT development (core

functionalities)

Digital solutions

Digital public

service

Process

digitalisation

EN 2 EN

Article 6(1),(2),(4) Technical features for European

Business Wallets

Providers of European Business

Wallets

European Business Wallet

owners

Business Wallet-relying parties

IT development

(technical features)

Data

Digital solutions

Digital public

service

Article 6(3) Making available information notified European Commission

General Public

Publish validation

mechanisms

Data

Process automation

Digital public

service

Article 6(5) Establish a set of reference standards

and specifications

European Commission Development of

implementing acts

Digital public

service

Article 7 Requirements and obligations for

providers of European Business Wallets

Providers of European Business

Wallets

European Business Wallet

owners

Authorised representatives of

European Business Wallet

owners

Competent supervisory bodies

The European Commission

Establishing

requirements and

obligations for

providers of

European Business

Wallets

Digital solutions

Data

Digital public

service

Process

digitalisation

Article 8 European Business Wallet owner

identification data

Providers of European Business

Wallet identification data

European Business Wallet

owners

EU entities

Management of

owner identification

data pertaining to

EBW owners

Data

Digital public

service

EN 3 EN

The European Commission

Article 9 Unique identifiers for EBW owners Providers of European Business

Wallet owner identification

data

Economic operators

Public sector bodies

The European Commission

Allocation of unique

identifiers for

European Business

Wallet owners

Data

Digital solutions

Digital public

services

Article 10 European Digital Directory The European Commission

Providers of European Business

Wallets

European Business Wallet

owners

Establishment,

operation, and

maintenance of the

European Digital

Directory

Digital solutions

Data

Digital public

service

Article 11 Notification of providers of European

Business Wallets

Providers of European Business

Wallets

Supervisory body in the

Member State of establishment

Notification

procedure for

providers of EBW

Data

Digital public

service

Article 12 Notification of providers of European

Business Wallets by the Member States

to the European Commission

Member States

The European Commission

Notification

Publication

Digital solutions

Digital public

service

Data

Article 13 Member State supervision Supervisory bodies in each

Member State

The European Commission

Supervision of EBW

providers

Notification of

Data

Digital public

service

EN 4 EN

Providers of European Business

Wallets

relevant national

registries

Article 14 European Digital Identity Cooperation

Group extension of support to EBW

European Digital Identity

Cooperation Group

The European Commission

Member States

Information exchange

and coordination

Digital public

service

Article 15 Governance and supervision of Union

entities that are providers of European

Business Wallets (reports)

Data

Article 16 Obligations on public sector bodies to

enable the use of the EBW and provide a

Qualified Electronic Registered Delivery

Service (QERDS)

Public sector bodies

European Business Wallet

owners

Providers of European Business

Wallets

Identification

Authentication

Signature and Seal

Submission of

documents

Notification

Digital solutions

Digital public

service

Process

digitalisation

Article 17 List of Business Wallets and other

similar instruments offered in third

countries

The European Commission

Non-EU countries

Publication of

equivalent systems

from third countries

Data

Digital solutions

Digital public

service

Article 18 Issuing of European Business Wallets to

economic operators established outside

the Union

Providers of European Business

Wallets

Economic operators established

in a third country

Qualified trust service

providers established in a

Issuance of European

business wallets

Identity proofing and

verification

Data

Digital solution

Digital public

service

EN 5 EN

Member State

Member States of the qualified

trust service providers

Article 20 Removal of legal persons from

Regulation (EU) 910/2014, due to

obsolescence with advent of EBW

Legal person

Member states

Legal person

identification,

authentication and

data sharing

Digital public

service

Digital solution

Data

EN 6 EN

4.2. Data

High-level description of the data in scope

Type of data Reference to the requirement(s) Standard and/or specification (if applicable)

//

EBW owner identification data Article 8(1) EBW owner identification data shall be issued in a

format according to one of the standards listed in

Annex II of Commission Implementing Regulation

(EU) 2024/2979 and as:

- QEAA when provided by qualified trust

service providers;

- EAA when issued by or on behalf of a public

sector body responsible for an authentic

source, when provided by a public sector

body;

- EAA when provided by the Commission.

EAA/QEAA (Electronic Attestations of Attributes /

Qualified Electronic Attestations of Attributes)

Article 8(1) Issuer requirements: For QEAA, the issuer must be a

Qualified Trust Service Provider, satisfying legal and

technical requirements.

Standards / formats: The attestations must follow the

schemas / formats prescribed (within ARF / toolbox)

for attribute attestations. The attributes themselves

must be accurate, derived from authentic sources.

