2026: a year for preparation and a sharper focus

“2025 was a difficult year for all of us, but don’t worry… 2026 will be even more difficult,” the Italian Prime Minister joked to her team at the end of 2025.

No one expects 2026 to be easier than the previous year. Europeans now seem used (and somewhat - desensitised) to continued geopolitical turbulences, shattering alliances, and internal struggles.

2026 is also set to be an important preparatory year for the EU’s digital policy, with many legislative initiatives culminating either at the end of the year or in 2027. Good luck to the Lithuanian Presidency in H1 2027 and the Greek Presidency in H2 2027.

The main pressure points remain the same: finding a balance between very different political ideas so European businesses have a chance to stay competitive, focusing on what matters most rather than what is merely nice to have, and navigating transatlantic tensions, as the US administration is keeping a close eye on tech and new EU initiatives could trigger unpredictable, reciprocal consequences for other parts of the European economy.

#1 Simplification: The Digital Omnibus 

By mid-2026, it is expected that the European Parliament and the Council will adopt a general position on the Digital Omnibus - the main initiative aimed at boosting European (digital) competitiveness. Optimistically, the Omnibus would be implemented by mid-2027. Realistically, plans always change.

As we wrote before, with some Europeans thinking the Omnibus is not ambitious enough and others looking for any reason to stop it, the discussions will not be a walk in the park. Clearer and louder messaging from European founders would help balancing the conversation, but we don’t blame them - it’s hard to keep up with all the consultations and initiatives.

#2 The Digital Networks Act

On January 20, we expect the Commission to unveil the draft version of the long-awaited Digital Networks Act (DNA). The DNA was initially scheduled to be drafted by the end of Q4 2025, but after receiving a negative opinion from the Regulatory Scrutiny Board, the Commission had to make changes. Now that the issues (seem to) have been resolved, we’re awaiting the text.

The original ideas behind the DNA have also met opposition. EU Member States are not exactly willing to give up their national powers (we wrote about the latest pushback here). Some consumers and civil society groups are openly against introducing network fees, even if framed under a more sophisticated IP interconnection dispute-resolution mechanism (an open letter from July 2025 is here). Last but not least, the EU has promised the US not to introduce network fees (and, very vaguely, to work together to remove the ‘non-tariff barriers’) under the EU–US trade deal (you can find the details here). Whether the deal is still relevant is a very open, and very rhetorical, question.

#3 Personalised ads, social media UX: The Digital Fairness Act

An updated consumer agenda fit for the digital age - the Digital Fairness Act (DFA) -  is planned to be unveiled in Q4 2026. The architects and supporters of the DFA talk about discontinuing (restricting) the use of personal data for personalised/targeted advertising, introducing restrictions on social media UX, and more.

Critics have pointed out that these ideas overlap with already existing regulations, and once small and medium enterprises (as well as digital marketers) become aware of what’s coming to their businesses in terms of restricted personalised advertising, we’re likely to see the conversation heat up.

#4 Chat Control: combating sexual abuse against children online 

The Danish Presidency has managed to strong-arm the Council into an agreement on a compromise deal on chat control in November 2025, with the trilogue beginning with the European Parliament.

The proposal is a Pandora’s box, because it not only de facto pushes tech companies to scan (de jure voluntarily) messaging in search of harmful content, but also introduces requirements that lead to digital ID’ing and more.

The trilogues won’t be easy, and it’s likely that a common position won’t be reached by spring, when the temporary rules expire. Right before Christmas, the European Commission requested an extension of the temporary rules by two years - until April 2028.

#5 New payment system: the digital euro 

For the past two years, the European Central Bank has worked with EU Member States to outline the architecture for the digital euro. With things not looking exactly good geopolitically, last year the European leaders asked to accelerate the project, and it is now expected that legislation supporting the digital euro will be adopted sometime in 2026.

Practically speaking, the digital euro would be a European payment system - an alternative to already existing ones.

Positives and opportunities: an attempt at introducing more competition, reduced fragmentation of payment systems between EU countries, a push for innovation in payments, cheaper transactions (by removing intermediary fees), and a thriving European fintech scene that is likely to be ready to cooperate with the ECB.

Negatives: a European citizen will only be able to hold a limited amount of euros in their digital euro wallet (the limit is yet to be decided, but it’s likely to be small - likely a nod to European incumbents), beyond that, they would still have to link back to their bank accounts. Additionally, both European banks and American payment companies are likely to be very much against it.

#6 Less money for high-risk vendors: the Cybersecurity Act 

Within a matter of days - on January 14 - the European Commission is expected to publish a revised draft of the Cybersecurity Act (we wrote about the latest discussion on the matter in the European Parliament here).

Among other things, the Commission has previously discussed using the Cybersecurity Act to strengthen the 5G cybersecurity toolbox and make its measures mandatory. 

In addition, expanding the concept of high-risk vendors and extending mandatory measures beyond telecommunications to other strategic sectors are also on the table