Digital Omnibus: Council Negotiations Postponed

UPDATE (June 29, 2026): Council requests more time; AAVIT and DIGITALEUROPE welcome the postponement

Negotiations on the Digital Omnibus have progressed since this article was first published. At the end of June, the Council of the EU was expected to agree on a general approach to the proposal. However, the item was removed from the agenda after a group of Member States led by Germany – together with the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal and Austria – requested more time to assess the package.

For AAVIT and the more than 30 European and national associations that signed the joint appeal, this represents a limited but tangible success for the shared campaign. The final shape of the Digital Omnibus will now be negotiated in July under the Irish Presidency. AAVIT will continue to monitor developments and provide updates on the next steps.

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For Europe to succeed in the global digital economy, it must create an environment in which European companies can innovate, invest, use data and scale their technologies. Regulation must protect citizens, businesses and the public interest, but it must not hinder the growth of the digital economy or impose additional costs without clear benefits.

The Digital Omnibus is one of the key instruments that could help simplify Europe’s digital regulatory framework. However, a joint appeal by DIGITALEUROPE and the signatory organisations warns that the proposal in its current form does not yet go far enough to achieve this ambition. Rather than rushing through partial amendments, the signatories argue that sufficient time should be devoted to the proposal and that changes should deliver genuine legal certainty and practical simplification.

Three areas requiring clearer solutions

The joint appeal focuses on three main areas: the Data Act, cybersecurity reporting obligations and legal certainty concerning the development and use of artificial intelligence under the GDPR.

1. Voluntary frameworks for B2B data sharing

One of the main issues concerns the rules governing data sharing between businesses. According to the signatories, the current approach risks forcing companies to disclose sensitive operational and proprietary data to third parties, including competitors both within and outside Europe.

AAVIT therefore supports an approach that prioritises voluntary frameworks for business-to-business data sharing. Such frameworks can provide stronger protection for trade secrets, investments in innovation and companies’ confidence in the European data economy. The aim is not to prevent data sharing, but to ensure that the rules are predictable, secure and workable for businesses in practice.

2. One incident, one report

Another critical area is cybersecurity reporting. Companies currently face a growing number of obligations arising from different pieces of legislation, including the NIS2 Directive, the Cyber Resilience Act, the GDPR, DORA and other regulations. A single cybersecurity incident can therefore trigger several parallel reporting requirements, each with different deadlines, forms and information requirements.

According to the signatories, this approach does not improve security. Instead, it diverts cybersecurity teams away from responding to the incident itself and towards administrative tasks. AAVIT therefore supports the principle of “one incident, one report”: the creation of a unified European system for reporting cybersecurity incidents that would reduce duplication, harmonise definitions and allow companies to focus primarily on protecting their networks, systems and users.

3. Legal certainty for AI, research and the use of data

The third key issue is legal certainty surrounding the development and use of artificial intelligence. European companies need clearer rules on how data may be used to train, develop and deploy AI systems, including the use of pseudonymised data, legitimate interest as a legal basis and data used for research purposes.

Uncertainty in this area could drive innovation, investment and talent away from Europe. To develop its own AI solutions and strengthen its technological sovereignty, Europe must provide businesses with a clear and predictable legal framework. This framework must protect privacy and fundamental rights while also enabling the responsible development and use of modern technologies.

Simplification must deliver results in practice

AAVIT has long advocated for a digital policy that combines the protection of the public interest with rules that are workable in practice for businesses, research organisations and innovators. European regulation must be clear, feasible and consistent across different legislative frameworks. Only then can it support the competitiveness of the European economy and enable European companies to succeed globally.

The Digital Omnibus represents an opportunity to eliminate duplication, strengthen legal certainty and create a simpler framework for data, AI and cybersecurity. However, the signatories stress that this opportunity must not be wasted through rushed negotiations or incomplete solutions.

The full text of the joint appeal is available on the DIGITALEUROPE website.