Brussels, 1 July 2026 – With the Council of the EU having adopted its negotiating position on 9 June 2026, attention now shifts to the European Parliament. Once Parliament finalises its own position, formal European Business Wallet trilogue negotiations between the Council, Parliament and Commission can begin, aiming for a political agreement before the end of 2026.
Where does the European Parliament stand?
The file has been assigned to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), with Eero Heinäluoma (S&D, Finland) as rapporteur. Heinäluoma published his draft report on 20 March 2026. Broadly, he welcomes the Commission’s proposal and supports keeping wallet use voluntary for businesses. He does propose a number of changes.
The rapporteur wants to soften the obligation for public sector bodies to accept European Business Wallets by introducing an exemption for municipalities with 10,000 inhabitants or fewer, to avoid placing a disproportionate financial burden on them. To strengthen the EU’s digital sovereignty, Heinäluoma also proposes that wallet providers, qualified electronic registered delivery service (QERDS) providers and cloud providers be established in the EU and remain free from third-country control. He further proposes that wallet data be processed and stored exclusively within the Union. Members of Parliament have since tabled hundreds of amendments to the text.
Divided views among member states
At the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council meeting of 5 December 2025, ministers expressed a range of views on the proposal. Countries such as Italy voiced strong support, while Estonia and Poland raised concerns, warning against duplication of existing systems and unnecessary costs. The Council’s eventual June 2026 position, with its national flexibility mechanisms, is partly a response to those concerns: member states may keep using existing national solutions, provided they remain interoperable with the European Business Wallet.
Broad stakeholder involvement
The file is also drawing attention from advisory bodies and interest groups outside the legislative institutions. The European Economic and Social Committee has already adopted an opinion on the proposal, and the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) published its own position paper in March 2026, raising points about legal validity and powers of attorney. This broad involvement underlines that the European Business Wallet is not purely a technical file, but one that raises legal and societal questions the trilogue negotiations will need to resolve.
What follows in the second half of 2026?
With both a Council position and a forthcoming Parliament position in place, the trilogue phase can begin: negotiations in which the Council, Parliament and European Commission try to agree on a single, final text. The ambition set by EU leaders in the March 2026 European Council conclusions is a political agreement before the end of this year. If that is achieved, formal adoption by both institutions follows, after which the two-year implementation window for public administrations begins.
For Dutch and European businesses, this means the contours of the European Business Wallet are becoming clearer, even though the final text is not yet settled. Peppol.nu continues to follow the trilogue negotiations and will report once a provisional agreement is reached.
Preparing now for the European Business Wallet and the e-invoicing requirements that come with it? Use our comparison tool to find a Peppol Service Provider. Also read our earlier article on how the European Business Wallet connects architecturally to e-invoicing.
- European Parliament: Legislative Train Schedule, European business wallets (updated 20 April 2026)
- European Parliament, ITRE Committee: Draft report, 2025/0358(COD)
- Council of the EU: European business wallets: Council adopts negotiating position (9 June 2026)
- European Parliament, Legislative Observatory: Procedure file 2025/0358(COD)
