| | Dear Readers,
The European Commission recently published its White Paper on European defence and it identifies no fewer than seven so-called capability gaps: from air defence and ammunition production to threats and AI-based systems. Which sounds like just about everything is missing. Closing these capability gaps quickly and in a targeted manner is the most important task of the Commission in cooperation with the Member States. After all, defence is still essentially a national task, but one that must be coordinated at European level. There is considerable untapped potential for greater efficiency, particularly in procurement and financing.
However, the Commission’s list misses out one item. The external risks and threats are coming not only from hostile autocracies but also from complex international conflicts, which have become complex partly because the global order is falling apart. Countries such as Turkey and India are already capitalising on the geopolitical vacuum created by the crumbling transatlantic relationship between the USA and Europe, for example. Today, Europe not only has capability gaps, it also lacks effective diplomacy. The USA’s dramatic loss of soft power now offers Europe an opportunity to fill this gap. A new European diplomacy would therefore be an important accompaniment to the historic task of preparing Europe's capabilities for the challenges and conflicts of the 21st century.
I wish you an informative read.
Yours,
Henning Vöpel |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | | Latest EU Proposals in Focus |
|
|
|---|
|
| | Single Market | Competition | Trade |
|
|
|---|
|
| Reducing Bureaucracy: Omnibus 3
On 16 April, the Commission intends to publish a package of measures to reduce bureaucracy for small and medium-sized enterprises, the so-called Omnibus 3 package. Among other things, the Commission wants to introduce a new category of small and medium-sized companies ("small mid-caps"). The Commission has already published the Omnibus-1 and Omnibus-2 packages. They are intended to make it easier for companies to fulfil their sustainability obligations (Omnibus 1, see cepAdhoc on the revision of the Supply Chain Directive and cepAdhoc on the revision of sustainability reporting) and to facilitate investments (Omnibus 2). The Commission also wants to present an omnibus package in June 2025 to simplify and harmonise defence legislation. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | | | Internal Security: Commission Presents New European Strategy
On 1 April 2025, the Commission is publishing the new "European Internal Security Strategy", which will set out the most important objectives in the area of internal security for the coming years. The strategy, which was originally - and in our last newsletter - announced for 26 March, aims to ensure a comprehensive EU response to all threats to internal security, both online and offline. The aim is to ensure that security is mainstreamed into EU legislation and policies. In addition, the EU should be fit to combat all threats both online and offline. In view of the changing geopolitical situation, the existing measures are no longer sufficient.
The strategy will include a "comprehensive package of measures" to strengthen internal security. In addition to the expansion of operational capacities such as Europol and Frontex, digital technologies will also play a key role. In its Call for Evidence on the strategy, the Commission mentions - without going into detail - "measures on access to data for law enforcement and data retention, fighting cybercrime and terrorist content online, and boosting cooperation with tech platforms via the EU Internet Forum". In addition, digital technologies and artificial intelligence could significantly improve law enforcement capabilities. Finally, a new EU agenda for preventing and combating terrorism and violent extremism will also be part of the strategy.
The findings of an expert group set up by the Commission on access to data for effective law enforcement, and their approval by the European Council, suggest that highly controversial measures on access to encrypted communications - possibly by introducing "back doors" for law enforcement authorities - as well as mandatory data retention (and thus a reissue of the EU Data Retention Directive, which was rejected by the European Court of Justice as disproportionate) could be part of the strategy.
