The EUDI Wallet, short for European Digital Identity Wallet, will most often be an application on a phone. It will be able to hold official proofs, such as a person’s identity, age, diploma, or driving licence.
The user will choose what to show. To prove that they are over 18, they could share a “yes” answer without giving their date of birth.
Every member state must provide at least one wallet by 24 December 2026 (European Digital Identity Regulation).
In this article, I explain three updates from June 2026. They all concern digital wallets, but they describe different stages.
Understanding the role of ETSI
ETSI is one of the European organisations that writes common technical rules for telecommunications and digital services.
A French wallet needs to be understood by a Danish service, and the reverse must also work. Both systems therefore need to use the same formats and exchange rules.
Three different levels organise this work. European regulations first set the legal obligations. The Architecture and Reference Framework, or ARF, then describes the general operation, including roles, exchanged data, and the trust model (ARF documentation). ETSI specifications finally provide more precise technical details, such as formats, certificates, protocols, and lists of recognised actors.
A comparison helps connect these levels. The ARF describes who needs to exchange information and in which context. The ETSI specifications provide the shared grammar for that exchange. Two applications may be built differently, but their messages need to keep the same meaning.
On 11 June 2026, ETSI presented a first set of more than twenty-four specifications for the EUDI Wallet ecosystem. The documents had been published progressively since January (ETSI press release).
For a technical team, these documents answer practical questions. Which format should a digital proof use? How should a certificate be checked? How can a service know whether the organisation that produced the proof is recognised?
Publishing these specifications makes interoperability, the ability of two systems to exchange data correctly, easier. It does not guarantee that every system will work with every other system. Testing continues, including the Plugtests organised by ETSI from May to June 2026. Some texts are expected to become formal European standards by 2027 (ETSI EAA Plugtests).
Understanding the business wallet
The EUDI framework can serve a person or a company. The European Business Wallet is a separate proposal for companies, self-employed people, and some public-sector bodies.
This wallet could allow a company to prove its identity, store and share official documents, sign documents, or apply a digital seal. It could also allow a person to act on behalf of the company.
On 9 June 2026, the member states adopted the Council’s position on this proposal (Council press release).
This procedure resembles a review of the same document by two groups. The Commission provides a first version. The Council and Parliament each prepare their changes. They then need to combine those changes into a common text.
The 9 June decision only marks the end of the Council’s review. Parliament still needs to adopt its own position. The two institutions will then be able to negotiate a common text and formally adopt it.
On 26 July 2026, Parliament’s responsible committee had not yet settled its position (European Parliament procedure file).
Germany supports the Council compromise while asking for it to be strengthened. Spain wants existing national solutions to continue working (statements by both countries).
Under the Council position, an action performed with a core wallet function could have the same effect as its paper-based or in-person equivalent when the two functions are equivalent. This recognition would still depend on national procedures. An authority would also have sixty days to review a provider’s application. That time limit would not amount to automatic authorisation.
Understanding what AltID shows
On 3 June 2026, Denmark launched AltID. Citizens can download and use this national application. Its first version contains a proof of age and an identification card (launch announcement).
Organisations also have documentation, a test version, and a tool for trying the verification process (technical documentation).
Citizens therefore use the real application. Organisations, meanwhile, prepare their integration in a test environment.
AltID is a production service. Its launch does not prove that Denmark already has a complete and certified EUDI Wallet.
The Danish agency is rolling out AltID in stages to progressively meet eIDAS 2 requirements. Its current verifier register still belongs to the national AltID system (Danish implementation).
A draft published by ENISA in April stated that EUDI Wallet deployment and certification had not yet taken place in early 2026 (ENISA draft scheme).
Limitations
This article describes the situation on 26 July 2026. The ETSI specifications continue to evolve. The business wallet remains a legislative proposal. AltID remains a national service that is still evolving.
Certification also needs an explanation. It provides a formal check that a wallet follows the required rules. For a software team, the certification scheme plays the role of a mandatory test plan: it defines the checks to perform and the evidence to provide.
Article 5c of the eIDAS regulation requires certification of EUDI Wallets. It also requires certification of the electronic identification scheme under which they are provided.
Implementing Regulation 2024/2981 frames the transition. Each member state must establish a transitional national scheme in time for the first wallets. These schemes already follow European requirements and a common risk register (ARF chapter 7).
ENISA is also preparing a European scheme for cybersecurity. A public consultation took place in April 2026. Once the scheme is adopted, member states will use it instead of the cybersecurity part it covers in their national schemes. National rules may remain necessary to check that the wallet functions correctly (ENISA tracker).
Conclusion
The three updates correspond to three different stages. ETSI is publishing technical rules that teams can use. The Council has adopted a position on a text that is still being discussed. Denmark has made a national application available to citizens.
The ecosystem is therefore moving forward on several subjects at the same time. A published specification, a political position, or a national application is not enough, on its own, to show that a complete and certified EUDI Wallet already works across Europe.