20th October 2025 |
Presentations/Submissions
Ireland strongly encourages an ambitious digital simplification package, which supports the EU’s strategic positioning as the location of choice for trustworthy digital innovation.
Ireland has developed a set of proposals through targeted consultation with business and industry representatives, National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs), and government officials.
The proposals aim to reduce regulatory complexity, improve coherence across digital legislation, and support innovation and competitiveness in the EU Single Market.
Ireland advocates for a dynamic, evidence-based approach to simplification, stronger coordination across Member States, and practical tools to reduce administrative burdens, particularly for SMEs.
The proposals are designed to future-proof EU digital legislation and ensure it remains proportionate, coherent, and effective.
Overview
Foster a dynamic digital simplification approach
Ireland recommends adopting guiding principles for digital simplification and future legislative development, including:
- a risk-based approach to identify areas for simplification
- alignment between horizontal and sectoral rules to avoid overlap
- an evidence-based approach supported by regulatory impact assessments
- futureproofing to anticipate upcoming EU legislation
- mandatory stakeholder consultation to ensure practical, industry-informed regulation
Strengthen the coherence of the Digital Rulebook
To improve consistency and reduce fragmentation:
- systemic application of the country-of-origin principle to digital regulation
- enhance regulatory coordination mechanisms to support NRAs and harmonised interpretation
- clarify the interplay between key regulations (for example, AI Act, GDPR, NIS2, CRA, DORA, Data Act) through:
- EU-wide glossaries of definitions
- cross-referencing between regulations to avoid duplication
Improve the effectiveness of the Digital Rulebook
Ireland proposes measures to reduce administrative burden and improve regulatory efficiency:
- align incident reporting thresholds across cybersecurity legislation
- streamline reporting requirements and adopt digital tools such as:
- automated risk assessments
- simplified templates for SME compliance
- tools like the EU Business Wallet and digital product passports
Additional proposals include:
- a centralised digital portal for stakeholders, especially SMEs
- expansion of regulatory sandboxes to build capacity and support adaptation to new digital regulations
Topics:
Digital Transformation, The Business Environment, EU and Internal Market