EuroISPA General Meeting in Brussels: Strengthening Coordination in a Changing Digital Landscape

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Brussels, March 16-17, 2026

EuroISPA’s first General Meeting of the year, on 16 and 17 March, brought members together in Brussels for two days of constructive exchanges at a defining moment for European digital policy. As the regulatory landscape continues to expand and evolve, the meeting provided a timely opportunity to align perspectives, reinforce cooperation, and turn shared challenges into collective priorities.

A shared reality: navigating complexity across Member States

The discussions opened with the usual tour de table of national developments, offering a comprehensive overview of how EU level initiatives are being implemented across Europe as well as any relevant national developments for EuroISPA members. Members highlighted ongoing work related to major legislative files such as the NIS2 Directive, the Data Act and the AI Act, alongside national trends on age verification, infrastructure deployment, copyright and data governance.

While these developments reflect the growing complexity of the policy environment, they also underline the increasing relevance of EuroISPA as a space for coordination. By comparing approaches and identifying common challenges, members are better equipped to anticipate risks, share solutions, and contribute more effectively to EU level discussions.

From feedback to direction: shaping EuroISPA’s priorities

This collective perspective was further reinforced through the presentation of the Membership Survey results. The discussion confirmed strong support for EuroISPA’s work, while also providing valuable guidance on how to further enhance its impact.

Rather than highlighting gaps, members approached this exercise as an opportunity to refine the association’s positioning, strengthen engagement, and sharpen its strategic focus, with a revamped set of different activities and deliverables for 2026.

Engaging constructively on key legislative developments

The General Meeting provided once again a moment of fruitful and direct exchanges with policymakers on two central files for the association.

The discussion on the Cybersecurity Act Review with Paul Diegel, Head of Office to Rapporteur MEP Markéta Gregorová, offered valuable insights into the direction of the file. While the negotiations have not yet begun with the Parliament and the Council, the exchange allowed members to better understand the legislative process, the content of the Cybersecurity Package and identify points of constructive engagement.

Similarly, the session on the Digital Networks Act, with Arantzazu Golderos and Andrew Tony Camilleri, Policy Officers at the European Commission, highlighted both the ambition and the complexity of strengthening Europe’s connectivity framework.  Members discussed with the European Commission important points for our common vision on the Digital Networks Act, such as the general authorisation regime, spectrum coordination, ensuring regulatory flexibility in copper switch-off, and investment conditions in infrastructure. These exchanges reflected EuroISPA’s commitment to strengthening digital infrastructure while safeguarding the principles that have made the internet a resilient and open platform.

Turning discussion into action: the role of EuroISPA’s Committees

Throughout the meeting, Committees translated these high-level discussions into concrete follow up work.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Committee continued  its evaluation of key files such as the Cybersecurity Act Review and the Digital Networks Act, while also addressing implementation aspects of the e Evidence framework and touching upon the upcoming Tech Sovereignty Package.

Furthermore, the Online Content Committee pursued its work on complex regulatory topics and ongoing focus points, including on child protection, piracy, and copyright.

Finally, the Data Economy Committee mainly focused on the ongoing developments on the Digital Omnibus on Data and Cyber, together with considerations on the broader data governance discussions and possible upcoming initiatives, identifying potential priorities for the rest of the year.

Looking ahead with a shared ambition

The second day of the meeting focused on governance and forward planning, with members approving the 2025 results and the 2026 budget, as well as discussing the work programme for the year ahead. Conversations on membership developments and outreach reflected a common ambition to further strengthen EuroISPA’s role within the European digital ecosystem.

Across all sessions, one message stood out clearly: in a rapidly evolving policy environment, coordination is a strength. By bringing together national expertise, engaging directly with policymakers, and structuring collective action, EuroISPA continues to position itself as a key voice for the Internet Service Providers (ISP) community in Europe.

This will continue to be EuroISPA’s mission throughout 2026.

A strong community moving forward

This first General Meeting of 2026 once again demonstrated the value of collaboration, open dialogue, and shared commitment. The diversity of perspectives within EuroISPA is an opportunity and a key asset in navigating complexity and shaping balanced policy outcomes, characterised by a high level of technical expertise present across all the membership.

A warm thank you to all members and speakers who contributed to these discussions. EuroISPA will now build on this momentum by deepening engagement with EU institutions on key legislative files, advancing committee work through targeted workshops and position papers, and strengthening coordination across members to ensure a consistent and impactful contribution to ongoing policy debates.

