EU

No breakthrough in EU debate over chat scanning

EU negotiations over the controversial ‘chat control’ proposal have once again failed to reach a breakthrough, leaving the future of the plan uncertain. The European Commission’s three-year-old proposal aims to curb the spread of child sexual abuse material by allowing authorities to require chat services to screen messages before they are encrypted.

Critics, however, warn that such measures would undermine privacy and amount to state surveillance of private communications.

Under the plan, chat services could only be ordered to scan messages after approval from a judicial authority, and the system would target known child abuse images stored in databases. Text-based messages would not be monitored, according to the Danish EU presidency, which insists that sufficient safeguards are in place.

Despite those assurances, several member states remain unconvinced. Germany has yet to reach a unified position, with Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig stressing that ‘chat control without cause must be taboo in a rule of law.’

Belgium, too, continues to deliberate, with Interior Minister Bernard Quintin calling for a ‘balanced and proportional’ approach between privacy protection and child safety.

The debate remains deeply divisive across Europe, as lawmakers and citizens grapple with a difficult question. How to effectively combat online child abuse without sacrificing the right to private communication?

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Policy hackathon shapes OpenAI proposals ahead of EU AI strategy

OpenAI has published 20 policy proposals to speed up AI adoption across the EU. Released shortly before the European Commission’s Apply AI Strategy, the report outlines practical steps for member states, businesses, and the public sector to bridge the gap between ambition and deployment.

The proposals originate from Hacktivate AI, a Brussels hackathon with 65 participants from EU institutions, governments, industry, and academia. They focus on workforce retraining, SME support, regulatory harmonisation, and public sector collaboration, highlighting OpenAI’s growing policy role in Europe.

Key ideas include Individual AI Learning Accounts to support workers, an AI Champions Network to mobilise SMEs, and a European GovAI Hub to share resources with public institutions. OpenAI’s Martin Signoux said the goal was to bridge the divide between strategy and action.

Europe already represents a major market for OpenAI tools, with widespread use among developers and enterprises, including Sanofi, Parloa, and Pigment. Yet adoption remains uneven, with IT and finance leading, manufacturing catching up, and other sectors lagging behind, exposing a widening digital divide.

The European Commission is expected to unveil its Apply AI Strategy within days. OpenAI’s proposals act as a direct contribution to the policy debate, complementing previous initiatives such as its EU Economic Blueprint and partnerships with governments in Germany and Greece.

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EU digital laws simplified by CEPS Task Force to boost innovation

The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) Task Force, titled ‘Next Steps for EU Law and Regulation for the Digital World’, aims to refine and simplify the EU’s digital rulebook.

This rulebook now covers key legislation, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Digital Services Act (DSA), GDPR, Data Act, AI Act, Data Governance Act (DGA), and Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

While these laws position Europe as a global leader in digital regulation, they also create complexity, overlaps, and legal uncertainty.

The Task Force focuses on enhancing coherence, efficiency, and consistency across digital acts while maintaining strong protections for consumers and businesses.

The CEPS Task Force emphasises targeted reforms to reduce compliance burdens, especially for SMEs, and strengthen safeguards.

It also promotes procedural improvements, including robust impact assessments, independent ex-post evaluations, and the adoption of RegTech solutions to streamline compliance and make regulation more adaptive.

Between November 2025 and January 2026, the Task Force will hold four workshops addressing: alignment of the DMA with competition law, fine-tuning the DSA, improving data governance, enhancing GDPR trust, and ensuring AI Act coherence.

The findings will be published in a Final Report in March 2026, outlining a simpler, more agile EU digital regulatory framework that fosters innovation, reduces regulatory burdens, and upholds Europe’s values.

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OpenAI backs policy push for Europe’s AI uptake

OpenAI and Allied for Startups have released Hacktivate AI, a set of 20 ideas to speed up AI adoption across Europe ahead of the Commission’s Apply AI Strategy.

The report emerged from a Brussels policy hackathon with 65 participants from EU bodies, governments, enterprises and startups, proposing measures such as an Individual AI Learning Account, an AI Champions Network for SMEs, a European GovAI Hub and relentless harmonisation.

OpenAI highlights strong European demand and uneven workplace uptake, citing sector gaps and the need for targeted support, while pointing to initiatives like OpenAI Academy to widen skills.

Broader policy momentum is building, with the EU preparing an Apply AI Strategy to boost homegrown tools and cut dependencies, reinforcing the push for practical deployment across public services and industry.

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A new AI strategy by the EU to cut reliance on the US and China

The EU is preparing to unveil a new strategy to reduce reliance on American and Chinese technology by accelerating the growth of homegrown AI.

The ‘Apply AI strategy’, set to be presented by the EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen, positions AI as a strategic asset essential for the bloc’s competitiveness, security and resilience.

According to draft documents, the plan will prioritise adopting European-made AI tools across healthcare, defence and manufacturing.

Public administrations are expected to play a central role by integrating open-source EU AI systems, providing a market for local start-ups and reducing dependence on foreign platforms. The Commission has pledged €1bn from existing financing programmes to support the initiative.

Brussels has warned that foreign control of the ‘AI stack’ (the hardware and software that underpin advanced systems) could be ‘weaponised’ by state and non-state actors.

These concerns have intensified following Europe’s continued dependence on American tech infrastructure. Meanwhile, China’s rapid progress in AI has further raised fears that the Union risks losing influence in shaping the technology’s future.