Interoperability, trust / verification: Relying parties

might be able to verify them, there must be

revocation / suspension mechanics, and trust

infrastructure must ensure their validity.

Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2.0) - Annex V;

ETSI TS 119 471; ETSI EN 319 412 (series); ETSI

EN 7 EN

TS 119 182-1; ETSI TS 119 102-1; ETSI TS 119

102-2; ETSI EN 319 401; ETSI EN 319 411-1 / 411-

2; ETSI TS 119 461; ETSI TS 119 172-4; CEN/EN

319 521

EBW owner identification data elements Article 8(6) Must contain at least the following attributes: the

official name of the economic operator or public

sector body, as recorded in the relevant register or

official record, the relevant unique identifier

attributed in accordance with Article 9.

Unique identifiers for EBW owners (EUID) Article 9(1) EUID identifier must be used if an economic operator

falls within the scope of Directive (EU) 2017/1132 or

Directive (EU) 2015/849

Information for the purpose of maintaining the

EDD

Article 10(3)(6) Standards and technical specifications for the EDD to

be established in the implementing acts to be adopted

Notification of providers of EBW Article 11(2) Lists elements to be included in the notification

List of notified providers of EBW Article 12 Machine readable format

List of MS supervisory bodies Article 13(3) Data elements to be included: names and addresses

Information on national registries holding

information on economic operators and public

sector bodies

Article 13(5)(f) Not specified

List of Business Wallets and other similar

instruments offered in third countries

Article 17(4) Not specified

EBW owner’s data for portability purposes

Annex Open format

EN 8 EN

Alignment with the European Data Strategy

Explanation of how the requirement(s) are aligned with the European Data Strategy

The proposal aligns with the European Data Strategy by implementing data-driven approach to innovation and enhancing the digital economy.

It aims to reduce administrative burdens, streamline compliance processes, and improve service delivery through the provision of market-

driven solutions, further enhancing competitiveness. The European Business Wallets facilitate seamless information exchange across borders

in a transparent, trustworthy and secure way. The proposal promotes interoperability and compatibility with the existing systems.

Alignment with the once-only principle

Explanation of how the once-only principle has been considered and how the possibility to reuse existing data has been explored

The proposal promotes the once-only principle by requiring authorities to reuse data already held in another MS without need for the repeated

submissions by businesses. The European Business Wallets will complement the SDG and OOTS by providing trusted identification and

authentication of economic operators and public administrations and a secure exchange layer that enables businesses and public sector bodies

to share, and reuse verified data and official attestations seamlessly across borders. Additionally, while the OOTS focuses on the interactions

among Public Sector Bodies (G2G), the European Business Wallets is focusing the on the interactions between Public Sector Bodies and

economic operators (B2G) and between economic operators (B2B).

Explanation of how newly created data is findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable, and meets high-quality standards

Newly created European Business Wallets data adheres to the FAIR principles by employing standards and specifications enhancing

searchability and secure access. It is also designed to seamlessly integrate with a larger European Digital Identity Framework defined under

eIDAS.

Data flows

High-level description of the data flows

Type of data Reference(s) to

the

requirement(s)

Actors who

provide the data

Actors who

receive the data

Trigger for the

data exchange

Frequency (if

applicable)

EN 9 EN

Information on validation

mechanisms

Article 6(2)(g) Providers of EBW The Commission Without undue delay //

Information on validation

mechanisms

Article 6(3) The Commission General public Notification from

the provider of EBW

//

Notification about terms, conditions

rights and obligations related to the

EBW

Article 7(6)(b)(c) Providers of EBW EBW owners/

representatives of

EBW owners

Use of EBW //

Notification about substantive

changes to the EBW service

Article 7(6)(e) Providers of EBW National

supervisory body

or the Commission

// //

Notification about the suspension,

revocation or voluntary termination

of EBW service

Article 7(6)(f) Providers of EBW EBW owners // //

Information on EBW owners (and

subsequent changes)

Article 7(6)(g) Providers of EBW The Commission // //

EBW owner identification data Article 8(1) Providers of EBW

identification data

EBW owner Request of the EBW

owner

once

EAA/QEAA (Electronic Attestations

of Attributes / Qualified Electronic

Attestations of Attributes)

Article 8 (Q)EAA providers EBW owner Request of the EBW

owner

Upon request

Notification on the national registers

and associated registration numbers

Article 9(6) MS The Commission No later than 3

months after the

entry into force

//

EN 10 EN

Information for the purpose of

maintaining the EDD

Article 10(3)(6) Provider of EBW The Commission Upon issuance of the

EBW (for the

purpose of

maintaining the

EDD)

