# AI Continent Action Plan Canonical URL: https://digital-acquis.eu/strategy/ai-continent-action-plan Entry type: strategy Source edition current through: 17 July 2026 (2026-07-17). This is not a page modification date. Status: not recorded. A delivered initiative is not necessarily legislation in force. Document type: Communication Release date: 2025-04-09 ## Summary The AI Continent Action Plan combines computing infrastructure, access to data, wider AI use and skills development. It proposes AI Factories and Gigafactories, linked data labs and support for European data spaces, alongside work on cloud infrastructure. Industrial and scientific adoption would be supported through the Apply AI and AI in Science strategies, research funding and innovation hubs. The plan also addresses startup financing, access to markets and the attraction and training of AI talent. An AI Act Service Desk and consultation on regulatory challenges are intended to help organisations understand and meet their obligations. ## Sources - [Official source]() ## Action items (36; complete published list) ### 1. Action item 310001 Set up and deploy selected AI Factories and their services (Q2 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 1. Digital dimension: yes. ### 2. Action item 310002 Set up a single-entry point for all users across Europe for access to AI Factories and their services (Q2 2025) Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 2. Digital dimension: yes. ### 3. Action item 310003 Launch procurement of the first AI-optimised Factory supercomputers (Q2/Q3 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 3. Digital dimension: yes. ### 4. Action item 310004 Launch a Call for Proposal to establish AI Factories Antennas (Q2 2025) Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 4. Digital dimension: yes. ### 5. Action item 310005 Launch a Call for networking all the AI Factories and AI Factories Antennas activities (Q2 2025) Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 5. Digital dimension: yes. ### 6. Action item 310006 Issue a call for expression of interest to invest in AI Gigafactories (9 April 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 6. Digital dimension: yes. ### 7. Action item 310007 Define the InvestAI Facility with EIBG (Q3/Q4 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 7. Digital dimension: yes. ### 8. Action item 310008 Launch the official call on AI Gigafactories under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (Q4 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 8. Digital dimension: yes. ### 9. Action item 310009 Address the financing gap of startups and scaleups and facilitate their access to markets, public procurement, services and talent in the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy (Q2 2025). Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 9. Digital dimension: yes. ### 10. Action item 310010 Adopt a proposal for the Cloud and AI Development Act (Q4 2025 - Q1 2026), preceded by the launch of a public consultation (9 April 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 10. Digital dimension: yes. ### 11. Action item 310011 Adopt a Strategic roadmap for digitalisation and AI in the energy sector (2026); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 11. Digital dimension: yes. ### 12. Action item 310012 Support Member States in their work on designing possible future IPCEIs in the field of AI and data processing infrastructure. Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 12. Digital dimension: yes. ### 13. Action item 310013 Launch a public consultation on the Data Union Strategy in order to better understand industry’s data needs (Q2 2025) before presenting the Data Union Strategy (Communication, Q3 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 13. Digital dimension: yes. ### 14. Action item 310014 Set up Data Labs associated with the AI factories (Q3-Q4 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 14. Digital dimension: yes. ### 15. Action item 310015 Continue supporting the deployment of Common European Data Spaces (including the use of common software and use of shared technical building blocks to ensure interoperability) and fostering their links with AI factories (Digital Europe Programme 2025-2027). Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 15. Digital dimension: yes. ### 16. Action item 310016 Launch a public consultation and Call for Evidence to identify stakeholders’ priorities and inform the Apply AI Strategy (9 April 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 16. Digital dimension: yes. ### 17. Action item 310017 Launch a Call for Evidence and targeted consultation activities with the scientific community to inform the AI in Science Strategy (Q2 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 17. Digital dimension: yes. ### 18. Action item 310018 Organise structured dialogues with industry and public sector representatives to identify sector-specific AI-related deliverables and KPIs and inform the Apply AI Strategy (Q2-Q3 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 18. Digital dimension: yes. ### 19. Action item 310019 Adapt the mission of European Digital Innovation Hubs to ensure they fully support the adoption of relevant AI solutions in strategic sectors (Q2-Q3 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 19. Digital dimension: yes. ### 20. Action item 310020 Adopt the Apply AI Strategy jointly with the AI in Science Strategy (Q3 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 20. Digital dimension: yes. ### 21. Action item 310021 Adopt R&I work programme Horizon Europe 2026-2027, further boosting development and deployment of AI/generative AI in strategic sectors (Q4 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 21. Digital dimension: yes. ### 22. Action item 310022 As part of the GenAI4EU initiative, launch calls from Horizon Europe and Digital Europe Programme – in health, cybersecurity, energy, pharma/drug, electronic communications, aerospace, robotics, manufacturing, public sector, science etc. – reaching close to EUR 700 M investment (Q1 2026); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 22. Digital dimension: yes. ### 23. Action item 310023 Launch a pilot phase of the RAISE, the European AI Research Council (2026). Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 23. Digital dimension: yes. ### 24. Action item 310024 Support the increase in provision of EU bachelors and masters degrees as well as PhDs focusing on key technologies, including AI (Q2 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 24. Digital dimension: yes. ### 25. Action item 310025 Launch the AI Skills Academy (Q2 2025), including: Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 25. Digital dimension: yes. ### 26. Action item 310026 AI fellowship schemes to attract EU and non-EU PhD candidates, researchers and young professionals living abroad; Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 26. Digital dimension: yes. ### 27. Action item 310027 (together with AI Factories) a pilot certified generative AI-focused degree to facilitate top-level teaching and research of AI fellows; Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 27. Digital dimension: yes. ### 28. Action item 310028 a pilot AI apprenticeship programme with industry; Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 28. Digital dimension: yes. ### 29. Action item 310029 scholarship and returnship schemes for female professionals; Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 29. Digital dimension: yes. ### 30. Action item 310030 Organise Advanced Digital Skills Competitions in key technologies, including AI (Q2 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 30. Digital dimension: yes. ### 31. Action item 310031 Contribute to attracting and retaining skilled AI talent from non-EU countries, including via the ‘MSCA Choose Europe’ scheme for researchers (Q4 2025-2026); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 31. Digital dimension: yes. ### 32. Action item 310032 Support continuous learning by workers in SMEs, mid-caps, startups and public-sector organisations with the European Digital Innovation Hubs (Q2 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 32. Digital dimension: yes. ### 33. Action item 310033 Promote AI literacy via dissemination activities and a repository of AI literacy initiatives (Q2 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 33. Digital dimension: yes. ### 34. Action item 310034 Launch a pilot, leveraging existing Talent Partnerships and the Multipurpose Legal Gateway Offices to promote the mobility of highly skilled non-EU workers in the AI sector (Q4/2025). Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 34. Digital dimension: yes. ### 35. Action item 310035 Launch an AI Act Service Desk in the EU AI Office (July 2025); Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 35. Digital dimension: yes. ### 36. Action item 310036 Launch, as part of Apply AI Strategy’s public consultation, a process to identify stakeholders’ regulatory challenges and inform possible further measures to facilitate compliance and possible simplification of the AI Act (April 2025). Provenance: source document doc-032, paragraph 36. Digital dimension: yes. ## Referenced entries - [Startup and Scaleup Strategy]() — status: not recorded. The strategy aims to make it easier for innovative companies to start, grow and operate across Europe. It combines simpler company rules and digital administration with better access to finance, markets, talent and research infrastructure. Proposed measures include the 28th regime, the European Business Wallet, regulatory sandboxes and support for deep-tech investment. Work on research commercialisation, intellectual property and procurement is intended to help ideas reach customers. Talent initiatives address education, mobility and recruitment, while common definitions, a scoreboard and an annual founder survey would track changes in the startup and scaleup environment. Source document doc-032, action item 310009: > Address the financing gap of startups and scaleups and facilitate their access to markets, public procurement, services and talent in the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy (Q2 2025). - [Horizon Europe 2026-2027]() — status: not recorded. The next work programme will channel major investments into Europe’s industrial and scientific transformation. A €600 million flagship call under the Clean Industrial Deal will bridge R&I and deployment, fostering synergies with the Innovation Fund and supporting fusion through new PPPs. In life sciences, the Commission will establish a network of ATMP Centres of Excellence (€4 million), pilot stepwise collaborative health research funding, and invest €50 million in multi-modal genAI for biomedical research. €170 million will support a new health–climate agenda, complemented by global research collaboration and foresight on life sciences skills. Source document doc-032, action item 310021: > Adopt R&I work programme Horizon Europe 2026-2027, further boosting development and deployment of AI/generative AI in strategic sectors (Q4 2025); - [RAISE – European AI Research Council]() — status: not recorded. RAISE has entered a pilot phase as the Resource for Artificial Intelligence Science in Europe. The European Commission and the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU organised the European AI in Science Summit in Copenhagen, where Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva announced its launch. Source document doc-032, action item 310023: > Launch a pilot phase of the RAISE, the European AI Research Council (2026). - [Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA)]() — status: in progress. This law will close Europe’s compute gap by tripling data-centre capacity within 5–7 years and meeting economy-wide needs by 2035, underpinning AI development and sovereign cloud services. It will harmonise cloud policy, set minimum criteria (including for a narrow set of highly critical use cases run on highly secure EU-based cloud), and streamline permitting, site designation and access to energy/water, ensuring geographically balanced rollout. The Act will spur R&I in resource-efficient data centres, enable targeted support consistent with State-aid rules, and complement AI Factories/Gigafactories and the Chips Act ecosystem. Source document doc-032, action item 310010: > Adopt a proposal for the Cloud and AI Development Act (Q4 2025 - Q1 2026), preceded by the launch of a public consultation (9 April 2025); - [Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the Energy Sector]() — status: delivered. The roadmap would connect digitalisation and AI with energy-system performance, data-centre integration and security. It proposes a model tripartite agreement for data centres, an EU rating scheme, smart-grid indicators, greater smart-meter coverage and AI models for grid management and permitting. It also envisages a framework for cross-border energy-data exchange, risk assessment for solar installations, an Energy Digitalisation Forum, a Fuel Observatory and a Better Energy Data initiative. Source document doc-032, action item 310011: > Adopt a Strategic roadmap for digitalisation and AI in the energy sector (2026); - [AI Act Service Desk]() — status: not recorded. The Service Desk will be the EU’s single-entry helpdesk and information platform for AI Act compliance. Hosted by the AI Office, it will offer free, tailored guidance for companies and public authorities—especially SMEs—plus interactive self-assessment tools, decision trees, FAQs, templates and practical advice on obligations, risk classification, conformity assessment and documentation. It will also route users to national competent authorities and consolidate standards and best-practice resources so compliance is faster, cheaper and consistent across the Single Market. Source document doc-032, action item 310035: > Launch an AI Act Service Desk in the EU AI Office (July 2025); - [AI Factories]() — status: not recorded. Open, EU-wide hubs built around EuroHPC supercomputers that bundle AI-optimised compute, data storage, programming support and talent to develop frontier models and applications. Startups, SMEs, researchers and public bodies get streamlined one-stop access to computing time, data labs linked to Common European Data Spaces, and services for testing, validation and skills—cutting training from months to weeks and lowering costs. The first 13 Factories across 17 Member States are networked, with AI Factory Antennas extending reach. EuroHPC will provide a single entry point and procure AI-dedicated systems in 2025/26, tripling Europe’s available AI capacity. Source