For the same reason that the Belgian government and Itsme are now at odds, the EU has decided that we should have a platform that works across the EU.

Itsme originated there and is now looking to expand in the Netherlands and beyond. This poses two problems:

Other member states would not accept a system in the hands of the government of one member state becoming a dominant EU member state, after all, that would give one member state power over other member states. You’ll still be able to sell that between Holland and Belgium, but in France, for example, forget about it. As for digiID, then it is a game that immediately explains why the Netherlands is interested in Itsme, the only game in operation at the moment and not a real government company.

The Belgian government will have to completely withdraw from ETZMA and sell its shares. This is why people are already talking about a private company while Itsme is just where it is now thanks to the Belgian government. This is causing internal friction because the Belgian government has invested in stocks, which is the biggest client, but has also invested (a lot of) money in integration projects. The last reason is that the IT projects of the governments themselves almost always go beyond the budget.

So I now basically see a political maneuver to pressure Itsme so that the Belgian government has a stick to beat while it’s out on Itsme’s story. They want Itsme to raise new capital, cut costs, and reimburse the Belgian government for the original route of the Belgium-only project rather than the new project, which has been rolled out across the EU.

Edit: Another third problem:

– From the moment Itsme starts servicing several member countries, it receives many clients, although today Itsme is a private company, with only one large client, and one client is more or less responsible. With the new plans, the Belgian government is moving from the single largest client to the smaller one.

[Reactie gewijzigd door sprankel op 28 juni 2022 11:46]