DC4EU celebrated its closing ceremony in Madrid, Spain, on July 9, marking the conclusion of an important chapter in the project’s journey. The day commenced with an opening address delivered by Joaquín Espinosa Ortiz, the coordinator from the FNMT-RCM, who set the tone for the event by highlighting the project’s significant achievements and future opportunities. Following the opening remarks, attendees were treated to speeches by Santiago Graña Domínguez, from the Spanish Agency for Digital Administration, as well as by Maya Madrid from the DG CNECT. These speeches emphasised the importance of  digital transformation in enhancing governmental efficiency, security, interoperability, improving public services across Europe and the use of EUDIW.

The project overview and conclusions were then presented by Arturo Collins Rivera, highlighting the key outputs and KPIs achieved. The program then featured the use cases and piloting demonstrations delivered by Gerd Bauer, Lluís Alfons Ariño Martin, Stefan Liström, and Nikos Voutsinas, focusing on both Education and Social Security. Participants witnessed firsthand the innovative applications designed to foster interconnected digital services. Additionally, an interoperability demonstration showcased the potential for diverse systems to work seamlessly together, paving the way for enhanced citizen engagement and service delivery.

In the afternoon, a thought-provoking roundtable discussion titled “Beyond DC4EU: Lessons Learned & Future Applications” took place. This session was chaired by Alex Grech, and the panel featured distinguished speakers, including Lluís Alfons Ariño Martin, Gerd Bauer, Nacho Alamillo Domingo, Klaas Wierenga, Stefan Liström and a guest speaker from the Potential project, Philippe Nieto, who shared their insights and experiences. They engaged in a rich dialogue about the lessons learned throughout the DC4EU project and explored potential applications for future initiatives, encouraging collaboration and innovation in the digital sector. The event was finalised with the closing remarks by Ángel Martín Bautista.

The DC4EU project has reached a major milestone in its mission to create a secure and interoperable system for recognising educational and professional qualifications across Europe. The project hosted its User Journey Deployment Workshop on March 18–19, 2025, at the NTT Offices in Barcelona. The workshop, held in a hybrid format, involved piloting agents from across the Member States to successfully deploy the full reference toolkit for supporting digital credentials under the eIDAS 2 Regulation.

The workshop focused on the practical deployment of the toolkit, which enables Member State institutions to issue and verify digital credentials such as Personal Identification Data (PID), EducationalID, and Certificates of Professional Competence (CPC). These credentials are aligned with the European Digital Identity Wallet framework and adhere to the technical and legal requirements established under eIDAS 2.

Participants engaged in hands-on sessions covering key technical components, including:

• Docker-based deployment – Complete installation and configuration of the issuer, verifier, and wallet interfaces using containerised environments.
• Trusted data store population – Loading and managing trusted data through API-driven tools and scripts to enable secure storage and retrieval of credentials.
• Credential flows – Testing credential issuance and verification processes based on the W3C Verifiable Credentials standard to ensure compatibility and security across Member States.

The successful deployment of these tools marks a significant step toward establishing a unified infrastructure for managing educational and professional qualifications across the EU.

A key outcome of the workshop was the confirmation of a shared approach to defining and managing key types of Electronic Attestations of Attributes (EAAs). This agreement ensures that credentials issued in one Member State can be easily recognised and verified in another, supporting the principles of mobility and interoperability.

The following credential types were identified and aligned with European standards:

• Personal Identification Data (PID) – Establishes the foundational identity for each credential holder.
• EducationalID and Formal Diplomas – Credentials aligned with the European Learning Model (ELM) to support recognition of academic qualifications.
• Certificates of Professional Competence (CPC) – Professional certifications for regulated professions to facilitate labour mobility.
• Quality Assurance Credentials – Issued by accredited QA agencies to verify the quality and validity of educational programs.
• MyAcademicID and AllianceID – Credentials designed to support mobility and institutional cooperation within the European Higher Education Area.

By using the W3C Verifiable Credentials standard and integrating with EBSI (European Blockchain Services Infrastructure) trust components, these credentials meet the highest standards of transparency, legal validity, and technical interoperability.

This successful deployment supports the broader goals of the Digital Europe Programme by strengthening the infrastructure for digital identity and credential verification. It also contributes to the implementation of key European Union policy frameworks, including the Single Digital Gateway and Once-Only Technical System principles.

Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia (NFZ), among others responsible for issuing the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) in Poland, has launched a comprehensive three-phase pilot within their organisation. Kinga Beda and Małgorzata Wrzosek shared NFZ experience with piloting the DC4EU wallet with the project partners during the WP6 Workshop in The Hague.

The initiative began with Phase 1 involving the liaison body, followed by Phase 2 at the NFZ central office throughout January. The next step will extend to 16 regional branches, scheduled for April/May.

This initiative was preceded by thorough preparatory activities, including brainstorming sessions in November, securing approvals in December 2024, and a participant recruitment campaign in December 2024. Participants received detailed explanations of the demo wallet and guidance on downloading credentials such as Personal Identification Data (PID) and the EHIC. The execution phase took place in January 2025, using only synthetic data for testing.

Following verification, a satisfaction survey was conducted to gather feedback on the app’s user experience and overall interaction with digital credentials. Additional data on device types and systems used was collected to enhance the demo wallet’s usability and performance.

DC4EU Wallet Credential Issuance Demo: DC4EU Credential Acquisition

User Journeys for Issuing a Credential

Issuing an EHIC using a Service Portal

The Setup: Regina is insured at an Austrian Social Insurance Company and wants to receive her EHIC digitally so she can easily use it whenever she is travelling abroad.