document doc-032, action item 310001: > Set up and deploy selected AI Factories and their services (Q2 2025); Source document doc-032, action item 310002: > Set up a single-entry point for all users across Europe for access to AI Factories and their services (Q2 2025) Source document doc-032, action item 310004: > Launch a Call for Proposal to establish AI Factories Antennas (Q2 2025) Source document doc-032, action item 310005: > Launch a Call for networking all the AI Factories and AI Factories Antennas activities (Q2 2025) Source document doc-032, action item 310014: > Set up Data Labs associated with the AI factories (Q3-Q4 2025); Source document doc-032, action item 310015: > Continue supporting the deployment of Common European Data Spaces (including the use of common software and use of shared technical building blocks to ensure interoperability) and fostering their links with AI factories (Digital Europe Programme 2025-2027). Source document doc-032, action item 310027: > (together with AI Factories) a pilot certified generative AI-focused degree to facilitate top-level teaching and research of AI fellows; - [AI Gigafactories]() — status: forthcoming. AI Gigafactories will give Europe frontier-scale compute to train state-of-the-art models. Each site will exceed 100,000 high-performance processors, be designed for energy and water efficiency and circularity, and be federated with EuroHPC’s AI Factories. Financing will blend public-private partnerships with the InvestAI Facility and an official EuroHPC call in Q4 2025. Facilities will co-locate data, training, safety and evaluation capabilities; provide shared access for startups, researchers and the public sector; and anchor regional skills pipelines. As a pilot for the Competitiveness Coordination Tool, they will crowd-in private capital, spur EU AI-chip design ahead of the 2026 Chips Act review, and secure sovereign AI capacity. Source document doc-032, action item 310006: > Issue a call for expression of interest to invest in AI Gigafactories (9 April 2025); Source document doc-032, action item 310008: > Launch the official call on AI Gigafactories under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (Q4 2025); - [Apply AI Strategy]() — status: delivered. The Strategy adopts an “AI-first” approach to accelerate adoption across flagship sectors (including health, robotics, manufacturing, defence/space, mobility, telecoms, energy, environment, agri-food, and culture/media) backed by around €1 billion from EU programmes to catalyse deployment. It tackles cross-cutting barriers by turning EDIHs into AI Experience Centres for SMEs, building frontier capabilities via a new Frontier AI initiative, and providing clear, practical support for AI Act compliance through guidance and a Service Desk. Governance is unified through an Apply AI Alliance and an AI Observatory to set KPIs and monitor impact, complemented by the AI in Science and Data Union strategies. Source document doc-032, action item 310016: > Launch a public consultation and Call for Evidence to identify stakeholders’ priorities and inform the Apply AI Strategy (9 April 2025); Source document doc-032, action item 310018: > Organise structured dialogues with industry and public sector representatives to identify sector-specific AI-related deliverables and KPIs and inform the Apply AI Strategy (Q2-Q3 2025); Source document doc-032, action item 310020: > Adopt the Apply AI Strategy jointly with the AI in Science Strategy (Q3 2025); Source document doc-032, action item 310036: > Launch, as part of Apply AI Strategy’s public consultation, a process to identify stakeholders’ regulatory challenges and inform possible further measures to facilitate compliance and possible simplification of the AI Act (April 2025). - [Common European Data Spaces]() — status: not recorded. Will provide trusted, interoperable environments for cross-sector and cross-border data use, turning today’s fragmented datasets into high-value shared resources for businesses and public administrations. Linked tightly to Data Labs, they will offer services such as dataset cleaning and enrichment, standardised formats, synthetic data, shared technical building blocks, and cross-space interoperability to accelerate AI development and deployment. Antitrust-compliant data pooling will be enabled via trusted data intermediaries and governance under the EU data framework, lowering barriers for SMEs while protecting confidentiality and security. A common software layer (e.g. SIMPL) will simplify access and reuse across spaces, strengthening Europe’s AI ecosystem and data economy. Source document doc-032, action item 310015: > Continue supporting the deployment of Common European Data Spaces (including the use of common software and use of shared technical building blocks to ensure interoperability) and fostering their links with AI factories (Digital Europe Programme 2025-2027). - [Data Labs]() — status: not recorded. Embedded in the AI Factories ecosystem, Data Labs will federate datasets and link them to the relevant Common European Data Spaces, giving developers a single, trusted entry point to high-value data. They will provide AI developers with large volumes of high-quality data in health, energy and other domains under clear access conditions and governance. Beyond brokerage, they will offer value-added services: dataset cleaning and enrichment; standardised formats; synthetic data; and shared technical building blocks that strengthen interoperability across sectors and borders, with data-pooling compliant with competition rules via trusted intermediaries under the Data Governance Act. The Commission’s Simpl software will lower integration costs and expand participation. Source document doc-032, action item 310014: > Set up Data Labs associated with the AI factories (Q3-Q4 2025); - [Digital Europe Programme 2025-2027]() — status: not recorded. Digital Europe funds projects that move digital technology from research towards market deployment, with a focus on supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, semiconductors, advanced digital skills and wider use of digital technologies. The programme supports the EU's green and digital objectives, resilience and digital sovereignty. It is intended to benefit citizens and businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, through direct and indirect management. Source document doc-032, action item 310015: > Continue supporting the deployment of Common European Data Spaces (including the use of common software and use of shared technical building blocks to ensure interoperability) and fostering their links with AI factories (Digital Europe Programme 2025-2027). - [European Data Union Strategy]() — status: delivered. The strategy will establish a simpler, coherent EU framework for secure, large-scale data sharing between businesses and public administrations to power AI. It will align and streamline existing rules and practices, strengthen cross-border interoperability, and embed robust safeguards for confidentiality, integrity, security and IP. Concretely, it will: promote common technical and semantic standards (e.g. schemas, metadata, APIs); enable trusted data intermediaries and data-pooling mechanisms; expand access via privacy-preserving methods (e.g. anonymisation, synthetic data, secure processing); and clarify fair, transparent licensing for