EuroISPA Brussels General Meeting: A Recap  

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Brussels, November 17-18, 2025

Last week, EuroISPA brought together its members, partners, and guest experts for a two-day General Meeting filled with exchange, insights, and collective planning for the year ahead. Participants joined both in Brussels and online. 

The meeting opened with the confirmation of the new President Romain Bonenfant and Board. Members also marked an important milestone with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding with a key industry partner RIPE NCC, a sign of EuroISPA’s ongoing commitment to strengthening cooperation across the internet ecosystem. 

Across both days, national associations shared updates on digital developments in their respective countries, highlighting trends on cybersecurity, infrastructure, data policy, and evolving regulatory priorities. These exchanges remain one of the most valuable elements of EuroISPA meetings, offering a real snapshot of the challenges and opportunities across Europe. 

The programme also featured several guest speakers who provided timely perspectives on topics such as AI and copyright, data retention, the protection of children online, and online piracy. These sessions sparked constructive discussions among members, especially around emerging technological shifts and what they mean for ISPs and the wider digital sector. Among these we had the pleasure of welcoming high-level speakers such as BEREC Co-Chairs Amédée von Moltke and Christoph Mertens, who provided a clear overview of the 2024 BEREC Report on the IP Interconnection ecosystem, Stephan Edelbroich from the EUIPO Observatory, presenting the EUIPO study “The development of Generative Artificial Intelligence from a Copyright perspective,” and several experts from the European Commission. We thank all the speakers for their valuable input. 

Internally, members reviewed ongoing work, administrative updates, and policy priorities for 2026. The agenda included as usually exchanges on our Committees’ work areas: 

📌the Online Content Committee, tackling in particular the way forward on the Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse, age verification, piracy, copyright, and the Digital Fairness Act.    

📌 the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Committee, setting the agenda for relevant initiatives ahead such as the Europol regulation, the ICT tool box and the Digital Networks Act. The committee also informed members of the e-Evidence IT decentralised system implementation and the upcoming Cybersecurity Act Review.  

📌 the Data Economy Committee, focusing on the strategically important topic of Data Retention, GDPR simplification and the e-privacy and AI components of the Digital Omnibus package.   

You can read more about the work of our Committees here.  

As always, EuroISPA’s General Meeting was a valuable moment to connect, coordinate, and look ahead together. With several key regulatory files on the horizon and new initiatives in development, 2026 is shaping up to be an important year and the collaboration across the association continues to be one of its greatest strengths. 

This General Meeting was yet another reminder of the strength of EuroISPA’s community: diverse perspectives, constructive dialogue, and a shared commitment to shaping a fair, secure and open internet environment in Europe. 

A warm thank you to all members who participated and contributed to the discussions, both in person and remotely. We look forward to continuing this important work together, and to meeting again at the first General Meeting of 2026! 

EuroISPA General Meeting in Paris: a recap

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Paris, June 16-17, 2025

Earlier this week, the EuroISPA community travelled to Paris for the second General Meeting of the year, bringing together our members, Board Officers and Secretariat, kindly hosted by our French member Fédération Française des Télécoms (FFT).  

Between committee updates, policy discussions, guest speakers, and strategy sessions, it was truly a pleasure to meet and work together to shape the future of the Internet, discussing on the most pressing issues and priorities and how our unique association can tackle them.  

We were delighted to host a roundtable discussion with experts from the Council of Europe on the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention, which aims to enhance cooperation on cybercrime and improve the ability of criminal justice authorities to collect electronic evidence. Big thank you to the CoE representatives who joined us for this fruitful exchange:  

• Pedro Verdelho, Chair of the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) 

• Jan Kralik, Programme Manager, T-CY 

• Jutta Dinca, Programme Manager, CyberSPEX 

We also had the pleasure of welcoming high-level speakers from the Frech regulatory landscape, with whom our members had the opportunity to discuss and debate on relevant matters for the internet industry: 

•  Benoît Loutrel, Board member of the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) on the implementation of the Digital Services Act and regulation of platforms 

•  Sandrine Elmi Hersi, Head of Unit at the French Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Services and Print Media Distribution (Arcep) on the eco-design of digital services, including data centers and AI 

The agenda included as usually exchanges on relevant updates at national level, as well as agreeing and joining forces for the strategic way forward for current topics of attention in our Committees’ work: 

📌 the Online Content Committee, tackling in particular the way forward on the Digital Services Act guidelines on the protection of minors, Piracy, Copyright and the Digital Fairness Act; 

📌 the Data Economy Committee, strategically focusing on the central topic of Data Retention and ProtectEU Strategy, the GDPR simplification and IV omnibus package and the state of play of the AI Act implementation; 

📌 the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Committee, setting the agenda for relevant initiatives ahead such as the Cyber Blueprint, the energy data centre rules and the Digital Networks Act. The committee also adopted a EuroISPA letter to be sent to the European Commission on e-Evidence, a central topic for our association. 

