Topic updates

21 January 2026
Call DIGITAL-2025-BESTUSE-TECH-09 has closed on 15.01.2026.

16 proposals have been submitted in response to this call.

The breakdown per topic is:

DIGITAL-2025-BESTUSE-TECH-09-MDL: 6
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated approximately in February/March 2026.

Support the roll-out of EU Mobile Driving Licences

TOPIC ID: DIGITAL-2025-BESTUSE-TECH-09-MDL

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: Accelerating the Best Use of Technologies (DIGITAL-2025-BESTUSE-TECH-09)

Type of action: DIGITAL-SIMPLE DIGITAL Simple Grants

Type of MGA: DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG]

Status: Open for submission

Deadline model: single-stage

Opening Date: 09 October 2025

Deadline dates: 09 December 2025 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Expected Outcome:

Deliverables

The call for proposals targets issuers and verifiers of driving licences to support the roll-out of EU mobile driving licences in Member States. Grants will be provided to support the swift implementation.

Objective:

In spring 2024, the Regulation establishing the European Digital Identity Framework has been adopted, introducing a step change in the cross-border application of Digital Identity ushered in by the introduction of the EU Digital Identity Wallet in all Member States by the end of 2026. Over the period 2025-2027, the priority is to complete the transition from the current organizational and technical infrastructure to the new European Digital Identity Framework.

The Commission will facilitate the new EU Digital Identity Wallet architecture and its European Trust Infrastructure, as well as promote its adoption by eco-system participants in all the Member States as well as in new domains, with a focus on business applications. This will help implement the Digital Decade goal of providing 100% of European citizens with access to digital identification. The work will build on the existing technical specifications and reference implementation, and the results of the first round of Large Scale Pilots and aim to maintain the success of the eDelivery, eSignature and eID Building Blocks which have been taken up by Public Administrations (notably flagship applications of the Commission like the Import Control System, Business Registers Interconnection System, e-Justice, EU Sign, and the Once Only Technical System (OOTS)), helping provide 100% of key public services online (another Digital Decade goal) and the Private Sector (notably providers of electronic signatures) - both as Standards and through re-use of the reference implementations. In addition, the action should contribute to other relevant policy initiatives at EU level. Supported digital service infrastructures to facilitate European cross-border digital transactions include:

1. European Digital Identity and Trust Services Ecosystem Gateways: These trust infrastructures allow companies, citizens, and administrations to validate European qualified trust service providers as well as the participants of the EU Digital Identity Wallet Ecosystem and support the governance of the regulatory system.

1. eID Component: Ensuring legal, organizational, semantic, and technical interoperability for secure digital operations that require cross-border identity recognition.

1. EU Digital Identity Wallet: Services and infrastructure for storing and sharing identity data for natural or legal persons as well as other electronic attestation of attributes, with a focus on business applications, including the infrastructure for certification of wallets.

1. eDelivery: A standards-based solution for safe and cryptographically secured data exchange over the internet, which ensures secure data and documents exchange (C2C, B2C, B2B).

1. eSignature: standards-based approach for secure communication of intent in digital transactions, with the electronic signature library being reused by multiple European trust services.

These infrastructures will be defined, developed, adjusted, and maintained in collaboration with Member States. Their purpose is to enhance digital solutions across various policy domains, promote “interoperability by design,” and ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities and older persons.

The action aims to:

• Facilitate effective implementation of the European Digital Identity Regulation.
• Provision by Member States of a harmonized EU Digital Identity Wallet by the end of 2026, delivering on their legal obligation under the European Digital Identity Regulation and on the Digital Decade Target.
• Rapid adoption of the EU Digital Identity Wallet by citizens, public institutions and businesses.
• Showcase the EU Digital Identity Wallet as a global benchmark and provide funding for countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme to implement Wallets based on the EU Digital Identity Wallet technical specifications. This funding will support international acceptance of the EU Digital Identity Wallet, particularly in areas such as travel.

Scope:

The call focuses on supporting the roll-out of EU Mobile Driving Licences by issuers and verifiers of mobile driving licences.

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