Source: Institute of International and European Affairs

The Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) publishes a strategic outlook on the European Union's digital policy agenda for the 2025-2026 period. The blog post argues that the EU is shifting from a "legislative phase" (creating laws like the AI Act, DMA, and DSA) to an "enforcement phase," where the focus will be on the practical implementation and policing of these massive regulations. It highlights the challenge of staffing the new AI Office and ensuring consistent application across member states.

The analysis also predicts that the next wave of policy will focus on "Digital Networks" and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as a potential revision of the GDPR to better accommodate the realities of machine learning. The IIEA warns that the EU must balance its strict regulatory environment with the need to foster innovation to prevent falling further behind the US and China in the tech race.