The European Commission has issued its work programme for 2025. The proposals which will be of interest to tech lawyers are set out below.
- Simplifying the Digital package: the Commission says “we will accelerate our path to a digital regulatory environment, and will propose to remove inefficient requirements for paper formats in product legislation and build synergies and consistency for data protection and cybersecurity rules”.
- Digital Networks Act: this “will create opportunities for cross-border network operation and service provision, enhance industry competitiveness and improve spectrum coordination.”
- AI Continent Action plan: this will cover AI Factories boosting competitive AI ecosystems in Europe as well as the Apply AI strategy.
- Quantum Strategy and Act: the Commission says “we will maintain a leading global position in this critical sector, safeguard strategic assets, interests, autonomy and security, and avoid a situation of strategic dependency on non-EU sources. The strategy will contribute to building our own capacities to research and develop quantum technologies, and produce devices and systems based on them.”
- EU Space Act: this will establish an EU framework regulating the conduct of European space operators and providing a stable, predictable, and competitive business environment. It will also address the growing issue of space debris and the environmental impact of space activities.
- Action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers
- 2030 Consumer Agenda, including an action plan for consumers in the Single Market: aiming to facilitate a balanced approach that protects consumers without overburdening companies with red tape.
- European Business Wallet: this aims to simplify business-to-business and business-to-government exchanges for businesses. In addition to facilitating secure data exchange, the business wallet would unlock new business opportunities for trust service providers
It will also be carrying out fitness checks in the areas of digital policy and geo-blocking.
Withdrawn proposals
In addition, the Commission has indicated that it is withdrawing certain proposed legislation:
- The AI liability Directive;
- The E-Privacy Regulation; and
- The Regulation on standard essential patents (SEPs).
It says that the draft E-Privacy Regulation is outdated, and that it will assess new ways of dealing with AI liability and SEPs.
German MEP Axel Voss has said “By scrapping the AI Liability Directive, the Commission is actively choosing legal uncertainty, corporate power imbalances, and a Wild West approach to AI liability that benefits only Big Tech. The reality now is that AI liability will be dictated by a fragmented patchwork of 27 different national legal systems, suffocating European AI startups and SMEs. The question is, are we taking the single market seriously or not? With this move, the Commission could just as well withdraw the AI Act to compensate for the burden it puts on companies. Unlike the AI Act, which is an ex ante regulatory framework, the AILD was an ex post liability mechanism—meaning it only came into play when AI actually caused harm. It was never about stifling innovation – it was about ensuring accountability”,
