Outputs

DC4EU will help advance electronic identification systems and notification schemes.

Project Timeline

Timeline
Timeline

DC4EU large-scale pilots

The outcomes of DC4EU will build upon large-scale pilots focusing on strategic areas, namely education, and professional credentials, and social security. The project will maximise opportunities to leverage, test and scale up pre-existing technologies and protocols from relevant flagship EU projects. It will establish a base identity, which is builds heavily on eIDAS, EBSI and the vast trust & identity knowledge and experience in the education and social security sectors. At the same time, the Architecture Reference Framework and the wallet reference implementation work are in progress and will require careful monitoring of developments in these areas and the implications for large-scale pilots. From a policy perspective, the project will be aligned with the EU Digital Strategy, EU Data Strategy, Once only principle, eIDAS Trust framework and GDPR.

The Education Domain

The education domain

There is a solid basis in used data models (European Learning Model – ELM), the existing EBSI framework, OTSS, EU strategies, and ongoing initiatives such as EWP, eduGAIN, Europass and the European Universities initiative. As part of the work related to the education domain, we will design and implement activities for educational credentials and professional qualifications. This will include onboarding customisation and execution, interoperability of preliminary tasks and identification of opportunities and synergies with domain-related activities.

DC4EU will identify business requirements, business scenarios, credentials lifecycle and interoperability requirements alignment with the identification to eID-related friction points and cross-border dimensions.

We will focus on onboarding proceedings analysis and adaptation for education, alignment and coordination, implementation of the onboarding management process for (Q)EAA providers and relying parties in trusted registries, onboarding management for wallet users and onboarding support process execution.

We will complete comprehensive testing of defined cross-border journeys in a pre-production environment of the target systems while coordinating with other ongoing cross-border initiatives and synergies with other educational-related activities: related DGs (H4, F3, EAC, EMPL), EU, and Key education players.

In summary, DC4EU will be a catalyst for innovation in education identification requirements and will assist the evolution process from the traditional identification to a reliable digital identity. In addition, it will focus on the issuance of educational credentials and professional qualifications will enable students and academics to have full control of their personal data, with a high level of trust and cross-border recognition.

The Social Security Domain

The social security domain

In the social security domain, the business aspects include the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) with its data structures and formats and the Electronic Social Security Pass (ESSPASS). Regarding integrations and development, the initial work will build on the Identity Python Project and ESI, MyAcademicID, EDSSI, EDSSI L2 and EOSC. All project initiatives will closely monitor and evaluate the impact of the eIDAS review and opportunities for identification or data exchange that the EUDIW will provide together with the EUDI 2. From a policy perspective, the project will be aligned with the EU Digital Strategy, EU Data Strategy, Once only principle, eIDAS Trust framework and GDPR.

DC4EU will design and implement activities for entitlement documents (PDA1, EHIC) use cases, including implementation of a reference architecture for social security, onboarding customisation and execution for social security institutions, health care providers and public administrations, performing preliminary activities in terms of interoperability, execution of large-scale pilots as well as identification of opportunities and synergies with related activities. We will focus on producing a Business Blueprint for the social security domain, an Onboarding procedure and execution, a Deployment and Testing Scenarios Results Library and a Large-Scale Pilots (LSP) final report to prove the feasibility and gain experience in implementation.

In summary, the DC4EU pilot will apply the eIDAS trust framework, which has laid the foundation of identity and trust in the digital world. Citizens will have full control of their personal data with a high level of trust and cross-border recognition. The pilot will test interoperability and scalability in multiple cross-border contexts and will provide feedback, particularly on citizens’ requirements in the area of Social Security, with engagement on the issuance of the portable document A1 and the European Health Insurance Card. DC4EU will support the digital transformation and the green transition, which are fundamental elements for the future of Europe. Read more…

Frequently Asked Questions

The European data strategy aims to make the EU a leader in a data-driven society. Creating a single market for data will allow it to flow freely within the EU and across sectors for the benefit of businesses, researchers and public administrations. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-data-strategy_en

The Architecture Reference Framework v1.0.0 for interoperable EU Digital Identity Wallet Solutions was published by the European Commission in February, a year after the outline. Consortium-led large-scale pilots are getting underway to develop use cases of the digital wallets such as cross-border payments. The European Digital Identity Wallet Architecture and Reference Framework | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)

eIDAS stands for electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services. The eIDAS Regulation established the framework to ensure that electronic interactions between businesses are safer, faster and more efficient, no matter the European country they take place in.

https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/discover-eidas

As of May 2018, with the entry into application of the General Data Protection Regulation, there is one set of data protection rules for all companies operating in the EU, wherever they are based. https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection/eu-data-protection-rules_en

The Once-Only Principle will enable public entities to share citizen data with each other, so that people using any public services only have to enter their information once. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/wikis/display/CEFDIGITAL/Once+Only+Principle

