While most European citizens barely know what the “European Digital Identity Wallet” (EUDI) actually is, Brussels has long been promoting the next step: the global expansion of the system, which will increasingly act as a digital master key to life, money, mobility and access.
With the international digital strategy presented on June 6, the EU publicly declares its goal: the global recognition and dissemination of a digital identity wallet. What sounds like administrative modernization is in reality a radical restructuring of the social fabric – with centralized access control, de facto data sovereignty of states, and tight integration with big tech and the financial sector.
The global expansion of the technocratic instrument of power
The wallet is not only intended to be mandatory for all EU member states – by the end of 2026 – but will also be deployed cross-border in countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans, and strategically in Brazil, India, Egypt and Uruguay. Even countries such as Japan, Australia and Singapore are targeting integration with European e-invoicing systems and digital authentication.
But what’s the point of all this?
According to the European Commission, its goal is to “promote interoperability, digital sovereignty and global competitiveness.” In other words, this means: Brussels wants to push its own technological standards – and thereby force countries, banks and companies into a common authentication ecosystem.
From bank data to civil rights: the wallet as the key to participation
Special focus: banks and payment services. Visa is already touting the EUDI wallet as a “silver platter” for KYC and AML processes. Identity verification will be outsourced – not from authorities, but from “trusted third parties” such as Google, Digidentity or Lissi. This means that digital identity and financial authentication will in future be verified using the same digital token – including solvency, transaction history and health certificates.
Anyone who lacks access to their wallet – whether due to technical errors, blocking, or politically motivated exclusion – is essentially excluded from the public and private sectors.
Whitewashing: decentralized and voluntary?
Officially, Brussels insists that the wallet is “voluntary” and “citizen-centric.” But these claims quickly lose credibility when you look at the reality:
- The eIDAS Regulation obliges all EU countries to implement
- Many services, payments, and border crossings will soon no longer be possible without a wallet.
- Access to social benefits, healthcare, or even education can be controlled, assessed, or blocked using a wallet – following the example of China
The idea that access to society, mobility or work will in the future be tied to a digital token represents an unprecedented shift of power – away from the citizen and towards a technical-bureaucratic complex fueled by governments, technology companies and the financial lobby.
Palantir says hello: The power of data over data protection
Even with talk of “data sovereignty,” it remains unclear how credible the promise that citizens’ data will not be centrally stored or misused is. The past (keywords: HHS Protect, Tiberius, COVID tracking) shows how quickly infrastructures are being developed that enable seamless behavioral profiles—including health status, movement patterns, consumer behavior, and political orientation.
A Reddit comment sums it up:
“It feels like China – if your identity is blocked, you lose access to everything.”
Summary: The digital social contract is being quietly rewritten
With the EUDI wallet, the EU is not just creating a digital identity. It is creating a system for centralized control of participation. Access to everyday rights and freedoms is digitized, conditioned, and revoked in an emergency. Whoever controls the wallet also controls the people.
Whether it’s the pretext of climate protection, pandemic preparedness, or financial security, the end result is the same: a person whose access to life, movement, information, and property can be digitally restricted.
Anyone who thinks this technocratic future is optional is wrong. Because in the end, it’s not a question of whether you want it, it’s whether your wallet works.
