Inline Insights

I sat down for an hour-and-a-half in early August with Kai Zenner, longtime policy advisor to MEP Axel Voss. Brussels had emptied for the summer, and we sported shorts and t-shirts at an outdoor café in a quiet Place du Luxembourg. We talked about his background in EU digital policy, and in particular about the future of AI, in Europe and beyond. A recurring theme was the EU’s need to think globally and strategically — rather than along nationalistic or ideological lines — in order to compete and stay relevant. Here’s a summary of our conversation.

In this blog, we look at the future of European telecoms legislation, including the possibilities for a Digital Networks Act during the 2024-2029 mandate.

In this blog, we investigate what role current French Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton might play in the upcoming European Commission.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has won a second five-year term. Her focus will be competitiveness, security and sustainability — defined less by green ideology than a push for clean industrialisation. With the European Parliament’s committees now formed, work will start in the autumn: to vet commissioners-designate, and vie for political control of the new programme. In this blog, we explore the key committees and committee members for the tech sector.

In advance of the European Parliament elections between 6 and 9 June, the candidates from five of Europe's major political groupings debated one another across a wide range of issues, including the economy, the climate and the environment, and technology policy on 23 May 2024. This briefing provides a summary of the key points each candidate made during the debate.

In the fast-paced world of social media, concerns about digital addiction are taking centre stage once again, with TikTok and Meta at the forefront of scrutiny.

Three key EU institutions - the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union - walk into a room. It sounds like the start of a bad joke, but trust us, it's anything but! They're there to work through laws, policies, and regulations that impact the lives of over 500 million Europeans. In this blog, we're going to lift the curtain on trilogue negotiations and shed light on why this resolution is useful for the swift functioning of EU policy making.

The European Union’s economic framework has for a long time been underpinned by advances in technology. Yet, in our rapidly evolving digital era, innovation may in some cases pose a threat to economic security. The European Commission has therefore announced that it will undertake in-depth risk assessments across a number of critical technologies. While this initiative pivots on reducing tech vulnerabilities, it also encompasses geopolitics, strategic partnerships, and safeguarding the EU’s economic interests. 

In this blog, we look at the steps the European Union is taking to regulate artificial intelligence.

Are consumers being deceived by misleading environmental and sustainability claims about products and services? "Greenwashing" is getting increasing attention from EU policymakers.  What is the European Union doing to combat "greenwashing" by companies? How does this impact businesses and what should companies expect?

This blog is based on Inline’s panel discussion “EU short-term rentals regulation: where should compromise between the EU institutions lie?” which took place in April 2023. The event brought together Ivars Ijabs MEP, Shadow Rapporteur for the STR Regulation in the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection - IMCO Committee; Inge Janssen, Director Public Affairs, EMEA at Booking.com and Chair of EU travel tech; and Amaryllis Verhoeven, Head of the Digital Transformation of Industry Unit at DG GROW, European Commission. You can find a recording of the event here.

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation will establish rules on the production of goods that are sold in the EU market. These rules will cover the entire life cycle of a product, from its design to its recycling. Companies which build tech devices and online platforms which sell those devices to consumers will have new obligations.

On 7 November 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on data collection and sharing relating to short-term rentals. The proposed Regulation aims to establish a framework to share data between online platforms, hosts and public authorities. This blog analyses the two most pertinent parts of the proposed Regulation; it identifies the aspects that may cause friction; and it suggests how this friction could be addressed by policymakers.

Sweden assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 January and presented its policy programme on Tuesday 17 January to the European Parliament. The programme focuses on competitiveness, security, rule of law and sustainability. In this article, we examine the digital and sustainable priorities outlined in the programme. The Swedish Presidency is expected to drive progress in areas such as cyber security, data sharing, digital identity, and sustainability.

As explained in our previous blog, the European Commission is working on a legislative proposal to ensure European businesses, consumers and governments fully benefit from the free flow of data and are empowered to make better-informed decisions. This initiative, known as the Data Act, will not only regulate data sharing among companies (business-to-business, B2B), but will also specify in which cases and under which conditions companies must share data with governments (business-to-government, B2G). This blog analyses the EU’s plans for the B2G data sharing and identifies outstanding issues for businesses.

In 2025, the value of the data economy in the European Union will be comparable to the GDP of the Netherlands. The actual impact that data will have on European economies and societies, however, will depend as much on technological advancements as on the rules that will govern data use and data sharing. In February 2022, the European Commission is expected to publish a proposal for a Regulation to facilitate data sharing and use between companies (business-to-business, or B2B) and between businesses and governments (business-to-government, or B2G). Known as the Data Act, this long-awaited initiative will have far-reaching impacts on companies, the public sector, and consumers. In this two-part series, we look at what issues the Data Act should address to harness the value of data while ensuring innovation, property rights, and privacy. This blog focuses on business-to-business data-sharing.

The recently launched EU-US Trade and Technology Council is a landmark partnership that seeks to advance transatlantic cooperation in trade, economics, and technology. This blog discusses the importance of the partnership and what it plans to achieve, as well as the main policy areas that the Council will explore.

The European Commission is planning to regulate short-term rental services across the EU to address existing market imbalances, legal uncertainty, and fragmentation. This blog investigates the policy options and considers their impact on the competing interests of European cities, professional and non-professional (peer) short-term rental providers and online platforms.

Our work, education, social interactions, and leisure time take place online more than ever before. Every day enough people to populate a city the size of Frankfurt join the World Wide Web, bringing digital technologies to new users. COVID-19 has increased reliance on technologies such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Netflix and e-commerce platforms.

The European Commission’s ambitious new Communication on Business Taxation for the 21st century outlines its strategy on tax policy and gives an overview of the initiatives to watch out for. It aims to achieve an efficient, fair, and sustainable tax framework and focuses on changes due to digitalization. How will EU policymakers shape tomorrow’s business environment? What are the stakes for the private sector? In this blog, we explore the future of business taxation and the major changes to expect.