B2B and public-private data use. Closely linked to AI Factories, new Data Labs will federate sectoral datasets and connect to Common European Data Spaces to unlock high-quality training data at scale. Source document doc-032, action item 310013: > Launch a public consultation on the Data Union Strategy in order to better understand industry’s data needs (Q2 2025) before presenting the Data Union Strategy (Communication, Q3 2025); - [GenAI4EU]() — status: not recorded. Will scale Europe’s generative-AI capacity through targeted R&I and deployment across sectors. Around €700 million in Horizon Europe and Digital Europe calls will fund advanced models and solutions (e.g. to optimise manufacturing lines, improve robot autonomy and human-robot collaboration, strengthen cyber-defence, and enhance medical imaging) while up to four public-sector pilots will accelerate adoption by improving decision-making, streamlining processes, and making services more accessible. Building on the AI Innovation Package and the AI Continent Action Plan, the calls in Q1 2026 will prioritise high-impact uses and innovation procurement to crowd-in private investment and translate research outputs into market-ready solutions. Source document doc-032, action item 310022: > As part of the GenAI4EU initiative, launch calls from Horizon Europe and Digital Europe Programme – in health, cybersecurity, energy, pharma/drug, electronic communications, aerospace, robotics, manufacturing, public sector, science etc. – reaching close to EUR 700 M investment (Q1 2026); - [InvestAI]() — status: not recorded. The program will mobilise €200 billion to scale Europe’s AI capacity through a layered public-private fund that de-risks private capital with the EU budget and national co-financing. It will finance four AI gigafactories each with around 100,000 latest-generation AI chips, creating the world’s largest PPP for trustworthy AI and giving startups and industry broad access to compute. Initial EU contributions will come from Digital Europe, Horizon Europe and InvestEU, with cohesion funding from Member States. InvestAI complements the €10 billion AI Factories programme and serves as a pilot for strategic-technology financing under the Competitiveness Compass. Source document doc-032, action item 310007: > Define the InvestAI Facility with EIBG (Q3/Q4 2025); ## Citing documents - [Commission work programme 2025 + Annex]() — status: not recorded. The 2025 work programme brings together planned legislation and policy strategies covering competitiveness, the Single Market and industrial transition. Its programme includes measures on affordable energy, startups and scaleups, savings and investment, and business simplification. Digital priorities span AI, quantum technology, electronic communications, business wallets and the space sector. The programme also identifies work on defence, preparedness, internal security and hospital cybersecurity. Skills, quality jobs, consumer protection and democratic resilience sit alongside these economic and technological measures. Each listed initiative carries an indicative timetable, and the programme distinguishes legislative proposals from non-legislative plans. Source document doc-005, action item 60012: > AI Continent Action Plan (non-legislative, Q1 2025) ## Current developments Latest updates from Digital Policy Alert and Global Trade Alert. No reviewed developments available; this does not establish that no developments exist. ## Associated policy priorities - [Research, Technology & Industrial Capacity]() - [Infrastructure & Strategic Resources]() - [AI & Data Capabilities and Deployment]() - [Human Capital, Skills & Talent Mobility]() ## Broader policy context (shared priority; not a direct citation) - [Advanced Materials Act]() — status: forthcoming. Europe’s competitiveness in the green and digital transitions will depend on its ability to develop, produce and deploy next-generation materials at scale. To achieve this, the Commission will propose an Advanced Materials Act establishing clear framework conditions for the entire value chain; from fundamental research and prototyping to manufacturing and market uptake. The Act will focus on accelerating industrialisation, de-risking private investment and securing resilient supply chains for materials critical to clean technologies, energy, defence and space. By providing a coherent strategic framework, it aims to reduce dependencies, boost technological sovereignty and position Europe as a global leader in advanced materials innovation. - [Charter of Access for Industrial Users to Research and Technology Infrastructures]() — status: forthcoming. This initiative will standardise and simplify industrial access to Europe’s research and technology infrastructures so innovators can prototype, test and scale faster. It will set common, transparent access and contractual terms (e.g. IP use, pricing, liability, data handling) across borders and introduce a streamlined entry point for companies, including startups and scaleups. Linked to the AI Factories ecosystem, the Charter will be backed by dedicated EU support to make AI computing facilities affordable for SMEs. Complementary guidance will clarify how universities and public research organisations can grant access under State aid rules. Together, these measures cut fragmentation, lower transaction costs and speed time-to-market. - [EU Bioeconomy Strategy]() — status: delivered. The EU Bioeconomy Strategy combines regulatory, investment and market actions to support sustainable and circular bio-based activity. The Commission plans work on biotechnology, construction-product standards, biomass monitoring, bio-based plastics, public procurement, biogas and biomethane, and industrial symbiosis. It will also establish forums and investment arrangements, support blue-bioeconomy innovation, provide practical guidance for land managers, and pursue international cooperation, stakeholder dialogue and EU-wide monitoring. - [European Biotech Act 1]() — status: in progress. As a cornerstone of the EU’s Life Sciences Strategy, the law will make Europe the most attractive place for biotech by 2030 by speeding approvals and risk assessments without compromising safety, unlocking risk-tolerant finance and biomanufacturing scale, building EU-wide clusters/infrastructure, closing skills gaps, and enabling trusted AI/data use (incl. supercomputing and EHDS links). It tackles single-market fragmentation across health, agri-food, industrial and marine biotech, strengthening competitiveness and economic security. Expected impacts of the law includes faster time-to-market, deeper investment pipelines, resilient supply chains and environmental benefits, supported by strong EU governance. - [European Biotech Act 2]() — status: forthcoming. The proposed European Biotech Act aims to make Europe's health-biotechnology sector more competitive through easier funding, quicker regulatory processes and stronger safeguards. It would support industry, manufacturing and research, especially start-ups and SMEs; facilitate AI, data and digital solutions; simplify rules on clinical trials and cell and gene therapies; and introduce biosecurity measures. The Commission says the Act should help patients gain timelier, broader access to treatments and products. In 2026 it will address the wider biotechnology sector. - [European Centre of