You can read more about the work of our Committees here. 

Last but not least, following a strong collaborative effort and thoughtful deliberation, EuroISPA members have adopted the EuroISPA Vision 2024–2029. This document outlines key priorities and forward-looking recommendations for the new mandate and will be published on our website soon. 

In general, EuroISPA’s work on current relevant public consultations and positioning is thriving, therefore stay tuned for more updates and upcoming positions on our website and LinkedIn channel! 

Thank you to all our members who participated actively in the discussions and to our guest speakers for providing valuable insights. 

The next EuroISPA General Meeting will be held in Brussels in November – already looking forward to meeting our members again! 

EuroISPA General Meeting in Brussels: a recap

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Brussels, March 27-28, 2025

Last week, the EuroISPA community convened in Brussels for the first General Meeting of the year, bringing together Council and Forum members, Board Officers and Secretariat, in the EuroISPA offices for a very fruitful exchange.

Our members gathered to recap the activities of the association in 2024 and discuss the next steps in the new mandate of the European institutions, identifying priority areas for EuroISPA to focus on in 2025 and beyond, as well as revamped ways of working.

The agenda included as usually exchanging insights on the strategic way forward of current topics of attention for our Committees’ work:

📌 in the Online Content Committee, we discussed the ongoing developments around child protection and CSAM Regulation negotiations and the ongoing and upcoming activities of the association on piracy, especially in close coordination with the EUIPO.

📌 the Data Economy Committee, focusing on the ongoing and upcoming work of the institutions around, among others, the Internal Security Strategy, the Digital Fairness Act, and debated on the future of the Data Privacy Framework, ePrivacy and AI.

📌 the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Committee, with updates on critical past and upcoming institutional works such as the DNA, CRA and CSA consultations, NIS2 and the Council Conclusions on reliable and resilient connectivity.  The Committee was delighted to appoint its new Chair – Elisabeth Debar from FFT. We are confident that her experience in cyber policies, both at the French and the European level, will bring invaluable expertise to the Committee.

Read more about the work of our Committees here.

During the two days, EuroISPA had the pleasure of welcoming high-level speakers, with whom members had the opportunity to exchange and debate on relevant matters for the internet industry:

🔹 Kia Slæbæk Jensen, Defence, Cyber and Hybrid Threats Attachée at the Danish Permanent Representation to the EU, on cyber and infrastructure resilience as well as Denmark’s cyber priorities, ahead of the upcoming Danish EU Presidency
🔹 Werner Stengg, Cabinet Expert of Executive-Vice President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen, on Opportunities and challenges of the new EU institutional mandate
🔹 Katinka Clausdatter Worsøe, Telecom Attachée at the Danish Permanent Representation to the EU on Denmark’s Digital and Telecom Priorities, ahead of the upcoming Danish EU Presidency​

Finally, we had the pleasure of having with us Keilin Tammepärg, Head of Policy and Legal affairs of the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications, bringing one more national association’s perspective to the table.

Thank you to all our members who participated actively in the discussions and to our guest speakers for providing valuable insights.

The next EuroISPA General Meeting will be held in Paris in June – stay tuned!

EuroISPA General Meeting in Brussels: a recap

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Brussels, September 23-24, 2024

Last week, the EuroISPA community travelled to Brussels for the third General Meeting of the year, gathering Council and Forum members, Board Officers and Secretariat, in the EuroISPA offices.

With the European elections now behind us, a new insitutional and political scenario slowly forming, and an entire EU agenda still to shape, our members gathered to discuss the next steps for EuroISPA to expand its connections with newly-elected EU policymakers and contribute to new (and old) policy files that will be on the agenda in the next months.

