By Kai Zenner

In its 2025 work programme, the European Commission effectively scrapped the AI Liability Directive (AILD) – a move that threatens to unravel trust in the EU’s burgeoning AI policy landscape. This abrupt decision strips away potential critical protections for victims of AI-related harm and denies businesses the legal certainty they need to innovate.

While the Commission touts a ‘Bolder, Simpler, Faster Union’, abandoning the AILD risks undercutting Europe’s competitive edge and leaving a gaping hole in its AI legal framework. In doing so, the Commission is undermining its own goal of fostering an ecosystem of trust and promoting AI made in the EU.

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By J. Scott Marcus

The complexity of EU law dealing with digital services has exploded over the past five to 10 years, both in the sheer number of laws that have come into force, and in how complicated they are. Under these circumstances, the task of ensuring consistency across these laws – not only in the laws’ text but also how they’re enforced among Member States – has absolutely exploded. The Letta report, the Draghi report and the Commission’s new Competitive Compass have all called for making EU regulation simpler, more coherent and more consistent across the Member States.

Multiple reports and surveys show that businesses are not only concerned about the growing regulatory burden but are also increasingly uncertain over how to comply with multiple laws that cannot be guaranteed to be fully mutually . Despite the legislators’ best efforts, experience has shown that some inconsistencies only become evident once the laws have come into force – and that’s why we need to set up a new coordination body to rectify this, an EU Digital Clearinghouse.

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By Lisa Goerlitz and Rosa Castro

The EU’s ambitions must be supported by adequate resources. This is particularly true for global health, where uncertainty stemming from the new US administration and other geopolitical shifts highlight the urgent need for the EU to step into the leadership role it has long sought.

Neglected diseases (or ‘NDs’) present a strategic opportunity for the EU to make a smart investment that could have a real impact on global health. NDs impact around 1.6 billion people globally, causing devastating health and socioeconomic consequences. Since those affected primarily live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with limited ability to pay, there has been little to no commercial incentive for developing new medicines and vaccines targeting NDs.

Both the spread of NDs as well as their global health security significance are shifting. Climate change is facilitating the (re-)emergence of vector-borne diseases in other regions; linked challenges such as rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are increasing the disease burden; and some NDs have epidemic or even pandemic potential. As we’ve seen for Ebola or mpox, NDs tend to be neglected – until they come (close) to us. But at that point, it may already be too late for many to benefit from a new vaccine or medicine.

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