Expertise on Research Security]() — status: forthcoming. EU work is underway to establish a Centre of Expertise on Research Security, investing in the evidence base for policymaking and creating a community of practice. It sits alongside a due-diligence platform in development to help universities choose international partners. The Commission presents these measures as support for open but secure research cooperation, responding to risks including foreign interference, malign influence and misuse. - [European Innovation Act]() — status: forthcoming. It will create horizontal, Single-Market-wide conditions to accelerate deployment and diffusion of innovation. The law will (i) simplify and make rules more innovation-friendly (incl. regulatory sandboxes), (ii) unlock IP-backed finance and improve access to EU/national funding, (iii) open research & technology infrastructures to companies, (iv) make public/private procurement more supportive of novel solutions, (v) improve commercialisation of publicly funded R&I (i.e. IP, standardisation, certification), (vi) enable talent attraction/retention (e.g. employee ownership schemes), and (vii) establish EU–Member State coordination of innovation policy, helping to close the EU’s innovation gap. - [European Innovation Council (EIC) Reform]() — status: not recorded. The council will be reformed to operate more strategically and ambitiously, inspired by the US ARPA model. It will shift towards challenge-driven, staged funding for breakthrough, high-risk technologies, focusing on strategic EU priorities and research excellence. The reform will simplify procedures, strengthen the Trusted Investor Network, and build closer ties with Europe’s unicorns to improve policy feedback loops. By combining public and private capital, the EIC will accelerate the scale-up of deep-tech companies in critical sectors and better align innovation funding with Europe’s competitiveness, technological sovereignty, and security objectives. - [European Research Area Act & ERIC Reform]() — status: forthcoming. The Act Act will realise a “fifth freedom” by enabling the free movement of researchers, knowledge and technology across a single EU R&I market, anchored in TFEU Articles 179 and 182(5). It will (1) secure national commitments and new mechanisms to reach the 3% of GDP R&D target; (2) align EU–national investments and priorities around strategic technologies; and (3) upgrade framework conditions—attractive careers and mobility, open science and data access, a stronger legal basis for research infrastructures, and better knowledge valorisation. The Act will safeguard fundamental values, bolster research security, and clarify cooperation with third countries. - [European Strategy on Research and Technology Infrastructures]() — status: delivered. The strategy aims to improve Europe's research and technology infrastructure capacity, investment and access. It covers criteria and roadmaps for infrastructures of European interest, funding coordination, upgrades, transnational collaboration and services for startups and scaleups. It also addresses FAIR and AI-ready research data, an enhanced EOSC Federation, coordinated governance, skills, international partnerships, resilience, and trusted storage, processing and sharing of critical data. - [Life Sciences Strategy]() — status: delivered. The Life Sciences Strategy addresses fragmented funding and innovation systems, regulatory complexity and slow market uptake. Its actions include the Biotech Act, coordinated work on new biomedical research methods, a research and innovation agenda for food systems, and a data assembly for cross-regulatory cooperation. The Commission presents these measures as support for innovation, economic growth and job creation in European life sciences. - [Quantum Act]() — status: forthcoming. The Act will make the Quantum Europe Strategy operational, fixing fragmentation by aligning EU and national programmes around a shared RTI agenda and targets. It sets EU-level governance and extends the Chips Joint Undertaking’s remit to quantum technologies, coordinating investments across EU programmes. It anchors a three-stage pipeline—Discover; Lab-to-fab via pilot lines, design tools and standards; Apply & use in lead sectors, while scaling pan-European infrastructures in quantum computing, secure communication (EuroQCI) and sensing. The Act backs skills and industrialisation, strengthens supply chains. It also drives standardisation and interoperability and fosters talent attraction. - [Quantum Europe Strategy]() — status: delivered. **Skills.** The Strategy will launch a European Quantum Skills Academy - initially virtual, then networked - linked to Quantum Competence Clusters and Semiconductors Competence Centres. It will host a Quantum Talent Portal, fellowship schemes and “teach-the-teacher” modules to broaden participation and close the gender gap. Complementary actions include a Digital Europe–funded Quantum Apprenticeship pilot and returnships; Advanced Digital Skills Competitions from 2026; an EIC Researchers-in-Residence scheme placing scientists in quantum startups; and a European Quantum Talent Mobility Programme with fellowships for non-EU PhDs and professionals. Skills intelligence will track needs via the European Skills Intelligence Observatory, ensuring training aligns with fast-evolving industrial demand. **Research.** It contains coordinated roadmaps to speed research-to-industry. The Commission will publish an EU Quantum Computing and Simulation Roadmap, a Quantum Chips Industrialisation Roadmap, and a European Quantum Standards Roadmap, while expanding Quantum Competence Clusters to link labs, pilot lines and design facilities. It adds a coordinated European Quantum Sensing, Measurement and Testing Roadmap. To catalyse uptake, the EU will pilot two Grand Challenges (fault-tolerant computing; quantum PNT) and launch a Pilot Programme for Researchers-in-Residence in quantum startups. For dual-use and space, it will deliver a Quantum Technology Roadmap in space with ESA and a Quantum Sensing Space & Defence Technology Roadmap aligning civil-security priorities. **Infrastructure.** The strategy’s infrastructure track will strengthen secure networks, prove platforms, and link civil–defence use. EuroQCI expands 2025–2035 with cross-border terrestrial links, satellite ground stations and EU certification, converging with IRIS² for end-to-end QKD services. In 2026, a pilot European Quantum Internet will test quantum-safe components and early use cases alongside the EU’s post-quantum cryptography roadmap. Europe will deploy ground/airborne gravimeters and prepare a space-gravimetry pathfinder after 2030. A centralised network of open-access quantum testbeds will serve developers, startups and SMEs. An EU-wide Quantum Technology Risk Assessment concludes in 2026. Spin-in initiatives from 2026 accelerate defence uptake. - [Action Plan on Affordable Energy]() — status: delivered. The Affordable Energy Action Plan seeks to lower energy costs while supporting competitiveness, security and sustainability for households and businesses. Its actions cover electricity bills and supply, gas markets, energy efficiency, completion of the Energy Union, tripartite agreements for industry, security of supply and price-crisis preparedness. The Commission presented the plan as part of the Clean Industrial Deal, and