European Commission
8 stories about European Commission, newest first.
Explainer Semiconductors
Chips Act 2.0, explained: how the EU wants to change the way Europe backs its chip industry
The European Commission is promoting its Chips Act 2.0, a June proposal that would replace the 2023 chips law. Here is what it would change, why the first act is expected to miss its main goal, and what the proposal does not yet contain: a new headline budget.
· 8 min read
News analysis EU and Canada
The EU drops 'associate membership' for Canada. What that means for tech
Brussels has removed the term from its draft summit declaration after objections led by Germany. For technology, the most concrete ties sit in separate agreements, from research and defence procurement to AI cooperation. Planned cloud and satellite items depend on the final text.
· 7 min read
News analysis Digital Services Act
Booking.com's scam problem becomes an EU case
The European Commission has opened its first Digital Services Act investigation into Amsterdam-based Booking.com. It wants to know whether the platform did enough against fake listings and phishing, and whether paid-for search placements are clearly marked as ads.
· 6 min read
Explainer Policy
Easy to join, hard to quit: the EU is preparing rules against subscription traps
The European Commission is expected to propose a Digital Fairness Act in mid-November, updating consumer law for apps, games and online shops. It could give 27 countries one clear answer to practices that current rules only partly cover, from dark patterns to subscriptions that are hard to cancel.
· 3 min read
Explainer Digital Markets Act
Siri AI still missing from EU iPhones as Apple and Brussels trade blame over the DMA
Four months after Apple unveiled Siri AI, the assistant has still not reached iPhones and iPads in the European Union, and the most recent statement from Apple that we could find, in June, said it had no timeline. Apple blames the Digital Markets Act, while the European Commission says holding the assistant back is Apple's own decision.
· 5 min read
News analysis Policy
Europe’s out-of-court appeal system for platform decisions is still being worked out
The Commission brought platforms and national regulators together to discuss the Digital Services Act’s dispute process. The meeting is evidence of implementation work, not a new rule or a verdict on platform compliance.
· 2 min read
News analysis Policy
The EU is sketching rules for independent checks on powerful AI models
A report from a July workshop sets out possible criteria for external evaluators of general-purpose AI. It records an ongoing design discussion, not a new certification system or completed safety assessment.
· 3 min read
News analysis Climate
Europe’s industrial electrification push has 189 demonstrations. Scaling them is the harder test
A Commission agency has catalogued nearly €1bn of projects across 21 countries, with about €600m in EU support. The examples show technologies in use or demonstration, not a completed industrial transition.
· 2 min read