OOTS enables the sharing of information between public administrations across borders between EU countries. It is cross-sectorial and can be expanded beyond the current scope of life events set out in the Single Digital Gateway Regulation. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/wikis/display/DIGITAL/Once+Only+Technical+System

The European Commission is divided into departments that develop policies for specific areas. Each department is headed by Commissioners. Overall, the Commission works under the leadership of a President. https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/organisational-structure/how-commission-organised_en

The ultimate goal is to create a robust and objective framework of security measures, which will ensure an adequate level of cybersecurity of 5G networks across the EU, through coordinated approaches among Member States.
Secure 5G networks: Questions and Answers on the EU toolbox

The Architecture Reference Framework v1.0.0 for interoperable EU Digital Identity Wallet Solutions was published by the European Commission in February, a year after the outline. Consortium-led large-scale pilots are getting underway to develop use cases of the digital wallets such as cross-border payments.
The European Digital Identity Wallet Architecture and Reference Framework | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)

A trust service provider is a person or legal entity providing and preserving digital certificates to create and validate electronic signatures and to authenticate their signatories as well as websites in general. Trust service providers are qualified certificate authorities required in the European Union and in Switzerland in the context of regulated electronic signing procedures.

A Qualified Trust Service Provider must comply with additional measures under the eIDAS regulation to provide qualified certificates, qualified electronic signatures, qualified electronic seals or qualified electronic signature creation devices.

Attributes are features, characteristics or qualities of a person, such as for example name or nationality. The EDIR includes a new trust service of electronic attestation of attributes, which means that in an electronic for it is attested that a person for example has a certain nationality.  For this, the EDIR mandates Member States to allow qualified trust service providers (service providers which would provide this trust service and fulfill all conditions to be considered ‘qualified’) to verify for certain attributes the authenticity directly against the relevant authentic source.

The European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) aims to leverage the power of blockchain for the public good. EBSI is an initiative of the European Commission and the European Blockchain Partnership. What is EBSI

The European Digital Identity will be available to EU citizens, residents, and businesses who want to identify themselves or provide confirmation of certain personal information. It can be used for both online and offline public and private services across the EU. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-digital-identity_en

The document is useful to prove that you pay social contributions in another EU country – if you are a posted worker or work in several countries at the same time. The form is issued by the social security institution you are registered with in your home country. https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/unemployment-and-benefits/social-security-forms/index_en.htm

EESSI is an IT system funded by Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) deploying cross-border digital services that allows the relevant institutions to exchange social security information. This includes pension rights, sickness benefits, family benefits, unemployment benefits, and many more, as required by the EU rules on social security coordination for citizens when moving within Europe (European Economic Area and Switzerland). The Electronic Exchange of Social Information: how digitalisation of social security accompanies EU citizens when moving and travelling within Europe (europa.eu)

The European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS) is exploring ways to facilitate the exercise of citizens’ social security rights across borders by simplifying the interactions with competent institutions and other actors. It focuses on digitalising the processes for the request and issuance of Portable Documents and the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), introducing real-time mechanisms for the cross-border verification of the social security entitlements of mobile citizens and workers. ESSPASS – EBSI – (europa.eu)

The European Health Insurance Card is the passport to free or reduced emergency necessary cost for medical treatment in public hospitals needed during temporary visits in European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland. https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=559

The initiative introduced and mainly funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme with the aim to strengthen the strategic partnerships of European universities and increase the international competitiveness of European higher education. https://education.ec.europa.eu/education-levels/higher-education/european-universities-initiative

eduGAIN is an interfederation service that connects identity federations in the field of research and education. End users benefit from eduGAIN by using a local institutional login to access services from other participating federations.

The EWP initiative paves the way to manage mobilities more efficiently by letting higher education institutions exchange information around their students’ mobility swiftly and securely. EWP does this through an online exchange network that connects HEIs participating in Erasmus exchanges. https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/european-student-card-initiative/ewp#:~:text=The%20Erasmus%20Without%20Paper%20%28EWP%29%20initiative%20paves%20the,network%20that%20connects%20HEIs%20participating%20in%20Erasmus%20exchanges

It is a data model that aims to establish a single semantic vocabulary for learning in Europe. By unifying technical vocabularies, it allows for seamless data interchange across borders for multiple scenarios. https://europa.eu/europass/en/news/upcoming-launch-european-learning-model-v3#:~:text=The%20ELM%20is%20a%20data%20model%20that%20aims,data%20interchange%20across%20borders%20for%20multiple%20scenarios%20including%3A

Europass is a free set of online tools to manage a person’s skills, and plan learning and career in Europe. The initiative set to increase transparency of qualification and mobility of citizens in Europe. It aims to make a person’s skills and qualifications clearly understood throughout Europe (including the European Union, European Economic Area and EU candidate countries). Home | Europass