says delivery also depends on measures by EU countries. - [Battery Booster Strategy]() — status: delivered. Battery Booster plans use Innovation Fund and InvestEU support to reinforce the European battery value chain from raw materials to cell manufacturing. Measures include EUR 1 billion in grants for electric vehicle battery-cell projects, EUR 1.5 billion in interest-free Battery Booster Facility loans, and funding of up to EUR 300 million for critical raw-material projects. It also covers strategic-project calls, investment conditions, supply-chain diversification, EU content requirements and research on battery concepts, materials and manufacturing technologies. - [Chips Act 2.0]() — status: in progress. The review will sharpen Europe’s semiconductor strategy for the AI era, addressing gaps in leading-edge capacity and ecosystem resilience. It will prioritise energy-efficient, secure AI chips; streamline State-aid pathways; improve monitoring of supply-chain vulnerabilities and technology-leakage risks; and better coordinate EU-national programmes. Leveraging the Chips Joint Undertaking and EuroHPC, it will back new fabs and advanced packaging lines and tie support to strategic projects. The review aligns with the AI Continent agenda (i.e. powering AI Factories and forthcoming Gigafactories and setting requirements for European AI semiconductors) within a renewed, more coherent EU funding framework. - [Digital Networks Act (DNA)]() — status: in progress. This law will build a true Single Market for connectivity by harmonising authorisations and spectrum policy, enabling cross-border services and a coordinated path to 6G. It modernises the telecom rulebook to spur investment in fibre, 5G and cloud/edge networks, integrates satellite services, and tackles market fragmentation that keeps Europe split into various national markets. It will streamline permits, clarify open-internet rules for innovative services, support copper switch-off and cloud-based network transformation, and target up to a 50% reduction in reporting burdens. A stronger EU governance model will replace patchwork oversight, boosting resilience, security and scale for operators and users. - [Electrification Action Plan]() — status: delivered. This plan will accelerate cost-effective, system-friendly electrification to lower energy costs, boost competitiveness and cut emissions. It tackles supply and demand across industry, transport and buildings, and will run in parallel with a Heating & Cooling Strategy. Delivery focuses on reliability and flexibility, expanding and digitalising grids, scaling storage and demand response, deepening cross-border integration, and encouraging new demand near clean generation. Policy levers will improve the electricity-to-fossil price ratio (i.e. energy taxation, network tariffs, removing non-energy charges) while mobilising financing, manufacturing capacity and skills along the value chain. Progress will be tracked using KPIs, including raising electricity’s share of final energy toward 32–33% by 2030. - [Energy Digitalisation Forum]() — status: forthcoming. EU digitalisation work on energy focuses on deploying digital solutions and European sovereign AI for grid optimisation, efficiency in buildings and industry, and demand-side flexibility. The strategic roadmap also addresses data centres' integration into the energy system and challenges linked to AI in critical infrastructure. It is accompanied by work on AI models for power grids and data sharing between energy and digital stakeholders. - [Energy Union Package]() — status: forthcoming. The EU will deepen its Energy Union to deliver affordable, clean energy through stronger governance and integration. Therefore, the Commission will launch an Energy Union Task Force, publish a White Paper on electricity-market integration, revise the Governance Regulation, and present a Clean Energy Investment Strategy, a Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC), and a Fusion Strategy. It will table an Electrification Action Plan, a Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the Energy Sector, and a Heating & Cooling Strategy to accelerate electrification, flexibility and efficiency. A revised energy-security framework will enhance stability and resilience, informed by lessons from the energy crisis. - [EU Critical Raw Materials Centre]() — status: forthcoming. The EU will establish the Platform to aggregate industrial demand, coordinate tenders, and secure diversified supplies for strategic value chains. Building on AggregateEU and complementing the Critical Raw Materials Act, the platform will align procurement across sectors, lower transaction costs for SMEs, and leverage EU and national de-risking tools. A dedicated EU Critical Raw Materials Centre will provide the purchasing backbone, organising joint buying for interested firms with Member States, coordinating strategic stockpiles, monitoring supply chains, and designing financial products for upstream projects in the EU and partner countries. - [EU Framework for Simplified Cross-Border Energy Data Exchange]() — status: forthcoming. The Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the Energy Sector, adopted by the Commission on 3 June 2026, lists as a flagship action the establishment of an EU framework for simplified cross-border energy data exchange for smart energy services and AI model training. The Commission says the core challenge is the absence of a coherent EU approach for trusted, cross-border energy data exchange. It says it will coordinate actions to streamline and simplify energy-specific data exchange in order to support cross-border smart energy services and sovereign AI, and that better exchange of energy data can help activate flexibility from electric vehicles, heat pumps, batteries and controllable demand. The roadmap says the work will build on stakeholder recommendations on data exchange for smart energy services published on 20 May. - [EU Open Internet Stack]() — status: not recorded. The Open Internet Stack Initiative will fund development of end-user applications and underlying technologies for European sovereign digital commons. It has over €40 million dedicated within two Horizon Europe calls worth €307.3 million under the 'Digital, Industry and Space' cluster. The calls also support trustworthy AI, data services, robotics, quantum technologies, photonics and virtual worlds. Businesses, public administrations, academia and other entities from Member States and partner countries can apply until 15 April 2026. - [EU Space Act]() — status: in progress. The law will establish a single, harmonised regulatory framework for the safety, resilience, and environmental sustainability of space activities across the Union. It aims to overcome the fragmentation caused by 13 divergent national space laws across Europe, ensuring a predictable internal market for space services and space-based data. The Act introduces uniform authorisation and registration rules, tailored cybersecurity and debris-mitigation obligations, and a common environmental footprint methodology. By providing legal certainty and reducing regulatory complexity, it will strengthen the competitiveness of EU space operators, foster innovation in the New Space sector, and position Europe as a global standard-setter in space governance. - [European Critical Communication System (EUCCS)]() — status: