Spain and Germany will create a common digital identity system
Both countries will start a pilot test for the official and virtual authentication system that will facilitate opening a bank account or making a hotel reservation
Spain and Germany announced an agreement to initiate the pilot test to analyze the viability of a “decentralized and cross-border digital identity ecosystem based on the principles of self-sufficient identity“, which will contribute to the creation of the European Digital Identity.
The Secretaries of State for Digitization of Germany, Dorothee Bär and of Spain, Carme Artigas, reported, in a digital meeting with journalists, that the idea is that other countries of the community join the agreement and both officials are taking steps to achieve this. target.
The agreement contemplates the formation of a joint work team that will be in charge of analyzing the technical, regulatory and operational challenges of the project, in addition to presenting the results and progress made regularly.
The specific cases that could be used in the pilot test have not yet been identified. But some examples would be the completion of procedures to make reservations in a hotel, the certification or confirmation of having a valid driver’s license when renting a car or to open a bank account.
Data security
Germany and Spain share the same vision on digital identity, so they have managed to sign the agreement: According to Bar: “Spain is leading the development of sovereign and decentralized identification systems”.
Artigas stressed that “the collaboration that we are initiating today with Germany towards a digital identity is an essential step on the European path towards data sovereignty. People must have the power of their data and their identity.”
The purpose of the European Community to create a Common European Identity will allow citizens to safely share their own identity data without losing control over it.
The European Union has been working on the creation of a “kind of Community digital wallet”. That is a virtual card which allows citizens to carry out online operations that currently require the introduction of a DNI or other official document. This wallet would facilitate management in the public and private sectors and should be operational by September 2022, according to estimates from Brussels.
M. Rodríguez
Source: elpais.com