The two-day meeting covered:

📌 The confirmation of Whalebone as a new EuroISPA Industry Forum member

📌 An analsys of the proposed new college of Commissioners and what this means for EuroISPA’s activities

📌 EuroISPA’s engagement strategy to approach new policymakers and share our messages for the new EU mandate

📌 Exchange on several EuroISPA statements on topics such as sustainability, GDPR, AI, CSAM and payments.

Finally, we had the pleasure of welcoming several guest speakers:

  • Eric Ducoulombier, Head of Unit B3 on Retail Financial services, DG FISMA, European Commission, on addressing impersonation fraud in payments, with a focus on cooperation, consumer awareness, and liability
  • Dan Nechita, Head of Cabinet of Dragoş Tudorache and Lead technical negotiator for the AI Act in the 9th European Parliament, on the challenges and opportunities for the Internet industry and the role of the AI Office after the adoption of the AI Act
  • Anja Wyrobek, Advisor to MEP Birgit Sippel, LIBE Committee, on the future of privacy and data for the Internet industry and the interplay with AI

The next EuroISPA General Meeting will be held in Brussels in November – stay tuned!

EuroISPA General Meeting in Rome: a recap

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Rome, June 27-28, 2024

Last week, the EuroISPA community travelled to Rome for the second General Meeting of the year, gathering Council and Forum members, Board Officers and Secretariat, kindly hosted by our Italian member AIIP.

This General Meeting came at a turning point in Europe’s political landscape, with the European elections results still fresh, the start of the Hungarian Presidency, and an entire EU agenda still to shape. This is precisely what our members discussed together in the two-day meeting in Rome. The agenda included:

📌 A nice welcome and overview of the work and priorities of AIIP, representing ISPs in Italy

📌 Analysis of the EU Elections results, what they mean for EuroISPA members, and our upcoming engagement efforts

📌 Approval of EuroISPA’s feedback to the European Commission’s White Paper on Digital Infrastructure. You can read our submission here.

📌 Exchange on several EuroISPA statements on topics such as sustainability, GDPR, AI, data retention, CSAM and payments.

Finally, we had the pleasure of welcoming several guest speakers:

  • Vinicio Peluffo, Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies for the Democratic Party, on how Italy is preparing for challenges stemming from AI
  • Kristian Bartholin, Secretary to the Council of Europe’s Committee on AI, on the expectations on AI governance at a global level after the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law
  • Giuseppe Bianchi, Professor of Telecommunications at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the role of infrastructure in enhancing the competitiveness of the EU and its Member States
  • Andrea Margheri, Deputy Head of Division, Industrial, technological, research and training programs at the Italian Cybersecurity Agency, on the interplay between AI and cybersecurity and the opportunities and challenges

The next EuroISPA General Meeting will be held in Brussels in September – stay tuned!

EuroISPA General Meeting in London: a recap

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London, March 14-15, 2024

EuroISPA travelled to London on March 14-15 for the first General Meeting on 2024, gathering Council and Forum members, Board Officers and Secretariat, kindly hosted by our member LINX.

On the agenda were topics such as the future of GDPR, the state of the CSAM discussions, our work on piracy of live content, implementation at national level of the DSA, e-Evidence and NIS 2, as well as fruitful exchanges on AI and copyright or the new Commission’s White Paper “How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?“.

Participants also had the chance to discuss the state of our growing membership base, our ongoing work for the European elections, positions on different topics, the new Committees structure, and more.

Most notably, the members unanimously endorsed EuroISPA’s first Position Paper on Artificial Intelligence, that marks the first step and sets the tone of EuroISPA’s increasing work on Artificial Intelligence. You can read the paper here.

The General Meeting also brough about some internal changes in the way of working of the Association. EuroISPA’s Committees, the hub of our policy work, have been undergoing some restructuring and the new configuration of the Committees and the appointment of new Committee Chairs was approved by the Members in London:

  • The Online Content Committee covers topics such as online content moderation, DSA, CSAM, and piracy of live content. The Committee Chair is Alex de Joode (AMS-IX)
  • The Data Economy Committee deals with issues such as data protection, emerging tech, AI, and copyright. The Committee Chair is Oliver Süme (eco)
  • The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Committee covers from infrastructure to connectivity, including a potential Digital Networks Act and cooperation with law enforcement, for example on e-evidence. The Committee Chair is Paul Guinard (FFTélécoms).

Read more about the work of our Committees here.

