mObywatel to the trash? Thank the European Union

The Ministry of Digitization admitted that the mObywatel application does not currently meet the requirements of the EU eIDAS 2.0 regulation. Therefore, it will be necessary to design and write it from scratch. You may even need to periodically keep two applications running at the same time.

eIDAS 2.0 is an EU regulation that will introduce, among others, the European Digital Identity Wallet in all European Union countries.

Every citizen should have the opportunity to use a digital version of the document throughout the community. It aims to provide secure, trusted and uninterrupted cross-border access to public and private services, as well as full control over your data.

In Poland, the role of the European Digital Identity Wallet was to be played by the mObywatel application. The problem is that – as we read on the website of the Government Legislation Center – it does not meet the requirements of the EU regulation.

Despite similar functionalities, the architectural and technical and organizational solutions in the mObywatel application, established on the basis of national regulations, are fundamentally different from the requirements for the European digital identity wallet, established directly in the provisions of the eIDAS regulation, as well as in the implementing acts issued on the basis of this regulation and the reference standards indicated in these regulations. The technical requirements resulting from these regulations and standards exclude the possibility of making the European digital identity wallet available within the mObywatel application, which is based on different technical assumptions.

The Ministry of Digitization explicitly admits that adapting the existing mObywatel application to the requirements of the eIDAS 2.0 regulation is impossible. Therefore, it will be necessary to develop a completely new solution, including a new mobile application.

To sum up, the mObywatel application and the European digital identity wallet provided in Poland will constitute completely independent solutions. Providing users of the mObywatel application with a comfortable transition to the European digital identity wallet will be a huge challenge, not only technically and organizationally, but also informationally.

Moreover, during the transition period it will be necessary to maintain two solutions simultaneously. The entire process is to be spread over time, during which users will be systematically transferred from the mObywatel application to the European Digital Identity Wallet. However, they will decide for themselves whether they want to use the EU solution, because it will not be obligatory.

The mObywatel application is currently used by 11 million people.