The European Commission has launched a call for evidence on its proposed EU Quantum Act, a regulation designed to accelerate the research, development, and industrial deployment of quantum technologies across the European Union. The consultation seeks input on measures designed to support and coordinate both EU and national research and innovation activities in quantum technologies, stimulate investments in quantum infrastructure and advance the industrialisation of quantum technologies, and monitor and protect the EU's critical quantum supply chains. The consultation closes on 26 November 2025.

The European Commission has launched a call for evidence on removing barriers to power purchase agreements (PPAs), as part of preparations for a Commission recommendation planned for Q2 2026. The initiative aims to help dismantle regulatory and non-regulatory barriers that continue to limit the signature and use of PPAs in some Member States, despite their role in funding new clean energy infrastructure and providing long-term price stability for electricity producers and buyers. The Commission’s assessment will focus on identifying remaining and additional barriers under current EU legislation, including those affecting the development of renewable energy installations, such as permitting requirements, and those impeding the efficient functioning of electricity markets. The consultation closes on 20 February 2026.

The European Commission has opened a call for evidence to support revisions to the Tobacco Products Directive (Directive 2014/40/EU) and the Tobacco Advertising Directive (Directive 2003/33/EC). This revision follows a 2026 evaluation that found the Directives contributed to a decline in smoking prevalence yet identified ongoing concerns regarding youth smoking and digital marketing practices. The consultation will close on 15 June 2026.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment has launched a call for evidence on a proposed Communication entitled Water sector–accelerating digitalisation for better management and sustainability, which forms part of the European Water Resilience Strategy and is planned for adoption in the fourth quarter of 2026. The Commission stated that water management systems across the EU remain fragmented and insufficiently digitalised, resulting in inefficiencies, higher administrative burdens and weaker responses to droughts, floods, water scarcity and pollution. To address these issues, the initiative proposes accelerating digitalisation through AI-driven data analytics, wider deployment of Internet-of-Things technologies such as smart meters and sensors, increased use of Earth observation systems, and the development of a coherent digital governance framework to improve interoperability, transparency, cybersecurity and data sharing. The Commission argued that EU-level action is necessary because many water challenges are cross-border in nature and because fragmented systems hinder economies of scale and the functioning of the internal market. The initiative is expected to improve operational efficiency, reduce water consumption, strengthen monitoring and forecasting capabilities, lower reporting burdens and support the EU’s competitiveness in the global water technology market, while also contributing to clean water and sustainability objectives. As the proposal is a non-binding Communication, no impact assessment is planned, and the Commission will continue consulting stakeholders throughout 2026 before finalising the action plan. The call for evidence will run until 24 June 2026.

The European Commission has launched a call for feedback on draft guidelines on trusted flaggers under the EU Digital Services Act. Trusted flaggers are entities specialised in identifying illegal content online. The draft guidelines clarify the criteria and procedures for awarding trusted flagger status by Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) and provide guidance on the technical requirements that trusted flaggers and platforms must follow when processing notices of illegal content. The consultation closes on 26 June 2026.

The European Commission has launched a set of initiatives to support innovation, competitiveness and the transition to clean mobility in the automotive sector. The announcements followed the third Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the European Automotive Industry held in Brussels on 12 September 2025, chaired by President Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission confirmed that next steps include the first meeting of the newly launched European Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Alliance (ECAVA), scheduled for late October 2025, and forthcoming proposals on CO₂ standards, corporate fleets and regulatory simplification. The next two years are expected to be decisive for securing technological leadership in connected and autonomous vehicles.

The European Commission has launched a consultation, alongside a call for expressions of interest, to support the implementation of transparency obligations under Article 50 of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act). The initiative aims to assist providers and deployers of generative and interactive AI systems, emotion recognition and biometric categorisation systems, and deep fake technologies in meeting requirements to inform individuals when they are interacting with AI or exposed to AI-generated or manipulated content. The consultation intends to inform the development of guidelines covering the full scope of Article 50, and a Code of Practice focused on technical implementation measures such as watermarking, metadata and cryptographic techniques. An opening plenary is scheduled for early November, with drafting expected to conclude by June 2026. A Q&A published alongside the consultation outlines the scope of the obligations, the types of systems covered, and the role of stakeholders in shaping the Code. The transparency obligations will apply from 2 August 2026. Responses to consultation and call for expressions of interest are sought by 2 October 2025.

The European Commission has launched a consultation on revising the Standardisation Regulation, following an earlier call for evidence. The consultation seeks views from businesses, civil society, academia, public authorities and underrepresented groups such as startups on how to improve the EU’s standard-setting framework. The initiative aims to make the process more inclusive, agile and aligned with EU priorities, including the green and digital transitions. Responses are sought by 17 December 2025.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on its Gender Equality Strategy for 2026-2030. The strategy aims to build on the 2020-2025 programme and recent Roadmap for Women's rights, outlining measures to enable women and men to reach their potential without limitations from gender stereotypes, gaps or violence. The strategy document will detail specific actions for advancing gender equality across Europe, with Commission adoption planned for the first quarter of 2026. The consultation period runs from 19 May to 11 August 2025.

The European Commission has launched a stakeholder consultation to support implementation of the EU AI Act's obligation for providers of general-purpose AI models to identify and comply with reservation of rights expressed by rightsholders. The consultation seeks views on technical feasibility and uptake of Text and Data Mining (TDM) opt-out solutions and invites expressions of interest for follow-up workshops to discuss opt-out protocols that General-Purpose AI (GPAI) Code of Practice signatories must respect under the AI Act. The Commission will facilitate exchanges between stakeholder groups to reach general agreement on machine-readable opt-out solutions, building on commitments to respect robots.txt and subsequent IETF versions of this standard. Following discussions, the Commission will publish a list of generally-agreed machine-readable opt-out solutions, to be reviewed at least every two years alongside Code of Practice updates. The process is organised with support from the EU Intellectual Property Office and targets rightsholders, GPAI providers, civil society organisations, standardisation bodies and other interested parties. The consultation runs from 1 December 2025 to 9 January 2026.

The European Commission has initiated a public consultation and call for evidence on a new roadmap for artificial intelligence and digitalisation in the energy sector. The initiative aims to leverage digital technologies, including AI, across energy applications. The Communication, planned for adoption in the first quarter of 2026, will establish a framework for implementing these technologies in the energy sector. The consultation and call for evidence period runs from 5 August 2025 to 5 November 2025.

The European Commission has launched a consultation on methodologies for measuring the energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of artificial intelligence (AI) models and systems, as part of a broader study on fostering energy-efficient, low-emission AI in the EU and supporting of the implementation of the EU AI Act. The consultation closes on 15 May 2026