Finally, we had the pleasure of welcoming three guest speakers:

  • Professor Vanessa Franssen from the University of Liege to exchange on our work on data retention and the collaboration between service providers and law enforcement authorities in the context of the High Level Group on Law Enforcement Access.
  • Owen Bennett from Ofcom, the UK’s Communications Regulator, on the Online safety Act and Ofcom’s regulatory approach and alignment with the EU’s Digital Services Act.
  • Christopher Oldknow from our Industry Forum member Amazon on copyright, covering key milestones and relevant trends.
Vanessa Franssen
Vanessa Franssen
Vanessa Franssen
Chris Oldknow
Chris Oldknow
Chris Oldknow

A Week of Collaboration and Insights: EuroISPA’s Recent Activities

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Brussels, February 1st-2nd, 2024

EuroISPA’s office has been buzzing with activity over the past week. From internal meetings to engaging discussions with members and industry stakeholders, the association has been actively shaping its strategy and addressing crucial issues in the dynamic landscape of the EU Internet industry.

EuroISPA Industry Forum Meeting

For the first time in 2024, EuroISPA held its Industry Forum meeting, where representatives from our Forum companies gathered to provide advisory insights to the Council Members. The agenda delved into pressing policy matters, focusing on the upcoming legislative cycle and plans leading up to the EU elections. The collaborative atmosphere fostered discussions that will play a pivotal role in shaping the work of the association for 2024.

Executive Board Meeting

In the afternoon, the EuroISPA Executive Board met to set the tone for 2024. Officers and the Secretariat discussed the engagement strategy for the EU elections, outlined focus topics, addressed membership trends, and laid the groundwork for the organisation’s initiatives in the coming months.

Meeting on Piracy of Live Content with European Commission and EUIPO

The following day, EuroISPA hosted a meeting with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Commission on the topic of piracy of live content. Members and representatives from other industry organisations, with whom EuroISPA regularly collaborates, also participated to the comprehensive discussion. The meeting saw the European Commission presenting the proposed Recommendation on piracy of live content and focused on the published KPIs, the data collection templates and the next steps of the monitoring exercise of the Recommendation. EuroISPA is a leading stakeholder on the matter, and the meeting marked a step forward in the longstanding collaboration with the Commission and the EUIPO, which it actively provides with the technical input from its Members.

ISPA Belgium’s New Year event

To round off the week, EuroISPA Executive Board Officers attended ISPA Belgium‘s New Year event. This provided an excellent opportunity to connect with Belgian figures actively involved in digital policy. The evening included a panel discussion on telecommunications and digital policy in the EU, with a focus on the role of Belgium. The exchange of ideas and insights during this event contributed to consolidate EuroISPA’s relationship with our member ISPA Belgium and to provide a broader understanding of regional challenges and opportunities, especially in light of the ongoing Belgian Presidency of the EU Council.

EuroISPA is committed to collaboration and informed policymaking. As we continue to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of the EU Internet industry, these engagements serve as a testament to its dedication to fostering a thriving digital ecosystem in Europe.

EuroISPA is committed to collaboration and informed policymaking. As we continue to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of the EU Internet industry, these engagements serve as a testament to its dedication to fostering a thriving digital ecosystem in Europe.
Meeting on Piracy of Live Content
Meeting on Piracy of Live Content
Meeting on Piracy of Live Content
EuroISPA President Elina Ussa
EuroISPA’s Manifesto for the 2024 European elections
EuroISPA’s Manifesto for the 2024 European elections
EuroISPA’s Manifesto for the 2024 European elections
EuroISPA Executive Board meeting
EuroISPA Executive Board meeting
EuroISPA Executive Board meeting
ISPA BE New Year Event
ISPA BE New Year Event
ISPA BE New Year Event
ISPA BE New Year Event
ISPA BE New Year Event
ISPA BE New Year Event
EuroISPA Industry Forum meeting
EuroISPA Industry Forum meeting
EuroISPA Industry Forum meeting

EuroISPA hosts expert roundtable on privacy and encryption

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On Thursday, 23rd of March 2023, EuroISPA hosted an in-person expert roundtable on privacy and encryption, organised in the context of the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse.

The event gathered a distinguished expert panel comprised of Mr Matthew Green, Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins University and expert on applied cryptography and cryptographic engineering, Ms Arda Gerkens, CEO and founder of EOKM, as well as Ms Ella Jakubowska, Senior Policy Advisor at EDRi.

