Romania plans to build its national version of the EU Digital Identity Wallet on the open-source software developed by Germany, a move the government says will cut costs and avoid building a complex system from scratch. The decision, reported by Romania Insider, comes as every EU member state faces a deadline to offer citizens such a wallet by the end of 2026.
According to the report, the government chose Germany’s solution after evaluating EUDI Wallet implementations at various stages across other member states, citing its focus on innovation, user safety, and shared European values around confidentiality, security, and data sovereignty. Romania’s wallet, called RoEUDIW, would let citizens prove their identity and keep documents such as driving licenses, university diplomas, and health cards on their phones, usable across the bloc. Users would keep control of their data and share it selectively, for example disclosing a birthdate for age verification without revealing a personal identification number, and all personal data would be stored exclusively on national infrastructure.
The build is set to proceed in stages. This year, the government says it will focus on a first version of the RoEUDIW mobile app, issuing personal identification data and an age-verification feature, and finalizing the legal framework. In time, Romania plans to open the market to private wallet providers, provided they are certified under national rules. Several bodies are involved, with the Ministry of Internal Affairs acting as the official provider of the app and backend, the Ministry of Economy and Digitalization as the supervisory authority, and the Special Telecommunications Service issuing access certificates and running the registry of ecosystem participants. The government said an interinstitutional group, coordinated by the office of deputy prime minister Oana Gheorghiu, will work on the legal framework and the capacity to implement the project.
The plan adds Romania to the EU’s uneven march toward interoperable identity wallets, building on its earlier partnership with Mastercard Europe to develop a national EUDI wallet and leaning on Germany’s work as that country’s EUDI Wallet effort moves from prototypes to real-world use. As a secondary-source report of a government announcement, the specifics may firm up as Romania publishes official details.
Sources: Romania Insider
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
