The European Committee of the Regions has adopted the opinion on European Business Wallets by ECR rapporteur and ECON coordinator Branislav Zacharides, supporting the creation of a more efficient and business-friendly digital environment across the European Union. This opinion calls for practical digital tools that reduce administrative burdens, simplify interactions with public authorities and help companies operate more easily throughout the Single Market.
As Mayor of the Slovak municipality of Vrútky, the rapporteur brought a strong local and regional perspective to the debate, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges that municipalities will face as the EU rolls out this new digital infrastructure. The wallets will enable companies to identify themselves, authenticate documents and exchange data securely with authorities at all levels of government, helping businesses operate more efficiently across borders. “The European Business Wallets are a highly promising tool to streamline operations for businesses, helping them save time and money,” said Zacharides. “It will be a key piece of digital infrastructure, future-proofing EU business operations and helping companies expand across borders in the Single Market.”
A central concern of the opinion is the impact of the new requirements on local and regional authorities. While supporting the overall objective of digitalisation, Zacharides warned that the introduction of Business Wallets would create new administrative obligations that could prove particularly challenging for smaller municipalities. “We must make sure that Business Wallets are implemented smoothly, adopted widely and bring genuine added value for businesses and local administrations,” he said. “While it is important that all public authorities provide the core functionalities of the Business Wallets, small local authorities should be supported and allowed more time for implementation.”
The opinion further highlights the importance of respecting the "once-only" principle, ensuring that data already submitted through the wallets can be reused and does not need to be provided repeatedly. It also calls for awareness-raising campaigns, practical guidance and a clear implementation roadmap to help businesses understand and benefit from the new system.