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On 23 February 2022, the European Commission unveiled a proposal for an EU regulation – the data act – laying down harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data. The aim is to remove barriers to consumers and businesses' access to data, in a context in which the volume of data generated by humans and machines is increasing exponentially and becoming a critical factor for innovation by businesses (e.g. algorithm training) and by public authorities (e.g. shaping of smart cities). The proposed ...

The 2014 Regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS Regulation or eIDAS) was the first digital identity legislation to provide the basis for cross-border electronic identification, authentication and website certification throughout the EU. Application of eIDAS has been mixed. However, the pandemic increased the need for such solutions to be put in place to access public and private services. On 3 June 2021, the Commission ...

In December 2019, Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (hereafter 'the directive') entered into force. Member States had 2 years to transpose the directive into their domestic legal systems. Prior to the entry into force of the directive, the legal framework was fragmented at national level and limited in scope to specific sectors at EU level (i.e. financial services and transport safety). Transposition did not prove easy, and the European Commission ...

The second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) are the principal texts regulating investment services and financial markets activities in the EU. Following an extensive consultation and in light of the recent developments in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission proposed the establishment of an EU-wide consolidated tape for financial markets instruments, as well as making targeted changes to market ...

The European Parliament is due to vote in April on adopting a regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA), following a provisional agreement on the proposal in trilogue negotiations. The regulation would establish harmonised rules for crypto-assets at EU level, thereby providing legal certainty for those crypto-assets not covered by existing EU legislation. By enhancing consumer and investor protection and financial stability, the regulation seeks to promote innovation and the use of crypto-assets ...

With the current pace of technological innovation, it is clear that the volume of data being exchanged is larger than ever and will only continue growing. The EU's ambitious connectivity targets are pushing policymakers to take a more forward-thinking approach to the telecoms sector. One question EU decision-makers must answer is whether the main digital players, who generate huge volumes of traffic and revenue using the EU's telecoms infrastructure, should contribute to the cost of network roll-out ...

In November 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation laying down measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (the interoperable Europe act). The initiative seeks to ensure a consistent, human-centric EU approach to interoperability, create an interoperability governance structure that helps public administrations and the private sector to work together, and establish an ecosystem of interoperability solutions for the EU's public sector. ...

The recent launches of artificial intelligence (AI) tools capable of generating direct textual answers to questions, notably the chatbot ChatGPT, and the development of general-purpose AI technologies, are expected to revolutionise the application of AI in society and the economy. New AI tools in general offer massive potential for developments in industry, agriculture, health, education and other areas. However, many scientists and politicians are calling for the establishment of a legal and ethical ...

This briefing has been prepared for the public hearing with the Chair of the ECB Supervisory Board, Andrea Enria, in ECON on 21 March 2023, covering: • A European perspective on recent US bank failures, in particular Silicon Valley Bank • SREP results for 2022 • Supervisory Banking Statistics • EBF-commissioned study on the cost of regulation for EU banks • EBA 2023 EU-wide stress test scenario • ECB sanction for failing to report cyber incident within deadline • Enhanced Code of Conduct ...

In February 2022, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a regulation on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data. The European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) approved its report on the act in February 2023. Parliament is due to vote on the report during its March I plenary session.