In March, in an cepAdhoc, cep issued a comprehensive statement on such plans for a "Going Dark" surveillance agenda and warned against a weakening of digital encryption. The EU's new strategy must not risk the security of everyone's communications but reconcile common security needs, the different national security interests of its Member States and the fundamental rights of its citizens to privacy and data protection - an extremely complex balancing act. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | | Digitalisation| New Technologies |
|
|
|---|
|
| European AI Offensive: Virkkunen's Action Plan for the AI Continent
On 9 April 2025, the Commission will present the "AI Continent Action Plan" under the leadership of Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen. The initiative is part of the strategy to strengthen Europe's position in the global competition surrounding AI. The action plan comprises two main components: the "AI Factories Initiative" and the "Apply AI Strategy". The AI Factories Initiative aims to create AI ecosystems that bring together universities, industry and financial players with supercomputing centres. The first seven AI Factories were confirmed in December 2024. In addition, in February 2025, the Commission launched the InvestAI initiative including a new European fund for so-called AI gigafactories. The Apply AI Strategy, on the other hand, will aim to promote new industrial applications of AI and improve the provision of public services. The focus is on accelerating the use of AI in strategic sectors such as healthcare, energy, robotics, manufacturing, aerospace and defence, as well as in the public sector. The plan aims to create an environment that accelerates the introduction of AI across Europe, promotes investment and innovation and increases productivity. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | AI Practice Guide: Final Phase of Drafting Begins
The final round of drafting of the Code of Practice for General-Purpose AI (GPAI) will take place in April 2025. The Code will be finalised on the basis of stakeholder feedback on the third draft which was published in mid-March. This latest version contains an improved structure with more precise obligations and measures, including two obligations on transparency and copyright for all GPAI providers, and 16 additional obligations on safety aspects specifically for GPAI models with systemic risk. The discussions and finalisation work in April will be crucial, as the final code must be completed by 2 May 2025 to give providers sufficient time before the GPAI rules come into force on 2 August 2025 (a timetable that is constantly updated is available here). Once finalised, the AI Office and the new AI Board will jointly assess the Code and the Commission can then approve it via a legal act for the entire EU. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | AI Office: Guidelines for Fine-Tuning AI Models
The EU AI Office plans to publish guidelines on the fine-tuning of general-purpose AI models in the near future, as detailed in a new Q&A on the agency's website. These clarifications are of great economic importance as they define the circumstances under which downstream companies that modify or fine-tune existing GPAI models may become providers of new models. This is not directly addressed in the GPAI Code of Practice but is particularly relevant for small and medium-sized companies that do not develop their own models from scratch. Irrespective of this, companies that integrate GPAI models into AI systems must fulfil the relevant requirements of the AI Act for AI systems. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | Language Technologies in Europe: Public Conference
On 15 April 2025, the Commission plans to hold an online conference on "Language Technology Landscape" to present the latest developments in the language technology market with a focus on basic, text-based and language-based technologies. The conference is aimed at all players in the field of language models, from developers to buyers and users in the private and public sectors. The programme includes keynote speakers from the European Commission and external experts as well as a detailed overview of the market for Large Language Models (LLMs). The event will be hosted and recorded on WebEx; interested parties can register here. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | | | | | Cyber Resilience: Commission Consults on Important and Critical Products with Digital Elements
On 13 March 2025, the Commission launched a Consultation on an implementing regulation on the technical description of important and critical products with digital elements under the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA, (EU) 2024/2847, see cepPolicyBrief). The CRA came into force in November 2024 and will apply from December 2027. It contains numerous provisions on the cybersecurity of products with digital elements. These are, most notably, hardware and software products. According to the CRA, the Commission is obliged to adopt an implementing act by 11 December 2025 in which it specifies the technical description of important and critical products with digital elements which may be subject to a stricter conformity assessment procedure. The Commission has submitted a draft implementing act and listed examples of products with digital elements whose core functionality falls under the technical description of certain important or critical products with digital elements. This is not an exhaustive list. Stakeholders can now comment on the draft legislation and the list that has been submitted.
The submission period for opinions ends on 15 April 2025.
Go to Consultation |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | 1 April 2025
Luxembourg
CFI: Oral Hearing on Action forAannulment Against EU-US Data Privacy Framework
The General Court of the European Union is hearing case T-553/23 on the action for annulment brought by Philippe Latombe of France against the EU Commission's adequacy decision regarding the data protection framework between the EU and the USA (so-called EU-US Data Privacy Framework, DPF). Since July 2023, the new decision following the Court’s judgement in Schrems has once again allowed companies to transfer personal data, without further requirements, to certain recipients in the USA who have certified themselves and undertaken to comply with data protection rules. Despite legal improvements, the level of protection in the USA continues to be criticised for its inadequacy. In addition, Donald Trump recently weakened an important data protection supervisory body in the USA and is currently having numerous presidential decrees of his predecessor "reviewed", including possibly the one on which the data protection framework is based.
