Joint Article | The Digital Omnibus must help Europe attract the next wave of digital investment

By Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General of DIGITALEUROPE, Jean-Marie Le Guen, Secretary General of SECIMAVI, and Stella Morabito, Director General of AFNUM.

Europe is in a global race for investment, talent and technology. The countries that offer the most attractive environment for innovation will be the ones that lead the next wave of digital growth.

France understands this. Through initiatives such as Choose France, it has positioned itself as one of Europe’s leading destinations for technology investment, attracting major commitments in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data centre infrastructure. The 2026 Choose France Summit delivered a record €93 billion in announced investments, including several large-scale AI and data centre projects. These investments are helping to strengthen not only France’s economy, but also Europe’s broader digital ambitions.

The challenge now is to ensure that Europe’s regulatory framework keeps pace with these ambitions. The European Commission’s Digital Omnibus is a timely opportunity to make digital rules simpler, more coherent and more supportive of investment and innovation.

This is not about lowering standards. It is about ensuring that regulation enables growth, competitiveness and technological leadership. Mario Draghi estimates that Europe needs up to €800 billion in additional annual investment to remain globally competitive. At a time of intense global competition for capital, talent and innovation, Europe cannot afford unnecessary regulatory complexity that slows investment or creates uncertainty for businesses.

But attracting investment is only the first step. Sustaining it requires a regulatory environment that gives businesses the confidence to invest, innovate and scale across the European Single Market. This is where the Digital Omnibus can make a meaningful difference.

As France positions itself as a leading destination for AI, cloud and digital infrastructure, Europe must ensure that its digital rules support rather than discourage investment. Data policy is a good example. Companies need confidence that commercially sensitive information, trade secrets and intellectual property will remain protected. Europe must strike the right balance between unlocking the value of data and preserving incentives to innovate. Voluntary data sharing should therefore remain the default approach, creating the trust and legal certainty needed to drive investment, innovation and collaboration across the digital economy.

The Omnibus should also improve coherence across Europe’s digital rulebook. Greater clarity on the interaction between the GDPR and AI-related legislation would help companies develop and deploy AI with confidence while maintaining a high level of protection for individuals.

Cybersecurity is another area where simplification can strengthen competitiveness without lowering standards. Today, a single cyber incident can trigger multiple reporting obligations under different EU laws, creating unnecessary complexity at the very moment companies should be focused on responding to threats. A genuine European Single Entry Point for cyber incident reporting would reduce administrative burden while improving efficiency for both businesses and authorities.

The Digital Omnibus should deliver what European businesses need most: a simpler, more coherent framework that supports innovation, investment and technological leadership.  And this should be done with sufficient time for reflection instead of rushing through half measures.