"The European Digital Identity must be a simple tool, built in a good visual manner, inclusive and accessible to all. It must be able to simplify life of citizens when paying in a car park or getting on a bus, as clear tangible uses. However, data protection must remain at the center of this initiative." Mark Weinmeister, Secretary of State for European Affairs for Land of Hesse made these remarks during a debate on the CoR Opinion on the European Digital Identity for which he is serving as Rapporteur.
The European Digital Identity will be available to any EU citizen, resident, or business in the EU who wants to use it as a way of identification or to confirm certain personal attributes for the purpose of access to public and private digital services across the EU. It can be used for various reasons from opening a bank account to renting a car or checking-in at a hotel. The User will be able choose which aspects of their identity, data and certificates they share with third parties, and keep track of such sharing.
The opinion sees the creation of a European Digital Identity Wallet as a great opportunity to firmly establish among citizens an EU identity that is tangible and of practical use, including in the single market. Weinmeister's opinion recommends that there must be no indirect pressure to use the European Digital Identity Wallet and use must remain on a voluntary basis. It proposes that access to the European Digital Identity Wallet be standardised so that granting use or access to it can become almost a matter of routine for users. Mr. Weinmeister developed in his remarks the need for a toolbox to bring together what systems are already in place. Emphasising the need for it to be fit for purpose, he also said that industry and wider economic actors need to be involved in shaping the design and implementation, while commenting on the timeframe, Weinmeister said that a timeframe of 24 months would be preferential and more realistic than the Commission's Regulation proposal which laid out 12 months.
Next steps: The opinion is planned to be adopted during the next CoR Plenary session (11-13 October 2021)
The Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility
Reacting to the presentation of the opinion on the Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Eddy van Hijum, EPP-CoR ECON Coordinator said that Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) play an important role in the delivery of reforms implemented through the National Recovery and Resilience Plans on the basis of the European Semester. In this regard he called for the partnership and subsidiarity principles to be given meaning and for LRAs to be fully engaged.
Updating the new Industrial Strategy for Europe: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe's recovery
Eddy van Hijum stressed the need to help SMEs in the transition to become more sustainable while keeping an eye on ensuring a level playing field. Furthermore, he emphasized the key role of research, education and training and the importance of place-based industrial strategies. While welcoming the opinion, van Hijum referred to amendments he submitted to ensure a level playing field, including in Europe. He called for the reciprocity principle to be applied in trade agreements and stressed the need to protect innovative SMEs especially when they are of vital and strategic important to regional economies
Tom Berendsen, MEP from the EPP Group in the European Parliament and rapporteur on the New Industrial Strategy for Europe posed the need for the green and digital transitions to become realities while retaining Europe's competitiveness. In this sense, he said that the energy transition poses a challenge but also an opportunity. He pointed out that in some regions, the transition was even more challenging due to the presence of energy intensive industries and thus called for further support for innovation to make clean energy available for industries. He went into the strategic importance and sometimes dependence on semi-condcutors and the issue of key enabling technologies. On the digital transition, Berendsen said that this was crucial for competition and that SMEs needed digital solutions for a speedy recovery. Berendsen laid out his concerns that the European Commission seems to have a disperse approach to industrial policy strategy with a multitude of initiatives. Referring to the call for a level playing field by van Hijum, the Dutch MEP said that a strong EU industry needs a level playing field to be sustainable and called for further protection from unfair competition. What is made in Europe should be protected by Europe.
External events,
On the proposal of Eddy van Hijum, Member of the Council of the Province of Overijssel the ECON Commission agreed to organise a meeting and conference in in the city of Zwolle, Overijssel, focusing on 'SMEs – a time to take stock on inspiring models for Europe's future on a sustainable, green and digital path'.