First, however, it will be interesting to see whether, at the oral hearing, the Court considers there are any grounds indicating that the action is admissible at all. In order to be authorised to bring an action, Latombe would have to be "directly and individually concerned" by the adequacy decision, which is questionable as the decision is addressed to the Member States and not directly to him. Many actions for annulment brought by private individuals against EU legal acts fail due to this hurdle. However, another basis for a right of action could also be considered: The Lisbon Treaty introduced a special and hitherto largely unused right to bring an action against implementing acts, giving Latombe a right of action if the adequacy decision constituted a legal act in the nature of a Regulation directly affecting Latombe and not requiring implementing measures. Depending on the grounds put forward by Latombe, it does not seem impossible that the Court could consider the action for annulment to be admissible on that basis during the course of the ongoing proceedings - unlike in an earlier action against the Privacy Shield.
If the Court were to consider the action admissible, it could also examine the content of the adequacy decision - in which case a declaration of nullity of the decision would not be ruled out. This would again pose huge data protection problems for a large number of companies that transfer data. However, a judgement is not expected for some months at least.
3 April 2025
Luxembourg
CJEU: Differentiation Between Personal Data of Natural and Legal Persons
In case C-710/23, referred to it by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court, the CJEU will rule on the distinction between the personal data of natural persons and that of legal persons, which under Recital 14 is excluded from the scope of application of the General Data Protection Regulation. The background to this is an action for information on Covid tests and the certificates issued for these tests, in which the claimant requested, among other things, information on the name and signature of the natural person who had signed the certificate on behalf of the legal entity. In terms of data protection law, the case also deals with the question of whether Member States can make the submission of data (also) involving the personal information of natural persons subject to conditions that go beyond the GDPR - in this case, whether they can oblige an authority to inform data subjects in advance of a request to disclose their personal data to a third party.
3 - 4 April 2025
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
First EU-Central Asia summit. The President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission will meet with the heads of state and government of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
5 - 12 June 2025
Round-Table Events for Future Managers in Family Businesses
As part of our April newsletter, we would like to draw the attention of our sponsors to an exclusive cooperation event that is relevant for the next generation of managers in family businesses. Together with Egon Zehnder, a team from FGS is organising two round-table events aimed specifically at future managers in family businesses. These events offer insights into personal and corporate positioning as well as strategic stakeholder communication. The round-table events will take place on 5 June 2025 from 5 pm in Frankfurt am Main and on 12 June 2025 from 5 pm in Düsseldorf. They will be held in a confidential atmosphere and offer valuable networking opportunities. Especially in times of management change, strategic positioning and targeted personal branding are crucial for the long-term success of a company. If you are interested in participating free of charge, please send a short informal message to cep department head Anselm Küsters (kuesters@cep.eu). |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | Adieu Le Pen, Vive Bardella - the EU as a Stage, Not a Project
Marine Le Pen and eight former MEPs from the Rassemblement National have been found guilty of embezzling European public funds. The case concerns parliamentary assistants who were paid by the European Parliament but in fact carried out party-related tasks in France. According to the court ruling, the total damage to the EU amounts to around €2.9 million, €474,000 of which is directly attributed to Le Pen.
In addition to financial penalties imposed on the party and its former MEPs, Le Pen has been declared ineligible for public office for five years — a ruling with strong symbolic impact. Yet this trial is more than a legal affair. It exposes a political strategy that remains highly relevant: to exploit EU institutions — financially and symbolically — while publicly discrediting them. Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s successor and current president of the Rassemblement National, embodies this approach. He is omnipresent in the French media, yet largely absent from the European Parliament — where fellow MEPs have long referred to him as a “phantom parliamentarian.”
This contradiction — holding a European mandate without actively engaging in its duties — points to a structural weakness within the EU. As long as there is no shared culture of political responsibility, the Parliament remains vulnerable to strategic manipulation by actors who view the EU more as a stage than as a common project. Stronger internal oversight — particularly regarding the use of funds and the actual performance of parliamentary duties — is a necessary first step toward greater transparency and accountability.