EuroISPA’s Board member, Thomas Bihlmayer (eco), moderated the discussion and introduced EuroISPA’s views from its position as a constructive contributor to child protection and privacy debates, thanks to its diverse membership (hotlines, ISPs of all sizes, platforms, cloud infrastructure services, etc.) that is at the forefront of the efforts to protect children online.

He highlighted EuroISPA’s commitment with the Commission’s objective to prevent and combat child sexual abuse and noted concerns over several aspects of the proposal. He focused on the operability of the regulation and on the dangers of breaking encryption, which will have a direct impact on the technical Internet infrastructure and impede efforts to create an Internet which enhances trust, user privacy, and freedom of expression.

Professor Matthew Green expressed concerns about the lack of understanding of the technical implications of the Commission’s proposal, and the possible harm that could bring to the security of global communications systems. During his intervention, he stressed the technical limitations of such proposed measures and the issue of over-relying on them, considering encryption is a very young area. For him, the proposal would benefit from an in-depth evaluation by scientists and researchers in Europe, which in his view should be seen as a pre-condition for mandating new technologies. (He shared his intervention in a more extensive version on his blog).

Representing the Dutch hotline, Arda Gerkens highlighted the issues of weakening encryption, compromising the security both for children and adults. She also noted the potential positive points, especially when it comes to the creation of a EU Centre as a centre for knowledge and support in the EU. She further explained how the approach of the Netherlands to fight child sexual abuse is working, noting some of the main elements that could be brought to EU level.

Finally, Ella Jakubowska raised the perspective of civil society. She explained why the proposed measures will lead to unreliable client-side scanning practices, undermining end-to-end encryption and making our devices more vulnerable to attacks from malicious actors, all without addressing the core issues or finding the right solutions to tackle child sexual abuse.

The panel discussion was followed by a Q&A session were participants had the opportunity to exchange about the compatibility of these measures with privacy legislation, the potential for improvement of scanning technologies as well as other solutions to allow fighting child sexual abuse without hindering privacy safeguards and fundamental rights.

This session is one of the different actions that EuroISPA is taking around encryption, privacy and the Commission proposal to fight Child Sexual Abuse Material online.

If you would like to know more about EuroISPA’s work on the topic, you can contact [email protected].

To read our Position Paper on the proposed CSAM Regulation, click on the button below.

READ OUR POSITION PAPER

Recap of Past Event: The Upcoming DSA Trilogues and the Future of Content Moderation 

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On 26 January 2022, EuroISPA presented the sixth and final online event of its DSA in Focus series, kindly sponsored by LINX. This time, the panelists took stock of the discussions the co-legislators had in 2021 and shared insights on what can be expected in the upcoming trilogues. You can revisit the interventions of our speakers here or below. 

The event gathered a distinguished expert panel comprised of Mathieu Weill, Head of the Digital Economy Department at the French Ministry of Economy, Stefano Montanari, Adviser to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and Tobias Schmid, Commissioner for European Affairs of the German Media Authorities (DLM) and former Chair of ERGA.  

Alexandra Laffitte, President of EuroISPA, moderated the panel. In her introductory remarks, she commended the progress made by the co-legislators and the preservation of key principles of the E-Commerce Directive in the DSA, such as the limited liability regime and the prohibition of general monitoring obligations.  

Mathieu Weill emphasized that the DSA is a horizontal framework. Besides, he mentioned that the regulatory burden that has been added was proportionate to the size and the type of players. Finally, he stated that the French Presidency will try to advance the mandate of the Council rapidly and that they are very encouraged by the vote in the European Parliament.  

The necessity to assess and adapt the DSA on a regular basis, was highlighted by Stefano Montanari, as the digital world evolves more rapidly than the regulatory one. Moreover, he argued that having strict safeguards and clear limits on the work of trusted flaggers will be needed.  

Finally, from the perspective of a media regulator, Tobias Schmid stressed that the DSA is not very concrete in certain areas and that the trilogues should focus on how to find a balanced system between regulation, co-regulation and self-regulation.  

This session marked the end of our DSA in Focus series, and EuroISPA would like to once again thank all the speakers for sharing their expertise during this series. From discussing the DSA’s liability regime to reflecting on its transparency and reporting obligations, we have covered a variety of topics, and we would like to extend our gratitude to the audiences for the open exchanges. In the coming months, we hope to announce more events on legislative files relevant to European ISPs and other industry stakeholders, so stay tuned!  

Contact details

EuroISPA

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1000 Brussels

+32 2 789 6618

[email protected]

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