The European Committee is collecting input from local and regional public administrations on its opinion on the Commission's "European Business Wallet" proposal.

Background

The proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of European Business Wallets (EBW), published in November 2025, aims to set up a legally recognised digital identification system for businesses, allowing for user-friendly and secure data exchange across the EU.

You can find more detailed information on this page.

How is this relevant to local and regional authorities?

• The Regulation also affects public sector entities: All public administrations will be required to accept the Wallet when businesses choose them as a method of interaction. This includes identification, document submission and notifications.
• Cities and regions oversee key administrative interactions with SMEs that will be affected by the European Business Wallets, such as permits or licenses.
• Once the regulation is adopted, cities and regions will experience financial implications for the use of the Wallet, which may be particularly demanding for small local authorities.

Consultation

The Committee of the Regions' opinion will aim to advocate for stronger support to cities and regions in implementing the Wallet. To this effect, the CoR rapporteur, Branislav Zacharides, is seeking views from cities and regions on the following aspects: 

1. Will the proposal for a Regulation provide genuine simplification and added value for businesses, including SMEs? What are its primary or potential shortcomings?
    
2. How to ensure a uniform uptake of the initiative across the Member States, taking into account the different levels of development and the challenges of integration of existing national digital ID systems?
    
3. How to mitigate the risk of a widening digital divide at regional and local level and how to support smaller local authorities in adopting the EBW system – including ensuring sufficient level of cyber security, bridging gaps in reliable broadband access and promoting digital literacy?
    
4. Given that existing tools (such as the Single Digital Gateway, EUID framework) have been criticised for their relatively low usage, how can we ensure the EBW will be adopted more broadly while avoiding duplications and inconsistencies with the existing tools?
    
5. Given the voluntary nature of the EBW system, should specific regional funding or technical "onboarding" programmes be established to obtain the buy-in of local small businesses?

You can send your replies directly to econ@cor.europa.eu and to piotr.zajaczkowski@cor.europa.eu by 28 February 2026.