Dispatch from Brussels: Updates on EU tech policy 

Cyprus to take over Council Presidency in 2026: With Denmark’s Council presidency coming to an end, Cyprus has been further clarifying its presidency programme and objectives. Speaking at a pannel on digitalisation and competitiveness, Cyprus highlighted that its presidency of the Council would be guided by three guiding principles:

Cyprus has signalled that it would seeks to make existing rules work rather than focusing on presenting new initiatives, by simplifying compliance, providing tools like the Business Wallet to reduce bureaucratic hurdles, and ensuring cybersecurity rules remain strong and workable. As a reminder, Cyprus will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026.

Skills and mobility

UK rejoins Erasmus+ programme: on 17 December it was announced that the UK would be rejoining the Erasums+ programme in 2027. The UK’s rejoining of this important channel for international study, vocational placements and cultural exchange, will boost the skills pipeline that the UK tech employers rely on while also strengthening links between UK and EU research innovation communities.  Reestablishing these people-to-people ties will help build a more globally competitive tech workforce and support collaboration on education and digital skills initiatives. You can read techUK’s official statement on the website

AI Sandboxes consultation: The EU Commission is seeking feedback on rules to set for the establishment and operation of AI regulatory sandboxes as mandated by the AI Act. The AI act offers the possibility for providers to develop, train, validate and test their innovative AI system for a limited time under regulatory supervision in a controlled framework set up by a competent authority. This can also be done where appropriate in real-world conditions. AI regulatory sandboxes will support the objective of the AI Act to foster AI innovation and support compliance with the AI Act. The Commission will adopt an implementing act to set out the common rules for the establishment and operation of AI regulatory sandboxes as mandated by the AI Act. The draft implementing act will be open for feedback until 13 January 2026

Consultation on protocols for reserving rights from text and data mining: The Commission has launched a stakeholder consultation to support the implementation of the AI Act’s obligation for providers of general-purpose AI models to identify and comply with reservation of rights expressed by rightsholders. The Commission, supported by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and stakeholder groups, is facilitating identification of state-of-the-art, technically implementable opt-out protocols widely adopted across cultural and creative sectors. The consultation invites rightsholders, GPAI providers, civil society organisations, standardisation bodies and others to share views on technical feasibility and uptake of different text and data mining opt-out solutions identified in EUIPO’s generative AI copyright study. Following discussions, the Commission will publish a regularly reviewed list of agreed machine-readable opt-out solutions. The consultation period will close on 23 January 2026

First Draft Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content: on 17 December, the EU Commission published its first draft code of practice regarding content falling within the scope of Article 50(2) and (4) of the EU’s AI act. The code aims to ensure transparency of AI-generated or manipulated content, such as deep fakes in order to address risks of deception and manipulation. A second draft of the code is expected for March 2026 before a final adoption around June 2026.

AI and MedTech: on 16 December the EU Commission proposed new measures meant to simplify rules for the development of medical devices. The proposal includes a significant amendment to how the AI Act would apply to medical technologies. Notably, the proposal would shift the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) from Annex I, Section A to Section B. This change would change compliance requirements with AI rules by mostly relying on sector specific regime (the AI act would apply as clarified through secondary legislation).

Sovereignty

Commission publishes paper on enhancing data sovereignty for research: The EU Commission’s focus on all aspects of digital sovereignty (from cloud services to procurement rules) was further expanded upon on 17 December with the publishing of an opinion paper by the EU’s European Open Science Cloud steering board which put forward recommendations aimed at strengthening Europe’s capacity to manage, govern, an safeguard research data and data services.

Skills and mobility

UK rejoins Erasmus+ programme: on 17 December it was announced that the UK would be rejoining the Erasums+ programme. The UK’s rejoining of this important channel for international study, vocational placements and cultural exchange, will boost the skills pipeline that the UK tech employers rely on while also strengthening links between UK and EU research innovation communities.  Reestablishing these people-to-people ties will help build a more globally competitive tech workforce and support collaboration on education and digital skills initiatives. You can read techUK’s official statement on the website.

techUK International Policy and Trade Programme activities

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