How a Romanian solution can be the key to implementing the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDIW) in Romania
How often have you been asked to demonstrate something obvious about yourself? That you are over 18 years old. That you are a student. That you have a driver's license. That your diploma is real. That you have the right to work in an EU country.
They all come with roads, photos for documents, signatures, certificates and lost time.
The European Union is preparing a solution that could eliminate almost all red tape from everyday life: European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDIW) — a kind of “digital bulletin + file with documents (and rail) + evidence” directly on your phone, in the form of an application.
The European Digital Identity Wallet promises to revolutionize the way European Union (EU) citizens and organizations manage their identity and interact in the digital environment. In this context, the development of the project RESOLVED – Interoperable system for the attestation of electronic attributes it becomes a necessity and an essential step for the implementation of a safe, interoperable and efficient system at European level.
The need for an attestation service for electronic attributes
According to the new European regulations, especially according to the eIDAS Regulation (updated by Regulation 1183/2024), it is not enough just to prove our identity in the digital environment, but also to be able to prove the specific attributes that define our status or profession. For example, an architect or a doctor must be able to demonstrate that they have the appropriate qualifications, in a fast and secure way, when accessing certain digital services.
Based on the latest European regulations and standards that ensure interoperability and security, certSIGN supports the transition to a more secure and accessible digital identity both at national and European level.
How will the electronic attestation of attributes service work?
Within the RESOLUTE project, a solution is being developed that will allow the issuance of electronic certificates that will be stored in a digital wallet, similar to a traditional wallet, but in a completely digital and secure format. Attested attributes – such as the certification of a profession or a certain status – will be able to be accessed and presented quickly and efficiently, anywhere in the EU, without the need for physical documents or bureaucratic processes.
Here's how that will translate into a young person's real life.
1. At the university: “Can you issue me a student ID?” – No, you don't need it anymore.
Imagine having to prove you're a student, be it for reduced transport, library registration, access to campus resources, event discounts or the Erasmus programme.
Instead of asking for certificates at the secretariat and sending them over and over by e-mail, the university issues you, with the help of RESOLUTE, a digital attestation. It appears directly in the EUDIW wallet, and you show it anywhere in seconds.
Simple. No paper documents. No “please come back tomorrow”.
2. Renting a car abroad: no physical license, no additional guarantees
You are in Portugal with friends and want to rent a car. Normally: you take out the physical license, the company scans it, checks if it's valid, stores your data.
With EUDIW:
- show digital attestation of the permit (issued using the RESOLUTE service
- the company checks it instantly, only having access to strictly necessary data
- the check takes a few seconds.
You have full control: they only see that the license is valid, not your address, not the CNP, not any other information.
3. When you start an internship in another country:
You started an internship in Denmark or Belgium. The company asks you for proof of education, proof of identity, in some cases, proof of health insurance.
Without the European digital identity wallet this involves numerous documents, translations, apostilles, emails, checks that take days.
With the digital wallet:
- the university, the Romanian authorities and institutions issue you digital certificates with the help of RESOLUTE recognized throughout the EU,
- you send them to the employer in seconds,
- they check them automatically.
And the service we are developing in the project does just that: guarantees that these certificates are authentic, safe and valid in any European country.
These are just a few examples of situations where your digital certificates issued by RESOLUTE and stored in the EUDIW wallet can be useful in real life.
Why the work behind the RESOLUTE project matters
All these examples work in a system where:
- a person's real data is stored as secure digital credentials,
- warrants that they are genuine,
- allows their verification anywhere in the EU,
- protect the user's personal data.
RESOLUTE – “Interoperable system for the attestation of electronic attributes”, project developed by certSIGN in partnership with the “Ferdinand I” Military Technical Academy, financed by UEFISCDI through Program 5.7 – Partnership for innovation, Subprogram 5.7.1 – Partnerships for competitiveness.
Project objectives consist of the design, implementation and testing of the following modules:
- QEAA Issuance Service (QEAAS) – the main component of the system that will generate an electronic attestation starting from an attribute/a series of attributes.
- Authentic source connector (ASC) – so that the QEAA issuing service can retrieve the attributes in an interoperable manner.
- Wallet connector for electronic identity (EUDIWC). The certificates will be issued at the request of the user, through the European wallet for electronic identity, and the communication between the wallet and the authority issuing the certificates is carried out through a standardized interface.
- Register with the status of electronic attestations (EAASR). As stipulated in Art. 45c, paragraph 3 of the eIDAS regulation, electronic attestations of attributes can be revoked, just as X.509 certificates can be revoked. Thus, in order to obtain a complete system, certSIGN also aims to implement this public registry, through which the revocation status of an electronic attestation can be verified.
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