EU Telecom Ministers Take Up European Business Wallets

The Council of the EU’s Telecommunications Council is considering a general approach on the proposed European Business Wallet regulation, moving the framework closer to formal negotiations with the European Parliament.

The discussion, part of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council session on June 8-9, follows the European Commission’s Digital Omnibus proposal, which introduced the business wallet concept as an extension of the EU’s broader digital identity infrastructure. A general approach, if adopted, would establish the Council’s negotiating position for trilogue discussions with Parliament and the Commission.

European Business Wallets are designed to let companies manage administrative tasks such as licensing, compliance filings, tax registrations, and the sharing of company certificates through a single digital interface. The framework builds on the eIDAS 2.0 regulation and the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet architecture already being developed for citizens.

The Digital Omnibus package, presented by the Commission in late 2025, aims to simplify rules on AI, cybersecurity, and data, with estimated savings of up to EUR 5 billion in administrative costs by 2029. The European Business Wallets could unlock an additional EUR 150 billion in savings for businesses each year by enabling secure sharing of company attestations in machine-readable form across EU member states.

The initiative runs parallel to the EUDI Wallet rollout for citizens, which EU member states are required to offer by 2026 under eIDAS 2.0. Multiple large-scale pilot consortia are currently testing wallet implementations across the EU, covering use cases from payment integration to cross-border credential verification.

The business wallet regulation would need to address interoperability with existing national business registries, authentication standards for corporate representatives, and integration with the trust services framework established under eIDAS. Several member states have raised questions about implementation timelines and the scope of attestations that would be required in the initial rollout.

The Council session follows preparatory work by the Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society, which has been reviewing the Commission’s proposal since its publication.

Sources: Council of the EU

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team