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Executive Board Category 1 recommendations

Below are the policy issues identified by EPAC as potential Category 1 priorities during the policy prioritisation workshop held on 1 September.
Please review the list and select up to five issues that you consider the highest priorities for DIGITALEUROPE in the coming year.

About you:

Please select up to five issues that you see as top priority for DIGITALEUROPE for the coming year.

Security and Defence
Description: Covers defence digitalisation, software-defined defence, dual-use technology, procurement and the European Defence Single Market. The impact is faster deployment, less market fragmentation and stronger interoperability.
Description: Covers the January 2026 Cybersecurity Act revision (ENISA mandate, certification schemes, NIS2 simplification) alongside Cyber Resilience Act implementation (reporting from September 2026, application in 2027). Upcoming negotiations, harmonised standards and 18 secondary acts will determine whether compliance remains workable, voluntary and genuinely simplified.
Tech Sovereignty
Description: June 2026 proposal combining a four-level sovereign cloud framework, faster data-centre permitting and joint cloud procurement. It will shape cloud market access, investment conditions and public-sector demand.
Description: Q4 2026 reform of rules governing public procurement, worth 14% of EU DGP. It will determine how far buyers can favour European offers while simplifying procedures and protecting security of supply.
EU-US & Strategic international relations
Description: Establishes a strategic framework for EU-US economic and digital cooperation, covering cyber mutual recognition, the EU-US digital dialogue, joint investment, a moratorium on electronic transmissions and tariff arrangements. Effective implementation will be critical to maintaining transatlantic economic stability.
Simplifying & Cutting the burden
Description: Combines digital rulebook revisions (AI Act, Data Act, GDPR, ePrivacy) with a Single Entry Point for cyber incident reporting. Negotiations will determine whether reforms deliver real burden reduction, protect international data flows, and align timelines and thresholds so companies can report once.
Description: Rules for AI developers and deployers phase in through August 2028. Standards, guidelines, codes and secondary legislation will determine companies' obligations.
Description: Umbrella reform of standardisation, product compliance and market surveillance rules. It will shape how products enter and move across the Single Market, including conformity assessment and the Digital Product Passport.
Description: Sets ecodesign rules for circular products. Upcoming measures cover repairability, recycled content, recyclability, energy labelling, substances of concern and links to the Circular Economy Act and WEEE revision.
Description: Adopted omnibus largely reflects DIGITALEUROPE's simplification priorities for CSRD, CSDDD and EU Taxonomy. Revisions and guidelines are being developed to further reduce complexity for companies.
Investment & incentives
Description: Negotiations on the EU's 2028-2034 budget, including a proposed €400 billion-plus Competitiveness Fund and €50 billion-plus for digital leadership. The outcome will determine funding for critical technologies and whether new revenue measures raise member costs.
Description: Targets national barriers that prevent companies scaling across Europe. Work centres on the Single Market Strategy, the Roadmap to 2028 and a possible Barrier Reduction Act in late 2027.