Using the National Service Portal: Regina logs in to the Austrian portal for social security services using her eID Login, which is required to access digital services in the social security domain. She can view her insurance status and request a physical EHIC online.

1. To receive the digital version of her EHIC, she only needs to click one button.
2. After the request, Regina is presented with a QR code, which she needs to scan within the EUDI Wallet on her mobile phone or alternatively a link, which she can use when she is already on her phone.

Downloading the Credential: Regina has already installed the Austrian EUDI Wallet and onboarded her Person Identification Data (PID), creating a valid EUDI Wallet.

1. To scan the QR code, she opens the wallet and logs in.
2. After scanning the QR code, she is directed to the EHIC issuer and needs to authenticate using her PID, which is linked to both her wallet and her device.
3. The wallet verifies if she is connecting to a trustworthy endpoint of a registered issuer/relying party (and if the issuer is entitled to issue this kind of credential).
4. The result is displayed in the wallet.
5. On the other side, the EHIC issuer checks if the wallet is trustworthy and not revoked.
6. After a positive outcome, Regina is identified with the necessary highest level of assurance using identity matching procedures, confirming that she is the rightful owner of the digital credential she is requesting.
7. Upon giving consent, the digital EHIC is stored in Regina’s wallet and is ready to be used in a verification situation if necessary.

Issuing a PD A1 using a Service Portal

The Setup: Benoit is a Belgian employee and is posted to work in Italy for a while. His employer has applied for the PD A1 at the competent Belgian social security institution. Benoit used a well-established national application process for the PD A1, but a new step within this process allows Benoit to indicate that he wants to receive his PD A1 digitally so he can easily show it in Italy whenever necessary.

As soon as the PD A1 is ready to be issued, Benoit receives a notification via the Belgian social security service portal that his PD A1 is ready to be downloaded.

Using the National Service Portal: Upon receiving the notification, Benoit logs in to the Belgian portal for social security services using his eID Login, which is required to access digital services in the social security domain. He can view his Portable Documents that are ready to be downloaded digitally.

1. He selects the PD A1 for Italy, which he wants to download, and is presented with a QR code, which he needs to scan within his EUDI Wallet on his mobile phone or,
2. alternatively, a link, which he can use when he is already on his phone.

Downloading the Credential: Benoit has already installed the Belgian EUDI Wallet and onboarded his PID, creating a valid EUDI Wallet.

1. To scan the QR code, he opens the wallet and logs in.
2. After scanning the QR code, he is directed to the PD A1 issuer and needs to authenticate using his PID, which is linked to both his wallet and his device.
3. The wallet verifies if he is connecting to a trustworthy endpoint of a registered issuer/relying party (and if the issuer is entitled to issue this kind of credential).
4. The result is displayed in the wallet.
5. On the other side, the PD A1 issuer checks if the wallet is trustworthy and not revoked.
6. After a positive outcome, Benoit is identified with the necessary highest level of assurance using identity matching procedures, confirming that he is the rightful owner of this digital credential he is requesting.
7. Upon giving consent, the digital PD A1 is stored in Benoit’s wallet and is ready to be used in a verification situation if necessary.

The University of Málaga recently served as the venue for a pivotal workshop under the Digital Credentials for Europe (DC4EU) project. Held on February 5-6, 2025, this two-day event brought together leading experts on harmonising digital governance for educational and professional qualifications across Europe.

The workshop centred on answering three fundamental questions: “Who,” “What,” and “Why” in the issuance and verification of digital credentials. The primary goal was to develop a common governance framework capable of ensuring trust and interoperability among diverse national systems while respecting their unique characteristics.

Key Outcomes

A major achievement of the workshop was the creation of a comprehensive accreditation and authorisation model. This framework establishes a structured approach to managing the electronic governance of educational and professional qualifications across borders. It focuses on critical areas such as:

• Entity Identification and Verification: Ensuring the authenticity of credential-issuing entities.
• Authorisation Chains and Processes: Clarifying roles and responsibilities in the credential lifecycle.
• Cross-Border Recognition: Facilitating mutual recognition of qualifications across countries.
• Evidence Requirements and Verification: Standardising proof and validation processes.
• Lifecycle Management: Overseeing digital credentials from issuance to revocation.

The framework is aligned with the revised Electronic Identification, Authentication, and Trust Services regulation (eIDAS2) and will be tested through large-scale pilots in education and professional qualification domains.

Expert Insights

“This framework represents a crucial step forward in digital credential governance,” said Victoriano Giralt, the workshop facilitator. “It allows different national systems to maintain their individual characteristics while ensuring trust and interoperability at the European level.”

The design of the model ensures that existing governance structures can be represented digitally without compromising their authority or legitimacy. By utilising a system of identifiers, authorisations, and verifiable credentials, the model is both implementation-agnostic and technically robust.

A Foundation for Future Initiatives

This groundbreaking model will play a cornerstone role in future European digital credential initiatives. It specifically supports the EU’s goal of facilitating cross-border recognition of qualifications and educational achievements, marking significant progress in the region’s digital transformation strategy.

The outcomes of the Málaga workshop are expected to greatly influence the evolution of digital credential systems across Europe. By providing a strong foundation for the implementation of eIDAS2 pilots, the initiative is poised to drive meaningful advancements in the governance of educational and professional qualifications.