Forget Berlin and Paris — Athens Is Leading Europe’s Digital Shift

Disclosure: Konstantinos Komaitis is acting as a special advisor to the Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations in Geneva on internet governance issues.

As Brussels accelerates work on Europe’s new digital identity wallet, a flagship of the European Union’s Digital Decade development plan, the success of the project may depend less on what happens inside the Berlaymont than in places like Athens.

Once associated with red tape and institutional sclerosis, Greece has undergone a quiet but radical transformation. Through its gov.gr platform, the Greek government has brought together more than 1,500 services — including tax filings, legal documents, healthcare access, and municipal procedures — into a single, mobile-accessible, user-centric ecosystem. This isn’t just digitization — it’s a redesign of the public sector for the 21st century. And it’s a transformation that could shape Europe’s digital future.

A digital identity for 450 million Europeans

Europe’s new wallet aims to provide all EU citizens and residents with a secure, standardized way to prove their identity online and access both public and private services across member states. Whether opening a bank account, signing a rental contract, submitting a university application, or accessing health services abroad, the wallet promises a unified interface that replaces today’s fragmented systems with a single, interoperable solution. The goals are clear: reduce reliance on commercial platforms like Google and Apple for identity authentication, protect sensitive user data, foster cross-border interoperability, and reinforce the EU’s vision of digital sovereignty in a world increasingly shaped by geopolitical tech competition.

Yet as with so many ambitious EU projects, technical brilliance alone won’t be enough. The wallet cannot succeed as a purely legal or engineering exercise — it must resonate with citizens as something usable, intuitive, and trustworthy. That means going beyond the drafting of technical specifications and regulatory texts. It demands mature, real-world digital public infrastructure; it demands design credibility, institutional foresight, and implementation experience. The wallet will not be judged by its architecture, but by its adoption. If citizens and businesses don’t see value or ease in using it, it will quietly fail — even if it fully complies with the European Digital Identity Regulation (eIDAS 2.0).

This is where Greece enters the picture, not as an outlier, but as a model. In recent years, it has built a cohesive, citizen-facing digital identity framework that aligns with the very objectives Brussels hopes to achieve. Greece’s experience offers a valuable test case in how to turn EU digital ideals into something that actually works — technically, politically, and socially.

Athens as an implementation leader

Unlike many larger member states burdened by legacy IT systems and institutional silos, Greece had room — and political will — for radical redesign. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and former Minister of Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the government made digital reform a national priority.

The Ministry of Digital Governance, established in its current form in 2019, spearheaded reforms grounded in open standards, modular APIs, and unified authentication layers. Rather than treating technology as a silo, Greece integrated it into the core of public administration, enabling digital-first services backed by clear accountability structures.

Digital documents — such as identification cards, driver’s licenses, and health certificates — are now available in Greece as legally recognized, cryptographically signed credentials issued by the state. These aren’t static PDFs sent via email or buried in clunky portals. They are dynamic digital equivalents of physical documents, seamlessly integrated into a secure, mobile-first identity infrastructure that reflects the realities of 21st-century life. Through the gov.gr Wallet, a government-issued smartphone app, citizens can access and present their credentials in real time — with full legal validity and embedded digital signatures that comply with EU standards under the eIDAS regulation.

The system is not just secure — it’s designed for convenience and trust. Each credential is generated via authenticated state registries and includes time-stamped, tamper-proof metadata. Verification can be done on the spot through QR code scans or remote APIs, enabling frictionless interactions with banks, pharmacies, public agencies, and even airport security. Crucially, the user remains in control: data is shared minimally, on demand, and with clear legal protections grounded in Greece’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the eIDAS.

However, even the most sophisticated infrastructure is meaningless if people don’t use it. A major risk for Europe’s digital identity wallet is that it becomes another overly complex EU initiative with low adoption, similar to the underused e-CODEX or stalled eHealth cross-border tools.

In contrast, Greece’s gov.gr has succeeded precisely because it prioritized everyday usefulness over bureaucratic box-ticking. It wasn’t built to fulfill compliance checklists — it was designed to solve real, tangible problems: eliminating queues, cutting down paperwork, and saving citizens precious time. The results speak for themselves. In 2023, gov.gr facilitated over 700 million digital interactions — a staggering leap from just 8.8 million in 2018. That’s not just growth; it’s a digital transformation.

Take, for example, the digitization of the ypéthini dilósi (solemn declaration), a previously paper-heavy process requiring a trip to a KEP (Citizens' Service Centre). Today, Greeks can submit one online in under two minutes. Or consider how a new parent can now register a child’s birth directly from the hospital using the platform — no separate trip to the municipal office, no forms to ferry between departments.

This shift didn’t happen by accident. It was the result of a deliberate government strategy to focus on user-centered design, cross-agency integration, and an agile development model. Instead of launching flashy apps destined to gather digital dust, the Greek state focused on embedding digital services into everyday life — renewing a driver's license, paying taxes, accessing prescriptions. Each interaction proved the platform’s value, reinforcing trust and habit among users.

This level of citizen engagement matters. The EU wallet’s long-term viability will hinge on whether Europeans want to use it. And Greece’s strategy — mobile-first, simple interfaces, clear privacy rules — provides a template for earning that trust.

Public infrastructure, not platform capture

Europe’s digital identity must remain a public good — not outsourced to unaccountable private platforms. This is especially critical as member states debate the role of qualified trust service providers and private sector integration. Greece’s approach offers a healthy model: public-sector leadership with private-sector delivery, under clear public governance.

Core registries, authentication services, and data flows remain under state control. This means rules are publicly set, legal accountability is clear, and users know who to trust — and who to hold responsible. In an age where commercial surveillance is the norm, this balance is essential.

Europe’s identity project is also geopolitical. The world is fragmenting into rival digital ecosystems: the US model, based on platform capitalism and data extraction; the Chinese model, rooted in state surveillance and centralized control; and emerging Global South alternatives exploring indigenous or hybrid architectures.

The EU claims another way — based on human rights, rule of law, and digital self-determination. But to lead by example, Europe must prove it can deliver functional, rights-based digital public goods at home. To this end, its wallet is a defining test. If successful, it could reduce fraud, simplify cross-border access, enhance control over personal data, and build confidence in national and EU institutions. If it fails, it risks becoming a fragmented, underused framework — technically compliant but politically hollow.

From periphery to blueprint

EU digital policy has long been dominated by the familiar power centers— namely Paris and Berlin — who shape legislation, drive regulatory debates, and command the spotlight in Brussels. But as Europe moves from drafting frameworks to deploying real systems, it must break this gravitational pull. The next phase of European digital sovereignty will not be won by those who write the rules alone, but by those who can implement them — credibly, rapidly, and at scale. And right now, one of the most compelling examples of that leadership comes not from the core, but from the so-called periphery: Greece.

The rest of the EU would be wise not only to take note — but to elevate, adapt, and replicate its model. What Greece offers is not just a local success. It’s a blueprint for Europe’s digital future.