//

Notification on providers of EBW Article 11(1) Notifying entity MS Supervisory

body

// //

Notification on providers of EBW Article

11(4)(5)(6)

MS Supervisory

bodies

Notifying entity Notification sent by

notifying entity – 30

days

//

List of notified providers of EBW Article 12

(1)(2)(3)

MS The Commission 24 hours 4 hours of

the expiration of the

30-day period

referred to in Article

11

//

List of MS supervisory bodies Article 13(3) MS The Commission // //

List of MS supervisory bodies Article 13(3) The Commission General public // //

Information on national registries Article 13(5)(f) MS Supervisory

bodies

The Commission // //

Reporting obligations on the main

activities

Article 13(5)(k) MS Supervisory

bodies

The Commission // //

List of Business Wallets and other

similar instruments offered in third

countries

Article 17(4) The Commission General public // //

EN 11 EN

4.3. Digital solutions

High-level description of digital solutions

Digital

solution

Reference(s) to

the

requirement(s)

Main mandated functionalities Responsible

body

How is

accessibility

catered for?

How is reusability

considered?

Use of AI

technologies

(if

applicable)

European

Business

Wallet

Article 4

Article

5(1),(3),(5)

Article

6(1),(2),(4)

Article 7

Article 9

Article 16

Article

17(1),(3)

Article 18

Annex

Providers of European Business

Wallets shall ensure that the European

Business Wallets they provide enable

European Business Wallet owners, at

a minimum, to:

(10) securely issue, request,

obtain, select, combine, store,

delete, share and present

electronic attestations of

attributes;

(1) selectively disclose

European Business

Wallet owner

identification data and

attributes contained in

electronic attestations

of attributes, in the

context of the

functionalities listed

under point a;

(2) request and share

European Business

Wallet owner

identification data and

electronic attestations

Providers of

the

European

Business

Wallet

The

standards and

specification

that will be

defined in the

implementing

acts will refer

to

accessibility

requirements

as it was the

case for the

EUDIW.

However, it

is important

to consider

that the

solution

providers

will be the

private sector

and as such

their will

need to

comply with

the

Accessibility

Emphasis on open

standards,

interoperability,

and data portability

ensures that the

Wallets can be

reused or

integrated across

various platforms

and services

without vendor

lock-in.

Additionally, the

Business Wallet is

reusing the EU

Digital Identity

Framework and

compatibility with

the EUDIW is

prescribed.

N/A

EN 12 EN

of attributes in a

secured way between

European Business

Wallets and European

Digital Identity Wallets

and with European

Business Wallet-relying

parties;

(3) sign by means of

qualified electronic

signatures and seal by

means of qualified

electronic seals, as

applicable;

(4) bind data in electronic

form to a particular

time by means of

qualified electronic

time stamps;

(5) issue electronic

attestations of attributes

to European Business

Wallets and European

Digital Identity

Wallets;

(6) issue electronic

attestations of attributes

through the European

Business Wallet of the

owner, allowing the

issued attestation to be

linked to other relevant

Directive

2019/882.

EN 13 EN

attestations forming

part of a chain.

(7) enable the use of

qualified and non-

qualified attestations of

attributes to allow

European Business

Wallet owners and their

legal representatives to

authenticate

(8) transmit and receive

electronic documents

and data by means of a

qualified electronic

registered delivery

service able to support

confidentiality;

(9) authorise multiple users

to access and operate

the European Business

Wallet of the owner,

and for the Business

Wallet owner to

manage and revoke

such authorisations;

(10) authorise European

Business Wallet-relying

parties to request

electronic attestations

of attributes issued to

the owner of the

European Business

EN 14 EN

Wallet, and for the

Business Wallet owner

to manage and revoke

such authorisations;

(11) exercise the European

Business Wallet

owner’s right to data

portability and export

their data, including

issued European

Business Wallet owner

identification data,

electronic attestations

of attributes,

communication logs,

and interaction records,

in a structured,

commonly used and

machine-readable

format, at the request of

the owner or in the

event of termination of

service or revocation of

the notification of the

provider of the

European Business

Wallet;

(12) access a log of all

transactions;

(13) access a common

dashboard for

accessing, storing and

verifying

EN 15 EN

communications

exchanged through the

qualified electronic

registered delivery

service referred to in

point (i).

European

Digital

Directory

Article 10 The Commission shall establish,

operate and maintain a European

Digital Directory as a web application

comprising of two interfaces:

• a machine-readable interface

exposed through an API for

automated system-to-system

communication;

• an online portal for European

Business Wallets users, built on

and communicating with the API,

ensuring consistency between both

interfaces.

