CEE Digital Coalition calls for simplified and unified digital regulations in the EU
Digital industry organizations from Central and Eastern Europe, united under the CEE Digital Coalition, are calling on the European Commission to take bold action to simplify and harmonize the EU’s digital rules. According to the coalition, today’s complex and overlapping regulations are holding back Europe’s tech sector, especially small and medium-sized companies, and undermining the continent’s ability to compete globally.
The coalition refers to the findings of Mario Draghi’s report on EU competitiveness, which warned that “regulatory barriers to scaling up are particularly onerous in the tech sector, especially for young companies”. One year later, little has changed, and Europe’s digital framework remains overly complicated and burdensome.
The upcoming “Digital Omnibus” - a legislative initiative planned by the European Commission to streamline and consolidate existing digital laws - should, in the coalition’s view, mark a turning point. It offers a unique opportunity to build a simpler, more innovation-friendly regulatory environment that allows European companies to grow, invest, and create jobs.
“We need a fundamental rethink of digital regulation. Rules should empower innovation, not restrict it. The EU must move beyond a risk-only mindset and start building space for technological growth”, said Michał Kanownik, President of Digital Poland Association, one of the founding members of the CEE Digital Coalition.
Three priorities for a smarter digital Europe
The coalition highlights three areas where reform is most urgently needed.
First, artificial intelligence - regulations should foster innovation, ensure broad access to data, and remain flexible as technology evolves.
Second, cybersecurity and data protection - reporting and documentation obligations should be simplified and harmonized across the EU.
Third, digital content and consumer protection - instead of introducing new rules, the EU should focus on enforcing the existing ones and reducing unnecessary overlap.
The signatories - Digital Poland Association (Poland), INFOBALT (Lithuania), BAIT (Bulgaria), AAVIT (Romania), IVSZ (Hungary), ITL (Estonia) and SPCR (Czech Republic) - express their readiness to work with the European Commission to create a clearer, fairer, and more competitive regulatory landscape for Europe’s digital economy.