Several high-potential AI firms have already been hosted by the EU, including France’s Mistral and Germany’s Helsing. However, they rely heavily on overseas suppliers for software, hardware, and critical minerals.

The Commission wants to accelerate the deployment of European AI-enabled defence tools, such as command-and-control systems, which remain dependent on NATO and US providers. The strategy also outlines investment in sovereign frontier models for areas like space defence.

President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc aims to ‘speed up AI adoption across the board’ to ensure it does not miss the transformative wave.

Brussels hopes to carve out a more substantial global role in the next phase of technological competition by reframing AI as an industrial sovereignty and security instrument.

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EU kicks off cybersecurity awareness campaign against phishing threats

European Cybersecurity Month (ECSM) 2025 has kicked off, with this year’s campaign centring on the growing threat of phishing attacks.

The initiative, driven by the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and the European Commission, seeks to raise awareness and provide practical guidance to European citizens and organisations.

Phishing is still the primary vector through which threat actors launch social engineering attacks. However, this year’s ECSM materials expand the scope to include variants like SMS phishing (smishing), QR code phishing (quishing), voice phishing (vishing), and business email compromise (BEC).

ENISA warns that as of early 2025, over 80 percent of observed social engineering activity involves using AI in their campaigns, in which language models enable more convincing and scalable scams.

To support the campaign, a variety of tiers of actors, from individual citizens to large organisations, are encouraged to engage in training, simulations, awareness sessions and public outreach under the banner #ThinkB4UClick.

A cross-institutional kick-off event is also scheduled, bringing together the EU institutions, member states and civil society to align messaging and launch coordinated activities.

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FRA presents rights framework at EU Innovation Hub AI Cluster workshop in Tallinn

The EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security’s AI Cluster gathered in Tallinn on 25–26 September for a workshop focused on AI and its implications for security and rights.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) played a central role, presenting its Fundamental Rights Impact Assessment framework under the AI Act and highlighting its ongoing project on assessing high-risk AI.

A workshop that also provided an opportunity for FRA to give an update on its internal and external work in the AI field, reflecting the growing need to balance technological innovation with rights-based safeguards.

AI-driven systems in security and policing are increasingly under scrutiny, with regulators and agencies seeking to ensure compliance with EU rules on privacy, transparency and accountability.

In collaboration with Europol, FRA also introduced plans for a panel discussion on ‘The right to explanation of AI-driven individual decision-making’. Scheduled for 19 November in Brussels, the session will form part of the Annual Event of the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security.

It is expected to draw policymakers, law enforcement representatives and rights advocates into dialogue about transparency obligations in AI use for security contexts.

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The EU unveils VLQ quantum computer in Czech Republic

A new quantum computer has been inaugurated at the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Centre in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The system is the second quantum computer launched under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and forms part of Europe’s push to build its quantum infrastructure.

Developed by IQM Quantum Computers, VLQ houses 24 superconducting qubits arranged in a star-shaped topology, designed to reduce swap operations and improve efficiency.

The €5 million project was co-funded by EuroHPC JU and the LUMI-Q consortium, which includes partners from eight European countries. Scientists expect VLQ to accelerate progress in quantum AI, drug discovery, new material design, renewable energy forecasting, and security applications.

The Czech machine will not work in isolation. It is directly connected to the Karolina supercomputer and will later link to the LUMI system in Finland, enabling hybrid classical–quantum computations. Access will be open to researchers, companies, and the public sector across Europe by the end of 2025.

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Apple escalates fight against EU digital law

US tech giant Apple has called for the repeal of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, claiming the rules undermine user privacy, disrupt services, and erode product quality.

The company urged the Commission to replace the legislation with a ‘fit for purpose’ framework, or hand enforcement to an independent agency insulated from political influence.

Apple argued that the Act’s interoperability requirements had delayed the rollout of features in the EU, including Live Translation on AirPods and iPhone mirroring. Additionally, the firm accused the Commission of adopting extreme interpretations that created user vulnerabilities instead of protecting them.

Brussels has dismissed those claims. A Commission spokesperson stressed that DMA compliance is an obligation, not an option, and said the rules guarantee fair competition by forcing dominant platforms to open access to rivals.

A dispute that intensifies long-running friction between US tech firms and the EU regulators.

Apple has already appealed to the courts, with a public hearing scheduled in October, while Washington has criticised the bloc’s wider digital policy.

A clash has deepened transatlantic trade tensions, with the White House recently threatening tariffs after fresh fines against another American tech company.

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New EU biometric checks set to reshape UK travel from 2026

UK travellers to the EU face new biometric checks from 12 October, but full enforcement is not expected until April 2026. Officials say the phased introduction will help avoid severe disruption at ports and stations.

An entry-exit system that requires non-EU citizens to be fingerprinted and photographed, with the data stored in a central European database for three years. A further 90-day grace period will allow French border officials to ease checks if technical issues arise.

The Port of Dover has prepared off-site facilities to prevent traffic build-up, while border officials stressed the gradual rollout will give passengers time to adapt.

According to Border Force director general Phil Douglas, biometrics and data protection advances have made traditional paper passports increasingly redundant.

These changes come as UK holidaymakers prepare for the busiest winter travel season in years, with full compliance due in time for Easter 2026.

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