India, EU Test Digital Identity Interoperability as Twin Transition Gains Shape

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Europe and India are testing interoperability between Aadhaar and the European Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet in what could become one of the first large-scale cross-border digital trust bridges between two major economic blocs.

Roberto Viola, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), said early results of the technical tests are “promising,” signaling momentum toward deeper digital integration between India and the European Union.

“With the strong political will and technical underpinning of both the sides, digital interoperability between India-EU will be the first big deliverable of mutual cooperation,” Viola said at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.

If successful, interoperability between Aadhaar and the EUDI wallet would move beyond symbolic cooperation and into operational infrastructure. Digital identity portability has direct implications for cross-border business verification, digital signatures, compliance validation and seamless movement of talent and enterprises.

The effort aligns with the broader India–EU free trade agreement signed in January and expected to roll out in early 2027, subject to approval by the Indian Cabinet, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Digital trust infrastructure could become one of the FTA’s most consequential enablers.

Viola said new administrative arrangements between India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the European Commission are already advancing cooperation on advanced electronic signatures and seals.

These arrangements aim to improve interoperability, enable seamless validation of e-signatures and provide legal certainty under the Indian IT Act 2000 and EU regulations.

For businesses operating across India and the EU, legally recognized digital trust documents would lower transaction costs and reduce delays in verification-heavy sectors such as finance, logistics, aviation and advanced manufacturing.

Viola also referenced the European Business Wallet (EBW), designed to address the fragmented way European enterprises identify themselves and share credentials across member states. The goal is eventual mutual recognition of digital trust documents between Indian and European companies.

At the citizen level, the European Citizen Wallet is expected to be available to every European by the end of this year. Viola noted that both citizen and business wallets will support worker mobility across Europe and, potentially, across India–EU corridors.

Viola said that the scale and execution of India’s own digital public infrastructure, including Aadhaar and DigiLocker, offer valuable lessons in large-scale digital implementation.

The Twin Transition Framework

The discussion formed part of a roundtable on “Opportunities for EU-India Cooperation for Twin Transition,” a framework that links digital transformation with sustainability goals.

Viola said India and the EU are aligned in viewing green and digital technologies as complementary forces. “India brings new technology talent, while Europe has long experience,” he said, describing the partnership as a strategic blend of demographic dynamism and institutional maturity.

For policymakers and executives alike, the twin transition is industrial strategy. AI, digital identity and trusted data systems are increasingly foundational to sustainable manufacturing, supply chain transparency and emissions tracking.

Panelists agreed that AI is central to achieving both digital transformation and sustainability targets. India’s digital ecosystem, they said, can collaborate with EU businesses to drive innovation, boost R&D investment and accelerate responsible AI adoption.

Jürgen Westermeier, President of the Federation of European Business in India and President and Managing Director for India and South Asia at Airbus, illustrated how AI is already shaping heavy industry.

“Technology is a responsible and ethical enabler designed to augment human capability,” he said, emphasizing that AI must support, not replace, human expertise.

Westermeier said Airbus deploys AI across predictive maintenance, logistics optimization and complex engineering workflows. “AI is allowing Airbus to move from abstract ambition to practical, high-impact results,” he said.

He pointed to the Skywise platform, which he said saves the global airline industry more than €200 million annually through predictive maintenance. Airbus also uses a smart engineering assistant that supports 14,000 engineers globally.

“We believe AI is a bridge, one that helps us become more efficient and optimize resources as we work toward our net zero goals,” Westermeier said.

His remarks underscored the economic logic of the twin transition: AI becomes not just a productivity lever, but a sustainability enabler embedded into operational design rather than retrofitted later.