European

Commission

- N/A

Signature

creation

applications

Annex Signing or sealing data provided by

European Business Wallets users.

Signing or sealing data provided by

relying parties.

Creating signatures or seals in

accordance with at least the

mandatory format.

Creating signatures or seals in

accordance with the optional format.

Informing Wallets users about the

result of the signature or seal creation

European

Business

Wallets

providers

Providers of

trust

services

Business-

Wallet-

relying

parties

- -

EN 16 EN

process.

Qualified

electronic

registered

delivery

service

Annex In line with Article 5 of this

Regulation, Business Wallets shall

integrate and support the use of a

specific qualified electronic registered

delivery service in accordance with

Articles 43 and 44 of Regulation (EU)

No 910/2014.

Interoperability between Business

Wallets and the designated qualified

electronic registered delivery service

shall be mandatory. Providers of

Business Wallets shall ensure

technical integration in accordance

with the implementing acts.

European

Commission

- -

For each digital solution, explanation of how the digital solution complies with applicable digital policies and legislative enactments

European Business Wallet

Digital and/or sectorial policy

(when these are applicable)

Explanation on how it aligns

AI Act N/A

EU Cybersecurity framework Providers of the European Business Wallets shall ensure integrity, authenticity, and confidentiality of the

communication between the Business Wallet’s back-end, front-end and secure cryptographic applications

and device.

Providers of the European Business wallets shall also comply with the requirements of Directive (EU)

2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council on measures for a high common level of

cybersecurity across the Union.

EN 17 EN

eIDAS The European Business Wallet builds on the European Digital Identity Framework defined under eIDAS and

it expands it to all economic operators and public sector bodies.

Access to the European Business Wallets Unit shall be granted only after the European Business Wallets user

has been successfully authenticated as detailed under annex I (1) (2).

Interoperability between European Business Wallets and European Digital Identity Wallets: request and

share European Business Wallet owner identification data and electronic attestations of attributes in a secured

way between European Business Wallets and European Digital Identity Wallets.

Single Digital Gateway and

IMI

N/A

Others N/A

European Digital Directory

Digital and/or sectorial policy

(when these are applicable)

Explanation on how it aligns

AI Act N/A

EU Cybersecurity framework The Commission shall make the European Digital Directory only accessible to European Business Wallet

owners and providers of European Business Wallets.

The Commission shall implement the European Digital Directory in accordance with the relevant principles

of data protection including, where appropriate, with the features of pseudonymisation.

Alignment with Directive 2022/2555.

eIDAS

Single Digital Gateway and

IMI

EN 18 EN

Others

Signature creation application

Digital and/or sectorial policy

(when these are applicable)

Explanation on how it aligns

AI Act N/A

EU Cybersecurity framework -

eIDAS Use of electronic signatures and seals.

Single Digital Gateway and IMI -

Others -

4.4. Interoperability assessment

High-level description of the digital public service(s) affected by the requirements

Digital public

service or category

of digital public

services

Description Reference(s) to the

requirement(s)

Interoperable

Europe Solution(s)

(NOT

APPLICABLE)

Other interoperability solution(s)

EN 19 EN

Digital identity

verification and

authorisation,

European Business

Wallets (COFOG

01.6 - BT.1 -

General public

services)

Public service facilitates secure

cross-border transactions by

providing a framework for digital

identity and authentication for

economic operators and public

sector bodies.

Article 4;

Article 5(1), (3), (5);

Article 6(1),(2),(4);

Article 6(3);

Article 6(5);

Article 7;

Article 8;

Article 9;

Article 10;

Article 11;

Article 12;

Article 13;

Article 18(1),(3);

Article 19;

Article 21.

// Business Registers Interconnection

System (‘BRIS’) and the Beneficial

Ownership Registers Interconnection

System (‘BORIS’)

SDG

DPP Wallet

EDD

EN 20 EN

Digital public

services in Member

States that are

mandated to accept

evidence through

European Business

Wallets

National digital public services

impacted by the use of European

Business Wallets in administrative

procedures where public sector

bodies are required to accept

identification and authentication,

eSignature or eSeal, submission of

documents, the sending or

receiving of notifications.

Article 16(1) (2) //

Impact of the requirement(s) as per digital public service on cross-border interoperability

Digital public service #1: European Business Wallet

Assessment Measure(s) Potential remaining barriers (if applicable)

Alignment with existing digital and

sectorial policies

Please list the applicable digital and

sectorial policies identified

The European Business Wallets will build on and extend

the ecosystem of trust established under the European

Digital Identity Framework, established by Regulation

(EU) 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust

services for electronic transactions in the internal

market, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/118318

(including adopted implementing acts).

