The digital future of Europe: the eIDAS 2 Regulation

The digital future of Europe: the eIDAS 2 Regulation

The proposal for a new eIDAS 2 Regulation or, as it is also known, EUid has been put forward as a response to the need for greater identification security guarantees in an increasingly technological world. Digital identification is an increasingly common element, and has been so throughout the 21st century, in many aspects of our lives, and business is no exception.

eIDAS 2 Regulation basis

The eIDAS 2 Regulation Proposal arises from the need of the European Union and its Member States to adapt its regulations on digital identification to the new circumstances and the environment in which the Union moves, very different from those that led to the approval of the eIDAS Regulation in 2014, thus trying the Union to solve the shortcomings that this new situation may produce in such Regulation.

It should be borne in mind that, as of today, the eIDAS Regulation, in addition to the definition of the different types of electronic signature, regulates, among others, time stamping and marking services, certified electronic mail services and identification and authentication mechanisms, their levels and their interoperability among the different Member States.

In addition to the above, the approval of the eIDAS 2 Regulation seeks to take a step forward in the electronic identification of users. For this reason, the creation of a European digital identification through the so-called European Digital Identity Wallets (EDIW) is presented, so that they can be processed and used in both the public and private sectors.

Among other things, the European Union intends to increase security levels from a twofold perspective:

• On the one hand, from the point of view of citizens, so that they can operate in their daily lives with total guarantee and certainty in the online environment.
• On the other hand, from the point of view of the companies that offer their services in the digital environment, since it is also very important for them to be able to operate with certainty with any citizen of any Member State.

As mentioned above, the main objective of the new regulation is to strengthen security, so an indispensable actor for this are the issuers of the different digital identification solutions. In this sense, these service providers will have to offer technological solutions.

Therefore, the objectives of the eIDAS 2 Regulation Proposal, focused on guaranteeing a European digital identity based on a high level of trust, can be summarized as follows:

• Ensure greater citizen confidence in electronic identification systems in the digital environment.
• Offer secure, cross-border digital identity solutions.
• Certify that both public and private services can use reliable and cross-border identification systems.
• To offer full control to citizens of their personal data, as well as to guarantee their security in the use of digital identification solutions.
• Strengthen the best conditions for the provision of qualified trust services throughout the European Union.

How eIDAS2 will influence in the digital future of Europe

All of the above will have a major impact on the digital future of Europe and the European Union.

The eIDAS 2 Regulation represents a great improvement in the protection of citizens and the operability of companies, not only at the national level but also, and almost more importantly, a great improvement in security and guarantees in the cross-border area within the Union, an aspect that is often highly complicated to manage due to the different national regulations, the operators of each Member State and, mainly, the trust placed in operators of third Member States by citizens.

At Letslaw we are digital lawyers and online reputation lawyers so we can help you solve all the doubts you may have regarding the electronic identification of the future.