European digital identity initiatives are grounded in regulatory frameworks designed to ensure interoperability and robust, harmonized security standards. The evolution of these frameworks culminates in eIDAS 2.0, whose origins trace back to the Electronic Signatures Directive 1999/93/EC, the first EU-wide legal foundation for the use of electronic signatures in cross-border electronic transactions. As technological capabilities advanced, the initial eIDAS 1.0 framework was increasingly criticized for its limitations and lack of comprehensiveness. Emerging decentralized approaches further exposed these shortcomings and introduced the possibility of integrating innovative identity paradigms, such as Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) models. In this article, we analyse key provisions of the eIDAS 2.0 Regulation and its accompanying recitals, drawing on existing literature to identify legislative gaps and implementation challenges. Furthermore, we examine the European Digital Identity Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF), assessing its proposed guidelines and evaluating the extent to which its emerging implementations align with SSI principles.

翻译：欧洲数字身份倡议建立在旨在确保互操作性及强健统一安全标准的监管框架之上。这些框架的演进最终形成了eIDAS 2.0，其起源可追溯至《电子签名指令1999/93/EC》——欧盟范围内首个为跨境电子交易中使用电子签名奠定法律基础的文件。随着技术能力的进步，最初的eIDAS 1.0框架因其局限性和缺乏全面性而日益受到批评。新兴的去中心化方法进一步暴露了这些缺陷，并引入了整合创新身份范式（如自主身份模型）的可能性。本文通过梳理现有文献，分析《eIDAS 2.0条例》及其配套说明中的关键条款，以识别立法空白与实施挑战。此外，我们检视欧洲数字身份架构与参考框架，评估其拟议指南，并衡量其新兴实施方案与自主身份原则的契合程度。