Providers of the European Business wallets must comply

with the requirements of Directive (EU) 2022/2555

(NIS2) of the European Parliament and of the Council on

measures for a high common level of cybersecurity

across the Union. Likewise, the European Digital

Directory shall be operated in alignment with the

principles enshrined under NIS2.

EN 21 EN

Cryptographic operators or other operations processing

critical assets shall be performed in accordance with the

requirements for the characteristics and design of

electronic identification means at assurance level

substantial as set out in Commission Implementing

Regulation (EU) 2015/1502.

The European Data Protection Supervisor were

consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation

(EU) 2018/1725.

The proposal anticipates that the European Business

Wallets should also enable the exchange of attestations

for the purpose of delegating digital power of attorney,

as established by Directive (EU) 2025/25, allowing

economic operators and public sector bodies to exchange

attestations with their Business Wallets to delegate

authority to representatives.

Organisational measures for a

smooth cross-border digital public

services delivery

Please list the governance measures

foreseen

In each Member State, the supervisory bodies designated

pursuant to Article 46a of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014

shall also be the supervisory bodies for the purposes of

this Regulation. The Regulation provides for the role and

tasks of such authorities.

Member States shall ensure that the supervisory bodies

referred to in paragraph 1 possess the necessary powers

and adequate resources for the exercise of their tasks in

an effective, efficient, and independent manner.

Where a Union entity is a provider of European Business

Wallets the Commission shall be the responsible

supervisory body.

Measures taken to ensure a shared EBW owner identification data shall be issued in a

EN 22 EN

understanding of the data

Please list such measures

format according to one of the standards listed in Annex

II of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU)

2024/2979 and as QEAA or EAA depending on the

issuing entity.

The annexes define the high-level requirements that will

be then instantiated in specifications and standards in the

upcoming implementing act to ensure a shared

understanding of the data.

Business Wallets shall support the secure export and

portability of an owner’s European Business Wallet data

in at least an open format.

Use of commonly agreed open

technical specifications and

standards

Please list such measures

Adopt implementing acts for the definition of reference

standards and specifications.

Digital public service #2: Digital public services in Member States that are mandated to receive evidence through European Business

Wallets

Assessment Measure(s) Potential remaining barriers (if applicable)

Alignment with existing digital and

sectorial policies

Please list the applicable digital and

sectorial policies identified

Alignment ensured for the European Business Wallets,

as detailed above.

Organisational measures for a

smooth cross-border digital public

services delivery

Article 15 mandates Member States to enable economic

operators to exchange information with public sector

bodies via the European Business Wallet.

EN 23 EN

Please list the governance measures

foreseen

Measures taken to ensure a shared

understanding of the data

Please list such measures

Use of commonly agreed open

technical specifications and

standards

Please list such measures

4.5. Measures to support digital implementation

High-level description of measures supporting digital implementation

Description of the measure Reference(s) to

the

requirement(s)

Commission role

(if applicable)

Actors to be

involved

(if applicable)

Expected timeline

(if applicable)

List of reference standards and, where

necessary, specifications and procedures for

the core functionalities of European Business

Wallets

Article 5(3)(5) Adopt implementing acts // //

List of reference standards and, where

necessary, specifications and procedures for

the technical features of the European Business

Wallets

Article 6 (5) Adopt implementing acts // //

Requirements for European Business wallet Article 8 (6) Adopt implementing acts // //

EN 24 EN

owner identification data issuance

Specifications and detailed requirements for

the unique identifier

Article 9 (4) Adopt implementing acts // //

Standards and technical specifications for the

European Digital Directory

Article 10(6) Adopt implementing acts // //

Acts establishing that Business Wallets or

systems offering similar functions that are

issued by providers established in third

countries are to be considered as equivalent to

European Business Wallets

Article 18(1) Adopt implementing acts // //

EN 1 EN

EN 1 EN

EN EN

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 19.11.2025

COM(2025) 838 final

ANNEX

ANNEX

to the

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council

on the establishment of European Business Wallets

{SWD(2025) 837 final}

EN 1 EN

ANNEX

Requirements for minimum functionalities and technical requirements of European

Business Wallets

1. EUROPEAN BUSINESS WALLETS UNIT AUTHENTICATION

Access to the European Business Wallets Unit shall be granted only after the

European Business Wallets user has been successfully authenticated by means of

either:

(1) a notified electronic identification (eID) means in accordance with Article 6 of

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, fulfilling at least the requirements for a

substantial level of assurance as defined in Article 8 of that Regulation and

further specified in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1502; or

(2) an alternative authentication mechanism recognised as equivalent and fulfilling

at least the requirements for a substantial level of assurance as defined in

Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and further specified in Commission

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1502.

