Policy & Law
11.05.2026

The View from Brussels #17-2026

News, Publications and Consultations from the Past Week

News CW 18 (27.04-03.05.2026)

Age verification: The European Commission has adopted a recommendation urging Member States to accelerate the rollout of the EU age verification app and make it available by the end of the year. The age verification app can be released as a standalone app or integrate it into a European Digital Identity Wallet.

DSA: The European Commission has once again called on Croatia to comply with the Digital Services Act and to equip its Digital Services Coordinator with the necessary powers to enforce the DSA. Croatia now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings in implementation.

DMA: The European Commission’s first review of the Digital Markets Act has concluded that the DMA remains fit for purpose and is having a positive impact. It has opened up new opportunities for businesses and developers, while giving users more control over their experiences and devices, as well as access to more diverse and innovative digital products and services.

Selected Publications from the EP Think Tanks

 

Ongoing Relevant European Commission Consultations

Selections of the Current Week, CW 19 (04-10.05.2026)

Council:

The current preview of the Council’s work for the upcoming days until 17.05.2026 can be found here.

Summit and Ministerial Meetings:

Preparatory Bodies:

 

An overview of the various Council dates can be found here.

Commission:

The agenda of the current Commission meeting was not available at our time of writing. You can potentially find it on the Commission’s website in the near future.

Parliament:

Plenary Sittings

There are no plenary sittings of the European Parliament taking place this week.

Here you can find a list of the upcoming dates of the European Parliament. The calendar of the plenary sittings for 2026 is available here (PDF).

Committees

LIBE Committee (Civil Liberties)

The agenda for the current meeting of the LIBE Committee taking place on 06-07.05.2026 can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

  • The Implications of Hybrid Warfare for EU Internal Security
  • Laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse
  • Combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (recast)
  • Amending Regulations (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2016/1036, (EU) 2016/1037, (EU) 2017/1129, (EU) 2023/1542 and (EU) 2024/573 as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplification measures
  • Age Verification, Assurance, and Estimation Techniques for the Protection of Minors Online
  • Institutional aspects of artificial intelligence in the context of European integration
  • The Annual Report 2025 of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)
  • Exchange of views with the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, in the framework of the Structured Dialogue
  • EU Funding for Israeli Spyware Companies

The current timetables of the LIBE Committee can be found here.

 

JURI Committee (Legal Affairs)

The agenda for the current meeting of the JURI Committee taking place on 04-05.05.2026 can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

  • Presentation of the 28th Regime proposal by Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath
  • Establishment of European Business Wallets

The current timetables of the JURI Committee can be found here.

ITRE Committee (Industry)

The agenda for the current meeting of the ITRE Committee taking place on 06.05.2026 can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

  • Establishing the European Competitiveness Fund (‘ECF’), including the specific programme for defence research and innovation activities
  • Guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, amending Regulations (EU) 2019/942, (EU) 2019/943 and (EU) 2024/1789 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2022/869

The agenda for the joint committee procedure of the ITRE Committee and the Committee on Security and Defence on 06.05.2026 here.

The current timetables of the ITRE Committee (as of 28.04.2026) can be found here.

 

IMCO Committee (Internal Market)

The agenda for the current meeting of the IMCO Committee taking place on 06-07.05.2026 can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

  • Amending Regulations (EU) 2024/1689 and (EU) 2018/1139 as regards the simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI)
  • Joint Working Group on the implementation and enforcement of the Artificial Intelligence Act
  • Institutional aspects of artificial intelligence in the context of European integration
  • Scrutinising e-commerce platforms for illegal and dangerous products, including the sale of new and second-hand goods
  • Safety and cyber security risks potentially posed by advanced AI systems, such as Anthropic’s Mythos, and the application of the EU AI Act and European digital rules
  • Structured dialogue with Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection
  • Establishing the European Competitiveness Fund (‘ECF’), including the specific programme for defence research and innovation activities
  • Establishment of European Business Wallets
  • Consequences of the energy crisis on businesses and consumers in the internal market

The current timetables of the IMCO Committee (as of 15.04.2026) can be found here.

CULT Committee (Culture and Education)

The agenda for the current meeting of the CULT Committee taking place on 05.05.2026 can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

  • Public Hearing on “The Audiovisual Policy Framework and the Future of Creative Freedom”
  • Exchange of views with Commissioner Ekaterina Zakharieva

The current timetables of the CULT Committee (as of 23.04.2026) can be found here.

 

Outlook:

An overview of the following session weeks can be found here. The provisional agenda for the upcoming plenary sittings can be found here.

 

European Court of Justice

You can find the judicial calendar of the CJEU here.

The View from Brussels 11 June 2018

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