Mr. Barry Lowry:

The Commission understands the problem and it has committed to looking at various options for making sure that its security and usability are enhanced.

To take something like the digital Covid certificate, for example, what happens is that each nation owns its own data and it holds only sufficient data to meet GDPR. There is then an interoperability system that enables any digital Covid certificate to be read in France, Germany or another part of Europe. We could go that way, whereby nations would still control their own data and use standards for interoperability.

One of the strengths of the digital wallet is that it goes a bit further because it allows individuals to carry their own identity with them, and to use it themselves. In other words, a government would provide the credentials. For example, we would provide a digital driving licence credential but we would not actually know why that was used, or that the person had gone to France and hired a car, or whatever. That gives more privacy to the individual. When the term "digital sovereignty" or "private sovereignty" is used, that is what it means, namely, the person is in control of his or her own data. This architectural landscape will be designed following consultation with all parties to try to get a balance between maximum security, maximum usability and maximum privacy for the individual.