🚨 At the beginning of 2025, there were 101 different digital laws within the EU… Harmonisation is the key!

At the beginning of 2025, there were 101 different digital laws within the EU, in addition to differences of interpretation between Member States… Harmonisation is the key!

This is the recommendation of the must-read report The European Way: A Blueprint for Reclaiming Our Digital Future, of the TUM Think Tank. Its authors propose a radical change of approach through six major reforms.

The EU is at a turning point in the digital transition to ensure its strategic autonomy. It must seize this opportunity to stand up to the American and Chinese tech giants.

Blueprint aims to:

1. Improve European infrastructure

2. Support the completion of the Digital Single Market

3. Assert its geopolitical position

4. Strengthen good governance principles

5. Secure energy supplies

6. Promote digital skills

The authors believe that the EU has solid assets in its single market, its know-how, its innovative industry, and its private capital. In line with the Letta and Draghi reports, Blueprint calls on the EU to seize this opportunity. It regrets the lack of a unified political vision for the emergence of European technology companies. Nearly half of the 50 largest tech companies were American in 2024, while the EU had only five. This call to strengthen European companies is not protectionist: on the contrary, the authors recommend developing partnerships with reliable third countries to secure supply chains. Finally, they believe that the lack of a unified framework is hindering the emergence of a digital single market. To overcome the obstacles linked to the requirement for unanimity, Blueprint calls for a Sovereignty Compact to move towards more qualified majority voting.

They recommend basing the European approach on the following principles:

1. principled governance integrating the rule of law, fundamental rights, but also a free market with fair competition

2. strategic resilience

3. interoperability for a digital single market

4. sustainability

5. trustworthiness with secure, transparent, and accountable products

6. a decentralized economy

You can read this insightful report on https://tumthinktank.de/de/output/der-europaeische-weg/

Photo credits: Mediamodifier