Until such authentication has been completed, no functionality of the European

Business Wallets Unit or of any other functionalities shall be made accessible to the

Wallets user.

2. EUROPEAN BUSINESS WALLETS UNIT INTEGRITY

Providers of European Business Wallets shall, for each European Business Wallet

unit, generate and sign a European Business Wallet unit attestation in accordance

with the requirements laid down in point 5. The certificate used to sign or seal the

Business Wallet unit attestation shall be issued under a certificate listed in the trusted

list referred to in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2980.

3. EUROPEAN BUSINESS WALLETS SECURE COMMUNICATION AND CRITICAL ASSET

MANAGEMENT

(1) European Business Wallet back-end shall use at least one Wallet secure

cryptographic application and Wallets secure cryptographic device to manage

critical assets.

(2) Providers of the European Business Wallets shall ensure integrity, authenticity

and confidentiality of the communication between the Business Wallet’s back-

end, front-end and secure cryptographic applications and device.

(3) Where critical assets relate to performing electronic identification at assurance

level substantial, the European Business Wallets cryptographic operations or

other operations processing critical assets shall be performed in accordance

with the requirements for the characteristics and design of electronic

identification means at assurance level substantial, as set out in

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1502.

4. WALLETS SECURE CRYPTOGRAPHIC APPLICATIONS

(1) Providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure that European Business

Wallets secure cryptographic applications and devices:

EN 2 EN

(a) perform the wallet’s cryptographic operations involving critical assets

other than those needed for the Wallets unit to authenticate the Wallets

owner only in cases where those applications have successfully

authenticated Wallets users;

(b) where they authenticate the European Business Wallet owner in the

context of performing electronic identification at assurance level

substantial as set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1502;

(c) are able to securely generate new cryptographic keys;

(d) are able to perform secure erasure of critical assets;

(e) are able to generate a proof of possession of private keys;

(f) protect the private keys generated by these Wallets secure cryptographic

applications and devices during the existence of the keys;

(g) comply with the requirements for the characteristics and design of

electronic identification means at assurance level substantial, as set out in

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1502.

5. WALLETS UNIT AUTHENTICITY AND VALIDITY

(1) Providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure that the European

Business Wallets unit attestations referred to in point 1 contain public keys and

that the corresponding private keys are protected by a Wallets secure

cryptographic device.

(2) Providers of European Business Wallets shall provide mechanisms,

independent of Wallets units, for the secure identification and authentication of

Wallets users.

6. REVOCATION OF WALLETS UNIT ATTESTATIONS

(1) Providers of European Business Wallets shall establish a publicly available

policy specifying the conditions and the timeframe for the revocation of

Wallets unit attestations.

(2) In line with Article 6, where the providers of European Business Wallets

revoke European Business Wallets unit attestations, they shall inform the

affected European Business Wallets users without undue delay and no later

than 24 hours from the revocation of their European Business Wallets units,

including the reason for the revocation and the consequences for the European

Business Wallets user. This information shall be provided in a manner that is

concise, easily accessible and using clear and plain language.

(3) Where European Business Wallets providers have revoked a European

Business Wallet’s unit attestation, they shall make publicly available the

validity status of the European Business Wallet unit attestation and describe the

location of that information in the Business Wallet’s unit attestation.

7. TRANSACTION LOGS

(1) The providers of European Business Wallets shall provide an appropriate

logging policy that shall include, at a minimum, electronic signing, electronic

EN 3 EN

sealing, and notifications of all transactions with Business-Wallet-relying

parties, other European Business Wallets units, and European Digital Identity

Wallets units, irrespective of whether the transaction is successfully completed.

(2) The logged information shall at least contain:

(a) the time and date of the transaction;

(b) the name, contact details, and unique identifier of the corresponding

Business-Wallet-relying party and the Member State in which that

Business-Wallet-relying party is established, or in case of other Wallets

units, relevant information from the Wallets unit attestation;

(c) the type or types of data requested and presented in the transaction;

(d) in the case of non-completed transactions, the reason for such non-

completion.

(3) Providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure integrity, authenticity and

confidentiality of the logged information.

(4) European Business Wallets back-end shall log reports sent by the Wallets user

to the competent authorities via the Wallets unit, including interactions related

to notifications, regulatory compliance, data sharing, or audit requests.

(5) The logs referred to in subpoints 1 and 2 shall be accessible to the European

Business Wallets provider, where it is necessary for the provision of Wallets

services.

