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EU Commission’s 2026 work programme: what’s next for digital

19 EU leaders urge “self-restraint” on new laws, yet the EU's 2026 plan is packed: 68 new initiatives, 20 evaluations, 153 pending files. Digital highlights: Public Procurement, Cloud & AI Development Act, Digital Fairness Act, plus pending digital euro and Chat Control.

by Egle Markeviciute

Updated November 04, 2025

Nineteen European leaders - from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden - recently sent a letter to European Council President António Costa, calling to step up simplification efforts and to exercise "self-restraint when it comes to new legislation".

Judging by the length of the European Commission’s 2026 work program, the suggestion, speaking in EU diplomatic lingua franca, appears to be under review.

Jokes aside, the Commission lists 68 new initiatives, 20 evaluations and fitness checks, 153 pending proposals (112 + 41), and 25 withdrawals in its 2026 work program.

Many of these initiatives are important for the digital sector: from public procurement updates, to a common Cloud & AI framework, the Digital Fairness Act, and more.

Public procurement updates - “Buy European”

Public Procurement Act (legislative, Article 114 TFEU, Q2 2026)

The EC’s document lists the Public Procurement Act for the second quarter of 2026. The responsible Commissioner, France’s Stéphane Séjourné, has repeatedly said the upcoming directives will emphasize a “Buy European” approach for goods in “strategic sectors.”

Whether digital services will be included remains an open question, but given major Member States’ push for European digital sovereignty, it seems likely.

Cloud & AI Development Act: common cloud framework for the public sector

Cloud and AI Development Act (legislative, Article 114 TFEU) and Chips Act (legislative, Articles 114 and 173 TFEU) (Q1 2026)

The Cloud and AI Development Act is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. It will aim, among other things, to present a “single EU-wide cloud policy for public administrations and public procurement.”

In conjunction with the public procurement updates, the direction is clear: more European cloud purchases by EU Member States.

Digital Fairness Act (legislative, Article 114 TFEU, Q4 2026)

One of the most challenging and criticised initiatives of this Commission’s term, the update of the consumer agenda, the Digital Fairness Act, is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.

It won’t be an easy run for the responsible Irish Commissioner, Michael McGrath. While the Act’s stated goals look good at first glance, the DFA has been criticised for overlapping with existing regulation and for introducing restrictive rules on personalised ads, social media UX, and more.

Much like with the infamous EU Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA), where digital platforms halted political ads entirely and civil society reacted post factum, the DFA risks unintended consequences for advertisers and SMEs that rely on personalised advertising.

Pending proposals: the digital euro

Proposed in 2023, the digital euro would introduce an electronic equivalent of cash, backed by national central banks. In October 2025, the ECB’s Governing Council decided that the Eurosystem will move to the next phase of the project. If all goes well, it could launch by the end of this Commission’s term in 2029.

Put simply, the digital euro would give Europeans an additional payment option and, in the ECB’s own words, “preserve freedom of choice and Europe’s monetary sovereignty across the euro area”.

Pending proposals: digital services tax

A directive on the common system of a digital services tax, as well as rules to the corporate taxation of a significant digital presence has been proposed back in 2018, but was opposed largely by the Nordics, Luxembourg, and Ireland.

While the EU hasn’t agreed on a common stance on the matter, individual Member States keep introducing their own types of digital service taxation - be it focused on revenues, or specific types of digital services.

So far, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, and Hungary have individually introduced some form of digital services tax—ranging from 3% to 7.5%.

Pending proposals: chat control

Last but not least, Chat Control (or the Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material) remains on the agenda.

We’ve noted before that, due to Germany’s last-minute backpedal, the Council removed the proposal from October’s agenda. However,

Denmark has since floated an alternative that would make scanning “voluntary” for tech giants. Three problems remain: it ignores the European Parliament’s call to permit scanning only by court order; it would still bar teenagers from downloading messaging apps; and anonymous chatting would be de facto outlawed.

What’s missing (but is definitely coming): the Digital Networks Act

The Digital Networks Act (DFA) hasn’t been mentioned in the 2026 agenda, but given the recent Regulatory Scrutiny Board’s negative assessment of the DNA, the Commission will postpone the DNA’s publication until January 2026.

The DNA, along with the DFA, is one of the grand undertakings of the Commission for the upcoming four years: the DNA could de facto introduce network fees on digital service platforms via new “IP interconnection dispute-resolution mechanisms”, effectively changing how the internet works in Europe.

Additionally, the DNA would update the European Electronic Communications Code, aiming to create a so-called “level playing field” between telcos and digital service platforms. European telcos are strongly in favor, while digital service providers and consumers are not as thrilled. European consumer organisations have criticized the DNA before, and one of its elements, network fees, has been addressed in the US–EU trade agreement, where the EU promised not to introduce them.