With mObywatel across the European Union?

When going on vacation or a business trip to an EU country, in a year’s time, you will no longer need to carry your documents with you. All you need is the mObywatel app on your phone, which will start to operate internationally.  Experts from Łukasiewcz – Poznań Institute of Technology are part of the team working on the project.

In Poland, 10 million people use mObywatel app. However, few people are aware that it can only be used in this country. Your ID card from the app won’t be accepted at the airport in Italy, when renting a car in Greece, they’ll ask for your driver license as a document, and German police will ask for a paper vehicle registration certificate during a traffic stop.

Soon these problems will disappear. The European Commission assumes that by the end of 2026, every European will be able to carry a “wallet” (i.e., an app) with digital documents. These will be recognized by public and private entities.

European Digital Identity Wallet, as the Commission calls its project, will not be a new app to install. The idea is to adapt national apps (e.g., mObywatel) to work in all EU countries. Specialists from 19 countries worked on this as part of the POTENCIAL project. On the Polish side, Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Ministry of Digital Affairs, Central Information Technology Centre, and Łukasiewcz – Poznań Institute of Technology were involved.

“The idea was for national identity wallets to communicate with one another and correctly transfer user data. There is a lot of data, it comes from many sources in each country and must be updated on an ongoing basis. In addition, the entire process must be secure,” explains Dr. Szymon Mamrot from Łukasiewcz – PIT.

Citizen with the mObywatel app

European Digital Identity Wallet will perform four basic functions:

• store digital versions of our documents, such as ID card, driver’s license, various certificates, and permits;
• allow us to share them with various institutions (which will recognize them) – whether by showing them on our phone, e.g., at the airport, or online when we are doing something via the internet);
• will be used to authenticate identity on a website providing public services, both public and private (e.g., bank);
• will be an electronic signature.

“This will be a great convenience for everyone because it happens that we travel around the EU and suddenly need a document that we left in Poland – a prescription, a permit, a university diploma. Thanks to the European Digital Identity Wallet, we will have access to them all the time, and they will be recognized in the Union in digital form,” adds Szymon Mamrot. “With the app, we will be able to register a SIM card, do our banking, or buy medicine at the pharmacy.”

Every user will have full control over their data and determine independently what information and documents they will provide to online services.

The European Wallet will be equipped with advanced security mechanisms. All communication between it and other services will be adequately secured.

Entrepreneurs will also be able to use the Wallet. Specialists are working on European Wallet development for Business, as a part of WEBUILD project, in which Łukasiewicz – PIT is also participating.