(6) The logs referred to in subpoints 1 and 2 shall remain accessible for as long as

required to be accessible by Union law or national law.

8. QUALIFIED ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES AND SEALS

(1) In line with Article 6, providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure that

Wallets users are able to receive qualified certificates for qualified electronic

signatures or seals which are linked to qualified signature or seal creation

devices that are either local, external, or remote in relation to the Wallet’s unit.

(2) Providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure that European Business

Wallets solutions can securely interface with one of the following types of

qualified signature or seal creation devices: local, external, or remotely

managed qualified signature or seal creation devices for the purposes of using

the qualified certificates referred to in subpoint 1.

9. SIGNATURE CREATION APPLICATIONS

(1) The signature creation applications used by European Business Wallets units

may be provided either by European Business Wallets providers, by providers

of trust services or by Business-Wallet-relying parties.

(2) Signature creation applications shall have the following functions:

(a) signing or sealing data provided by European Business Wallets users;

(b) signing or sealing data provided by relying parties;

(c) creating signatures or seals in accordance with at least the mandatory

format;

EN 4 EN

– creating signatures or seals in accordance with the optional format;

– informing Wallets users about the result of the signature or seal

creation process.

To ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, the

Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts in accordance with

Article 6 that specify the technical standards referred to in subpoint 2, letters

(c) and (c)(ii).

(3) The signature creation applications may either be integrated into or be external

to European Business Wallets back-end. Where signature creation applications

rely on remote qualified signature creation devices and where they are

integrated into European Business Wallets back-end, they shall support the

application programming interface set out in the implementing acts, which the

Commission is empowered to adopt in accordance with Article 5 in order to

ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation.

10. DATA EXPORT AND PORTABILITY

Business Wallets shall support the secure export and portability of an owner’s

European Business Wallet data in at least an open format. This shall enable the

owner to migrate their data to another Business Wallets solution while ensuring a

level of assurance of at least "substantial", as defined in Implementing Regulation

(EU) 2015/1502.

11. SECURE LEGAL COMMUNICATION CHANNEL FOR THE BUSINESS WALLET

(1) In line with Article 5 of this Regulation, Business Wallets shall integrate and

support the use of a specific qualified electronic registered delivery service in

accordance with Articles 43 and 44 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.

(2) The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts:

(a) designate one qualified electronic registered delivery service that shall

serve as the mandatory secure legal communication channel for European

Business Wallets;

(b) define the minimum technical and interoperability requirements that such

qualified electronic registered delivery service must fulfil, including

alignment with the reference standards, specifications and procedures

established under Articles 43 and 44 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014;

(c) ensure that the chosen qualified electronic registered delivery service is

based on open, publicly available and royalty-free standards to guarantee

interoperability and prevent vendor lock-in;

(d) ensure that the chosen qualified electronic registered delivery service

provides end-to-end encryption to guarantee confidentiality;

(e) establish procedures for ensuring continuous availability, redundancy and

fallback mechanisms in case of service failure.

(3) Interoperability between Business Wallets and the designated qualified

electronic registered delivery service shall be mandatory. Providers of Business

Wallets shall ensure technical integration in accordance with the implementing

acts referred to in subpoint 2.

EN 5 EN

12. EUROPEAN BUSINESS WALLETS ACCESS CONTROL MECHANISM

(1) Providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure that authorisation

decisions under the access control mechanism are based on one or more of the

following criteria, as appropriate to the specific access request:

(a) the electronic attestation of attributes of the acting subject;

(b) the formal role of the acting subjects within a recognised organisational

structure or economic operator;

(c) the scope, validity and constraints of any mandate, delegation, or power

of attorney;

(d) contextual information or policies and rules adopted at Union or national

level for sector-specific compliance.

(2) Providers of European Business Wallets shall ensure the access control

mechanism nables fine-grained and auditable authorisation outcomes, ensuring

that:

(a) visibility of credentials and attestations is selective and conditioned on

access rights;

(b) access to business processes, digital procedures or submission interfaces

is controlled by real-time validation of roles and mandates;

(c) all access and execution events are logged, timestamped, and bound to

cryptographically verifiable proofs of authorisation, suitable for audit and

legal proceedings.

(3) Providers of the European Business Wallets shall ensure that:

(a) mappings between roles and attributes are verifiable, auditable, revocable

and traceable to their legitimate issuers;

(b) conflicts of roles, over-delegation, or expired authorisations are

automatically detected and prevented in real time;

(c) all authorisation logic is interoperable across Member States.

