Policy & Law
30.03.2026

The View from Brussels #12-2026

News, Publications and Consultations from the Past Week

News CW 12 (16-22.03.2026)

Chips: The European Commission has granted the Open EU Foundry (OEF) status to the Italian semiconductor packaging and testing facility Silicon Box. This status is granted to new or upgraded innovative semiconductor manufacturing facilities under the Chips Act and offers benefits such as administrative support, faster construction approvals and priority access to pilot lines under the Chips for Europe Initiative.

Submarine cables: The European Commission has published two calls for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), making a total of €200 million available for submarine cables and digital infrastructure projects. The first call allocates €180 million for deploying or significantly upgrading backbone networks. The second call allocates €20 million for smart upgrades to digital infrastructure, enabling real-time monitoring to protect critical infrastructure.

Digital Dialogue: The European Union and Kenya have officially launched the EU-Kenya Digital Dialogue. It will focus on telecommunications and digital network infrastructure, artificial intelligence innovation and ecosystems, and eGovernance, including Digital Public Infrastructure.

Digital Europe: The Digital Europe programme has been updated. Changes were made in the following areas, among others: testing and experimentation facilities for AI, digital skills, the European Electronic Health Record Exchange Format, a legal support helpdesk for the Data Act, and measures relating to the European Democracy Shield. In addition, there is to be a new call for proposals for Safer Internet Centres not previously funded under the DIGITAL2025-BESTUSE-08-NETWORKSICs call.

Chat Control: The Parliament and the Council were unable to reach an agreement on extending the legal basis for voluntary Chat Control, which expires on 3 April 2026.

Start-ups: The European Commission has presented its proposal for the planned EU Inc. New companies should be able to register entirely digitally, within 48 hours, for less than €100. Initially, there will be an EU-level interface connecting national business registers together; in a second step, the Commission will establish a new central EU register.

Tech sovereignty: The Commission is expected to present its planned measures only at the end of May. These include the Cloud and AI Development Act (CAIDA), the Chips Act 2, a strategy for open source, and a “strategic roadmap” for digitalisation and AI in the energy sector.

Transatlantic relations: Jim Jordan, Chair of the US House Judiciary Committee, has demanded that 10 technology companies disclose all communications with EU Commission officials relating to the enforcement of EU digital regulations. In response, the European Commission stated that it expects US technology companies to apply the same procedures as EU authorities when handling market-sensitive information. This includes not disclosing personal data of EU officials working on the Digital Services Act.

Selected Publications from the EP Think Tanks

 

Ongoing Relevant European Commission Consultations

Selections of the Current Week, CW 13 (23-29.03.2026)

Council:

The current preview of the Council’s work for the upcoming days until 05.04.2026 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 (BXL)

The agenda for the current plenary sittings week can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

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)

No meeting of the LIBE Committee is scheduled for this week.

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 23-24.03.2026 can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

  • Exchange of views in the context of the structured dialogue with StĂ©phane

Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy

  • Exchange of views in the context of the structured dialogue with Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification
  • Presentation of the annual report 2025 of the EP Coordinator on Children’s Rights, Mrs Ewa Kopacz, Vice-President of the European Parliament

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 23-24.03.2026 can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

  • Structured dialogue with Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation
  • Safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities in the Union
  • Establishing Horizon Europe, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, for the period 2028-2034 laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2021/695
  • Establishing the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for the period 2028-2034, laying down the rules for participation and dissemination under that Programme
  • Structured dialogue with StĂ©phane SĂ©journĂ©, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy

The current timetables of the ITRE Committee (as of 17.03.2026) can be found here.

IMCO Committee (Internal Market)

The agenda for the current meeting of the IMCO Committee taking place on 23-24.03.2026 can be found here. From the perspective of the Internet industry, the following agenda items are relevant:

  • Joint Working Group on the implementation and enforcement of the Artificial Intelligence Act
  • AliExpress faces EU scrutiny for systemic sale of unsafe and counterfeit goods
  • Establishing the European Competitiveness Fund (‘ECF’), including the specific programme for defence research and innovation activities
  • Safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities in the Union
  • Enforcement of the Digital Markets Act
  • Structured dialogue with StĂ©phane SĂ©journĂ©, European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy
  • The Digital Services Act in global context: addressing misleading narratives • Exchange of views with Jamie Raskin, US representative, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee

The current timetables of the IMCO Committee (as of 26.02.2026) can be found here.

CULT Committee (Culture and Education)

No meeting of the CULT Committee is scheduled for this week.

The current timetables of the CULT Committee 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 Opinion of the Advocate General in the case of Austro-Mechana and AKM (C-579/24) is scheduled for Thursday 26 March 2026.

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