Deregulatory avant-garde? How the small EU member states orchestrated the Union’s Digital Omnibus
Why is the European Union stepping back from ambitious regulation of the digital economy, and what role do smaller member states play in this shift? These questions are addressed in a publication by researchers Daniel Šitera and Jakub Eberle, published on the Internet Policy Review website. The authors analyse recent changes in EU digital policy and draw attention to the often-overlooked influence of smaller member states on the direction of digital regulation in the EU.
At the end of 2025, the European Commission published a proposal for the Digital Omnibus, a package of measures that weakens several key elements of the EU’s existing approach to digital regulation. Among other things, the proposal reduces the level of personal data protection enshrined in the GDPR and postpones the introduction of selected rules for high-risk artificial intelligence systems under the AI Act. This move signals a shift away from the regulatory ambitions often associated with the EU’s digital sovereignty strategy, which has shaped European digital policy since 2019.
In the publication, Daniel Šitera and Jakub Eberle analyse the role of smaller EU member states, particularly those from Northern, Baltic, and Central Europe within the D9+ coalition, in shaping the Digital Omnibus. They show that these states have long been sceptical of ambitious digital regulation and have consistently favoured more flexible, less binding approaches. From this perspective, the Digital Omnibus is interpreted not as a sudden reversal, but as a “tipping point” in EU digital policy.
What does the influence of smaller member states mean for the future of EU digital governance? Read the full publication on the Internet Policy Review website to explore the authors’ analysis in detail.
