I'm still talking about the same thing, but I understand the nature of our misunderstanding now. You see eID as something you download and can share (but what kind of security would that provide?). I mean an online ID service, similar to the Dutch DigiD. I assume the EU eID is also something similar, although I have no personal experience with that.
The first paragraph on Wikipedia contains a good description of what I'm talking about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_identification
An electronic identification ("eID") is a digital solution for proof of identity of citizens or organizations. They can be used to view to access benefits or services provided by government authorities, banks or other companies, for mobile payments, etc. Apart from online authentication and login, many electronic identity services also give users the option to sign electronic documents with a digital signature.
The online authentication is the important part. The article also talks about physical cards with a chip, but I honestly don't quite understand how that's different from a regular chip in a passport.
When I have to access any government service, I get redirected to digID to log in, then redirected to the site I want to visit. This is very similar to other online authorisation schemes, except it's tied to me official legal identity.
My proposal is to use this not just to log in to government sites, but to use it to provide any legally required online identification, tailored to the highest amount of privacy possible in that situation. So if a site needs to confirm you're 18+, let that site ask the eID service for just your age, or even just whether you're 18+ or not, log into the eID system, and the eID system sends confirmation of your age back to the site.