Maresign
Maresign
Maresign

· Gökçen Özkan

What Is eIDAS 2.0? The EU Digital Identity Wallet, Key Dates and What It Means for Turkish Companies

Short answer. eIDAS 2.0 is the informal name for Regulation (EU) 2024/1183. It amends the 2014 eIDAS Regulation (No 910/2014) and entered into force on 20 May 2024. At its centre is the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet): a phone app for proving identity, sharing credentials selectively and creating qualified electronic signatures (QES). Use is voluntary and free for citizens.

Why a new rule? The 2014 regulation relied on countries "notifying" their own eID schemes to each other. The result stayed fragmented: many states never notified a scheme and the private sector barely used them. eIDAS 2.0 flips the model: one wallet standard for everyone, plus a duty on certain sectors to accept it.

Timeline (primary sources)

Date

What happens

Basis

11 April 2024

Regulation adopted

Regulation (EU) 2024/1183

30 April 2024

Published in the Official Journal

OJ L, 2024/1183

20 May 2024

Entry into force

EUR-Lex

4 December 2024

First wallet implementing regulations published (2024/2977, 2024/2979, 2024/2980, 2024/2982 and others)

OJ L, 4.12.2024

24 December 2024

Those implementing regulations enter into force (20th day after publication) — the clock for wallet deadlines starts

2024/2977 Art. 6

24 December 2026

Each Member State must provide at least one wallet (24 months)

2024/1183 Art. 5a

24 December 2027

Private relying parties required to use strong user authentication, and very large online platforms, must accept the wallet at the user's request (36 months)

2024/1183 Art. 5f

19 August 2027

ETSI TS 119 461 becomes the reference standard for identity verification before issuing qualified certificates

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1566

19 August 2027

Reference standards for managing remote qualified signature creation devices (remote QSCDs) apply

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1567

What will the wallet do?

  • Prove identity: Family name, given name, date of birth, place of birth and nationality are mandatory person identification data; address, portrait and a personal administrative number are optional (2024/2977, Annex).

  • Selective disclosure: You can prove you are over 18 without revealing your date of birth.

  • Carry credentials: Diplomas, driving licences, professional qualifications, powers of attorney as electronic attestations of attributes. Qualified ones (QEAA) carry near-paper-equivalent weight.

  • Sign: The wallet must be able to create a QES; for non-professional use this is free of charge.

  • Show who is asking: Every organisation requesting data must identify itself with a relying-party access certificate. Users see what they share and with whom.

  • Formats: Identity data is issued in two formats: ISO/IEC 18013-5 (the mobile driving licence standard) and W3C Verifiable Credentials 1.1.

Enrolment security: Before identity data is loaded into a wallet, the user must be verified at assurance level high (2024/2977 Art. 3(7)). The wallet is only as strong as the identity proofing behind it — the critical link in the deepfake era.

Who must accept the wallet?

  • Public sector: Public services accessed with electronic identification.

  • Private sector (from 24 December 2027): Those required by law or contract to use strong user authentication — the regulation lists transport, energy, banking and financial services, social security, health, drinking water, postal services, digital infrastructure, education and telecommunications.

  • Very large online platforms (within the meaning of the Digital Services Act): Must accept the wallet for login when the user voluntarily requests it.

  • Exemption: Micro and small enterprises are excluded from the acceptance obligation.

What changed in trust services?

eIDAS 2.0 is not only about the wallet. New trust services were added:

  • Qualified electronic attestation of attributes (QEAA) — e.g. a qualified digital diploma or authority certificate.

  • Electronic archiving (with a qualified level) — keeping signed documents verifiable for years.

  • Electronic ledgers — a legal presumption of order and integrity for qualified ledgers; relevant to distributed-ledger projects.

  • Management of remote qualified signature creation devices — "token-less QES", where the key sits in the trust service provider's secure hardware, is now explicitly a qualified service.

  • Qualified website authentication certificates (QWACs) — browsers must recognise them.

What did NOT change?

  • Legal effect of QES: A qualified electronic signature still has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature in the EU (eIDAS Art. 25(2)). The wallet does not replace QES; it puts QES on the phone.

  • Third-country recognition: A non-EU qualified trust service is treated as qualified in the EU only under an agreement (eIDAS Art. 14). Türkiye has none; Turkish QES providers are not on the EU Trusted List. Details: Is a Turkish e-signature valid in Europe?

  • Identity is not signature: Logging in with a wallet is not a declaration of intent. A contract still needs a signature.

Reality check: will the deadline hold?

The legal date is firm; implementation is not. The European Commission's own assessments in early 2026 noted that no wallet had been certified and that only a limited number of Member States were likely to meet the deadline. Front-runners: Italy (IT-Wallet), Denmark (AltID, June 2026), France (France Identité). Germany has scheduled its first public stage for early 2027. Expect "thin" wallets through 2027 — few credential types, narrow use. Outside the EU, Switzerland also postponed its e-ID on AI-related security grounds; its trust infrastructure is now expected in the first half of 2027.

What it means for companies trading with the EU from Türkiye

  1. EU counterparties will ask for identity from the wallet. From 2027, EU banks, insurers, logistics and transport firms will accept the wallet on the customer side. A Turkish company's EU-resident signatories will get the fast lane; signatories in Türkiye will not.

  2. Turkish QES is not automatically qualified in the EU. Where handwritten-signature equivalence is needed under EU law, a remote QES from an EU-listed provider may be needed for EU-facing documents and a Turkish NES for domestic ones — a two-channel set-up.

  3. The bar for identity proofing is rising. ETSI TS 119 461 (2027) and FINMA's addition of liveness detection to online identification in Switzerland from 1 November 2026 point the same way: auditors will look not only at the signature but at how you proved who received the signing key. In Türkiye, MASAK's remote identification rules already move in this direction.

  4. For shipping: eIDAS 2.0 does not govern the transfer of an electronic bill of lading. Transferable documents still need MLETR-aligned national law. The wallet eases proof of identity and authority at ports and customs; it does not solve transfer of title. See the Türkiye eBL Legal Status Tracker.

Common mistakes

  • "eIDAS 2.0 ends QES." No. Wallets must be able to create a QES; its legal effect is unchanged.

  • "The wallet is mandatory." No. It is voluntary for citizens, and non-users may not be disadvantaged.

  • "Every company must accept the wallet in 2027." No. Only those under strong-authentication obligations and very large platforms; micro and small enterprises are exempt.

  • "eIDAS 2.0 made Turkish e-signatures valid in the EU." No. Third-country recognition still requires an agreement.

FAQ

When did eIDAS 2.0 enter into force? 20 May 2024. Wallet deadlines run from the implementing regulations that entered into force on 24 December 2024.

What is the EU Digital Identity Wallet deadline? 24 December 2026 for Member States; 24 December 2027 for private-sector acceptance.

Can you sign with a qualified electronic signature from the wallet? Yes. Wallets must offer QES creation, free for non-professional use.

Can Turkish citizens get an EUDI Wallet? Member States issue wallets to their own citizens and residents. A Turkish citizen resident in the EU may have access under that state's rules; there is no channel for residents of Türkiye.

Does eIDAS 2.0 regulate electronic bills of lading? No. Transferable electronic records require MLETR-aligned national legislation.

Last updated: 14 October 2026. Updated as the timeline moves. Corrections: digital@maresign.com

Sources

Read the full reference analysis →

‹ Remote Identity Verification in Türkiye: Regulatory Timeline, AI and CASP Obligations

The UN Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents (Accra, 2026): What Changes for Türkiye ›