The Rassemblement National aims to further strengthen its influence within EU institutions. This case is a reminder that Europe’s democracy is not only defended at the ballot box — but also through the integrity of those who represent it. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | | The cepDossier aims to draw attention to important EU legislative proposals in a more concise form than a Study or PolicyBrief. Current proposals are reported and briefly summarised. The aim is to achieve even faster delivery of interest-driven information, that may be of relevance to sectors and stakeholders. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | Savings and Investments Union: EU Commission Presents Catalogue of Measures |
|
|
|---|
|
| On 19 March 2025, the Commission presented a Communication on the establishment of a Savings and Investment Union. This contains numerous legislative and non-legislative measures with which the Commission intends to move closer to such a union in the coming months and years. We have created a cepDossier to provide an overview of the planned measures and the timetable for implementing them.
Go to cepDossier (in German) |
|
| |
|---|
|
| | | | | | cep Article on the History of Antitrust Law in the Frankfurter Kommentar |
|
|
|---|
|
| | European competition policy is entering a new phase. In Teresa Ribera, we are seeing an experienced environmental and energy politician taking over responsibility for competition policy in the European Commission from Margrethe Vestager. Added to this are geopolitical challenges and, in particular, pressure from the US administration, which increasingly views competition and antitrust issues as a bargaining chip in bilateral relations. Particularly in phases of seemingly abrupt change, it is worth looking at the historical roots and long-term developments of competition law in order to contextualise current developments. Against this background, Anselm Küsters, cep’s Head of Digitalisation and New Technologies, has published an article on the historical foundations of European and German antitrust law in the "Frankfurter Kommentar zum Kartellrecht" (Jaeger/Kokott/Pohlmann/Schroeder/Seeliger, Lot 110, February 2025). In about 50 pages, he analyses the formative regulatory influence of the Freiburg School in Germany and Europe. The article puts the current changes in antitrust and competition law in their historical context and provides a sense of orientation at a time when competition policy, energy issues and geopolitical considerations are increasingly intertwined. As a result, competition law, in particular, has always been closely bound up with political objectives. From a long-term historical perspective, ideas based on the MEA ("More Economic Approach") that were popular in the early 2000s and exclusively pursued the goal of consumer welfare, tend to be the exception. In the different eras, competition policy was always and remains associated with a variety of explicit and implicit political, economic and social objectives, which are presented and discussed in this article. The Frankfurt Commentary on Antitrust Law is available on the website of the publisher Dr Otto Schmidt and on the usual portals such as JURIS and Beck Online. |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | cepAdhoc: Security and Trust: An Unsolvable Digital Dilemma? |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | Police authorities and governments are calling for digital backdoors for investigative purposes - and the EU Commission is listening. The Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep) warns against a weakening of digital encryption. The damage to cybersecurity, fundamental rights and trust in digital infrastructures would be enormous.
Go to cepAdhoc |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | cepInput: Setting the EU Climate Target for 2040 |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | The EU will soon have to set an EU 2040 climate target on the road to climate neutrality by 2050. The EU Commission recommends a reduction in greenhouse gases of at least 90% compared to 1990. However, their own impact assessment of this most ambitious option indicates high economic risks and social burdens. In view of current developments, the Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep) is calling for a realistic EU climate target for 2040 in order to prevent the failure of EU climate policy.
Go to cepInput |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | cepStudy: Expansion of Digital and Energy Network Infrastructure |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | Europe is facing major challenges when it comes to expanding its digital and energy network infrastructure. Without substantial investment in modern and cross-border networks, the transition to the green and digital age will not succeed. The Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep) has formulated recommendations for an effective investment policy that promotes grid expansion without incurring new debt.
Go to cepStudy (in German) |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | | | | | | cepStudy: Germany's Energy Security |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | Safety, profitability and climate protection: In a recent study, the Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep) considers whether Germany's economy can only reconcile competitiveness and climate neutrality if it uses energy imports from sunnier and windier regions of the world.
Go to cepStudy (in German) |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | | Diplomacy presumes the existence of capabilities which you can use to exert influence. Europe's task is therefore twofold: develop capabilities for the 21st century and strengthen Europe's influence.
Best wishes,
Henning Vöpel |
|
|
|---|
|
| | | | Recommend our newsletter to others or sign up! |
| | |
|
|---|
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
