“Simplify”, “Streamline”, “Scale back”. While EU communiqués often find creative ways to avoid uttering the word “deregulation”, this new European Commission is all about boosting the bloc’s competitiveness by “cutting red tape”. The intention to stimulate the continent’s economy might be laudable, but there is a real risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
The Draghi Report, presented in September 2024, laid the foundation for a shake-up of one of the EU’s crown jewels in digital regulation – the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to the report, certain regulations present “overlaps and inconsistencies”, leading to fragmentation.
