Brussels, 20 May 2026 – DOT Europe has joined a broad coalition of industry associations in a joint letter to the Council of the European Union, calling on Member States to preserve the ambition of the Digital Omnibus ahead of a General Approach.
While we support a swift agreement, the current trajectory of Council negotiations is moving in the wrong direction. Compromise texts from the Cypriot Presidency significantly weaken key simplification goals while introducing additional burdens: rolling back GDPR amendments, rejecting a centralised EU incident reporting mechanism, and introducing unworkable cookie rules.
If this trajectory continues, the Digital Omnibus will fall well short of meaningful simplification, with tangible consequences for Europe’s ability to compete, innovate, and attract investment.
On GDPR: The Commission’s targeted amendments should be maintained. Clarifying the conditions for personal data use in AI is essential: removing these provisions would create significant legal uncertainty and undermine innovation and scientific research.
On cookie rules: The Council should reject complex and unworkable rules on centralised consent, avoid imposing consent requirements on low-risk processing, and preserve independent market-agreed audience measurement.
On cyber incident reporting: A centralised EU reporting mechanism is essential. National approaches create disproportionate burdens for cross-border operators and must be replaced by harmonised obligations, timelines, and definitions across cybersecurity frameworks.
On the Data Act: Trade secrets must be adequately protected, with clear safeguards against unlawful use, loss of proprietary know-how, and safety risks.
Member States endorsed this proposal’s simplification goals. That commitment should be reflected in the final outcome.