(4) The list of reference standards, technical specifications and procedures to be

applied for the implementation of the access control mechanism shall be

defined in the implementing acts, which the Commission is empowered to

adopt in accordance with Article 5 in order to ensure uniform conditions for the

implementation of this Regulation. These shall cover in particular:

(a) the formats for the representation of roles and attributes;

(b) interoperability mechanisms for mandates and delegations across wallets;

(c) protocols, policy language and constraint enforcement;

(d) requirements for secure logging, timestamping and auditability of

authorisation events.

(5) Compliance with the requirements laid down in this Article shall be presumed

where the standards, specifications and procedures referred to in subpoint 1 are

met.

EN 6 EN

13. GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR PROTOCOLS AND INTERFACES

In line with Article 6 of this Regulation, providers of European Business Wallets

shall ensure that European Business Wallets units:

(1) authorise requests and, where applicable, authenticate those made through

relying-party access certificates or Wallet unit attestations. Authentication of

the relying party shall be required where attestations are intended for a

restricted audience; in all other cases, attestations may be presented by any

requesting party;

(2) display to Wallet users’ information contained in the Business-Wallet-relying

party access certificates or in the Wallets unit attestations where applicable;

(3) display to Wallets users, where applicable, the attributes that Wallets users are

requested to present;

(4) present Wallet unit attestations of the Wallet unit to Business-Wallet-relying

parties or Wallets units that request it.

14. ISSUANCE OF ELECTRONIC ATTESTATIONS OF ATTRIBUTES TO WALLETS UNITS

(1) In line with Article 5 of this Regulation, providers of European Business

Wallets shall ensure that Business Wallet units requesting issuance of,

electronic attestations of attributes are able to authenticate relying parties.

(2) In relation to the issuance of electronic attestations of attributes to a Wallet

unit, Wallet providers shall ensure that the following requirements are

complied with:

(a) where European Business Wallets owners, through their Business Wallet

unit, request from the provider of the European Business Wallet the

issuance of Business Wallets owner identification data or of electronic

attestations of attributes from providers of Business Wallets owner

identification data or providers of electronic attestations of attributes that

enable issuance of Business Wallets owner identification data or

electronic attestations in more than one format, the Wallets unit shall

request it in all formats referred to in Article 8 to this Regulation laying

down rules for the application of the Business Wallets Regulation as

regards the integrity and core functionalities of Business Wallets;

(b) where Business Wallet owners use their Business Wallets unit to interact

with competent national authorities and providers of electronic

attestations of attributes, Wallet units shall enable authentication and

validation of the Wallet unit components by presenting the Wallet unit

attestations to those competent national authorities and providers upon

their request;

(c) Wallet solutions shall support mechanisms that enable providers of

Business Wallets Owner Identification Data to verify issuance, delivery

and activation in compliance with assurance level substantial

requirements set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU)

2015/1502 (11);

(d) Wallet units shall verify the authenticity and validity of Business Wallets

owner identification data and electronic attestations of attributes.

EN 7 EN

15. PRESENTATION OF ATTRIBUTES TO EUROPEAN BUSINESS WALLET RELYING

PARTIES

In line with point (d) and (k) of paragraph 1 of Article 5, European Business Wallet

providers shall ensure that:

(1) European Business Wallet solutions support protocols and interfaces for the

presentation of attributes to Business-Wallet-relying parties in accordance with

the standards defined in the implementing acts;

(2) At the request of users, European Business Wallet units respond to successfully

authenticated and validated requests from Business-Wallet-relying parties in

accordance with the standards defined in the implementing acts;

(3) European Business Wallet units support proving the possession of private keys

corresponding to public keys used in cryptographic bindings.

16. ISSUANCE OF EUROPEAN BUSINESS WALLET OWNER IDENTIFICATION DATA TO

WALLETS UNITS

(1) Competent authorities shall ensure that Business Wallets owner identification

data issued to Business Wallets units comply with the technical specifications

set out in the implementing acts, in line with Article 8 of this Regulation.

(2) Competent national authorities shall ensure that Business Wallets owner

identification data that they issue is cryptographically bound to the Wallets unit

to which it is issued.

17. ISSUANCE OF ELECTRONIC ATTESTATIONS OF ATTRIBUTES TO WALLETS UNITS

(1) Electronic attestations of attributes issued to European Business Wallets units

shall comply with at least one of the standards in the list set out in the

implementing acts, in line with Article 5 of this Regulation.

(2) Providers of electronic attestations of attributes shall identify themselves to

European Business Wallets units using their wallet-relying party access

certificate.

(3) Providers of electronic attestations of attributes shall ensure that electronic

attestations of attributes issued to European Business Wallets units contain the

information necessary for authentication and validation of those electronic

attestations of attributes.