forthcoming. The Commission will propose legislation to interconnect Member States’ next-generation critical communications used by police, civil protection, emergency medical, border and security authorities. EUCCS will set harmonised requirements for operational mobility, strong resilience and strategic autonomy, enabling secure cross-border voice/data, priority services and roaming, including satellite back-up via IRIS². It will modernise national systems, ensure interoperability and encrypted communications, and support crisis coordination from terrorism to large-scale disasters. Governance will link with the Preparedness Union’s all-hazards approach and ERCC, with EU-funded pilots building capabilities using European providers. - [European Grids Package]() — status: delivered. The European Grid Package will fast-track expansion and modernisation of transmission and distribution networks, deepening market integration and lowering bills. It streamlines TEN-E, accelerates permitting — including environmental assessments — and mandates integrated, cross-border planning with effective cost-sharing, focusing on interconnectors and distribution grids. It prioritises digitalisation, flexibility and efficient use of existing assets, while increasing visibility of manufacturing supply needs. An EIB “grids manufacturing package” (≈€1.5 bn) will underpin EU component capacity, and an “Energy Highways” effort will tackle critical bottlenecks. Together, the measures unlock renewables and storage, strengthen security of supply, and support electrification at least cost. - [European Tech Sovereignty / Open-Source Strategy]() — status: delivered. The EU Open Source Strategy positions open source as a component of European technological sovereignty, especially for public administrations. It seeks to reduce dependency on single vendors and lock-in, while making digital assets easier to discover, reuse and maintain. Planned work includes procurement guidance, operational guidance for open assets, support for open-source bodies and networks, collaboration on key shared assets, and common repository security baselines. - [RESourceEU Action Plan]() — status: delivered. RESourceEU is intended to reduce critical-raw-material supply risks through finance, faster permitting, recycling, diversification and international partnerships. A CRM financing hub aims to mobilise EUR 3 billion within 12 months, while Horizon Europe calls of EUR 593 million and EUR 100 million of blended European Innovation Council finance support its objectives. The plan also backs projects in Greenland and Germany, raw-material matchmaking, stockpiling, export-scrap measures, foreign-investment controls and standards-based markets. - [Smart Meter Regulation]() — status: forthcoming. EU requirements for smart meters are intended to give consumers timely access to consumption data and dynamic electricity-price contracts, while helping networks manage changing supply and demand. The Commission has established interoperability requirements and procedures for non-discriminatory, transparent data access to support customer switching, retail competition and consumer choice. Smart meters also give network operators better information for investment planning and infrastructure management. - [Vision for the European Space Economy]() — status: delivered. Vision for the European Space Economy proposes common technical standards, more coordinated single-market procedures and assistance for operators complying with EU rules. Delivered through the EU Space Act, measures include support for space-traffic-management services, mutual recognition of rules with third countries and strengthened space research and innovation. A long-term plan addresses multi-source supply for 47 identified critical space technologies, alongside updated roadmaps intended to strengthen the security and resilience of EU satellite and space infrastructure. - [Action Plan on Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence]() — status: delivered. The action plan sets out measures to make advanced AI capabilities available for cybersecurity while addressing AI-enabled threats. It covers an EU evaluation capacity for AI models, structured access to advanced capabilities, secure testing, guidance, vulnerability management and training. It also proposes a pilot campaign on critical open-source resilience, an EU Grand Challenge for AI-powered cybersecurity solutions, and use of AI Factories' computing capacity for cyber resilience. - [AI Pact]() — status: forthcoming. The AI Pact is a voluntary preparatory framework for organisations ahead of the AI Act's implementation. Its first pillar convenes stakeholders to exchange experience, best practices and information through the AI Office. Its second invites providers and deployers to publish pledges covering actions and timelines, including governance, mapping likely high-risk systems, and staff awareness and literacy. Pledges are not legally binding and impose no legal obligations. - [Apply AI Alliance]() — status: not recorded. Apply AI Alliance is the strategy's main coordination forum, bringing together AI providers, industry leaders, academia and the public sector so policy action reflects real-world needs. The wider Apply AI Strategy seeks to increase AI adoption and innovation, particularly among SMEs, support an 'AI first' approach, and promote a 'buy European' approach in the public sector. Its sectoral measures cover 10 key industries and public services, alongside support through Experience Centres for AI, AI Factories, testing facilities and regulatory sandboxes. - [Digital Omnibus on AI]() — status: in progress. The Digital Omnibus on AI proposes changes to simplify implementation of the AI Act while maintaining protections for health, safety and fundamental rights. It responds to delayed standards, guidance and national authorities that could raise compliance costs for high-risk AI systems. The proposal would link the application of certain high-risk obligations to the availability of measures that support compliance, and would also amend EU aviation-safety rules. - [Digital Omnibus on Data]() — status: in progress. The Commission will table a simplification package to cut compliance costs in the digital acquis while preserving protections. It will rationalise data rules (i.e. DGA, Free Flow of Non-Personal Data, Open Data), modernise cookie/tracking provisions to curb consent fatigue, and streamline overlapping cybersecurity incident reporting, with targeted adjustments to ensure predictable application of the AI Act. It will also clarify obligations under the European Digital Identity framework and align with the forthcoming Business Wallet, applying ‘one-in, one-out’. A Digital Fitness Check will assess cumulative effects and cross-border fragmentation. - [European AI Observatory]() — status: not recorded. The European AI Observatory is one of the governance measures in the Commission's Apply AI Strategy, adopted on 8 October 2025. The Commission says it will set up an AI Observatory to provide indicators to assess the impact of AI in the sectors covered by the strategy and in future sectors, to monitor developments and trends, and to follow the changes AI may bring to the labour market. The Observatory will also support the organisation of sectoral discussions and will be used for political analysis and decision making, as well as for informing the AI community and the broader public about recent developments in the field. The Commission adds that, based on the monitoring activities, it will make a proposal, in the context of the Digital Decade, for a public and private AI investment target. - [Experience Centres for AI (EDIHs)]() — status: not recorded. The network of European Digital Innovation Hubs will be transformed into AI Experience Centres, covering 85 % of European regions and fully integrated with the AI Factories ecosystem. These centres will provide companies and public administrations with hands-on access to computing power, high-quality data, testing and experimentation environments, regulatory sandboxes, and tailored training. By linking AI deployment directly to Europe’s supercomputing and data infrastructure, the Experience Centres will accelerate the uptake of AI across sectors, foster innovation in strategic industries, and ensure that European businesses can test, scale, and adopt AI solutions under trusted conditions - [Frontier AI Initiative]() — status: not recorded. The Frontier AI Initiative is announced in the Commission's Apply AI Strategy, adopted on 8 October 2025, in the section on supporting AI as a production factor. The Commission says it will launch and coordinate a Frontier AI Initiative to accelerate progress in frontier AI capabilities in Europe by bringing together Europe's leading industrial and academic actors and supporting strategic efforts. The initiative will focus on unlocking advanced capabilities through cutting-edge AI architectures and high-quality data, using the computing capacity offered by the AI Factories and Gigafactories. Alongside it, the Commission says it will launch major EU-wide competitions to develop open frontier AI models, and that these projects will receive free access to EuroHPC supercomputers. The strategy does not give the initiative a dedicated budget or name the body that will administer it. - [Special Envoy for Industrial AI]() — status: not recorded. On 3 June 2026 the Commission appointed Jim Hagemann Snabe as Special Envoy for Industrial Artificial Intelligence. The Commission says he will advise President Ursula von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen on industrial AI. His advisory role covers the entire industrial AI ecosystem, with a particular focus on AI infrastructure, including data centres, high-performance computing and the semiconductor supply chains, together with foundational AI technologies such as large language models, generative AI and cloud services, and AI applications across industrial sectors. The Special Envoy is to deliver a report on industrial AI that the Commission describes as evidence-based and forward-looking, with actionable recommendations aimed at strengthening Europe's digital sovereignty. Mr Hagemann Snabe holds the status of a non-remunerated Special Adviser until 31 March 2027 and will suspend his membership of the Google Cloud advisory board and the C3.ai board during the mandate. - [2030 Roadmap on the Future of Digital Education and Skills]() — status: forthcoming. The roadmap will steer Europe’s digital education transformation, building on the review of the Digital Education Action Plan. It will promote equal access, build a digital education ecosystem, and forge partnerships with EU-based EdTech. An accompanying AI in Education initiative will set an AI literacy framework, support safe, ethical AI uptake in classrooms, and address online safety, wellbeing and misinformation. The Roadmap complements the Union of Skills and the STEM Plan, enlarging Europe’s AI-capable talent pool. The Digital Competence Framework will be updated by end-2025 to reflect emerging technologies. It will strengthen teacher capacity through targeted support and guidance. - [Action Plan on Basic Skills]() — status: delivered. The plan will lift literacy, numeracy, science, digital and citizenship skills, tackling underachievement. A Basic Skills Support Scheme will pilot interventions with EU funding, from early identification and tutoring to school-level improvement plans. A European Innovative School Award will recognise innovation and partnerships with businesses and local authorities. The Commission will pilot university–business partnerships via Erasmus+, Digital Europe and EIT to train for shortage sectors and co-develop micro-credentials. The plan will expand the European Alliance for Apprenticeships to 700 pledges and streamline the Pact for Skills (linking EU Skills Academies, CoVEs and European Universities) to double 25-million upskilling commitments. - [Digital Competence Framework (DigComp 3.0)]() — status: not recorded. DigComp 3.0 provides a common framework for identifying and describing the key areas of digital competence. Its use spans employment, education and digital-skills training across the EU, with adoption in at least 22 Member States and use as a basis or guide for 27 digital-skills certification schemes in 25 countries. The Joint Research Centre presented the new version in an online event for policymakers, employers, educators and researchers working on digital competence development. - [Digital Skills Academies]() — status: not recorded. The EU will deploy a targeted network of Skills Academies anchored by a flagship AI Skills Academy and complemented by a Quantum Skills Academy, a Cybersecurity Skills Academy (with an Industry–Academia network and cyber-campuses), and Net-Zero Industry Academies. Academies will offer one-stop training, apprenticeships and fellowships, returnships for women, and competitions. Building on Large-Scale Partnerships, a rollout will serve strategic sectors: defence, automotive, grids, wind, food, AI, quantum, virtual worlds and semiconductors. Coordinated under the Union of Skills and linked to the Clean Industrial Deal, the EIT will equip 1 million learners by 2028, with gender and mobility targets across Europe. - [EU Literacy Coalition]() — status: forthcoming. The EU Literacy Coalition is an initiative announced under the Union of Skills and the Action Plan on Basic Skills. The Commission says the Coalition will be established in autumn 2026. In preparation, the Commission held a conference on reading and literacy in Warsaw from 5 to 7 May, followed by a two half-day stakeholder workshop to lay the ground for the Coalition. The Commission presents the initiative as a joint approach across education and culture that brings together the cultural, creative, education and book sectors in response to declining literacy competences and reading habits. - [EU Teachers and Trainers Agenda]() — status: forthcoming. The Teachers and Trainers Agenda is an initiative within the Union of Skills aimed at tackling shortages, improving conditions and strengthening careers for educators. The wider strategy seeks to help people access quality jobs, help companies find talent and make skills portable across the EU. It includes action on basic skills, STEM, vocational education and training, upskilling, reskilling, skills intelligence and talent attraction. - [EU Visa Policy Strategy]() — status: delivered. EU Visa Policy Strategy sets out changes to make visa tools more responsive to readmission, security and border-management cooperation. In 2026, the Commission plans a new framework for visa-exemption assessments, a Visa Code revision and the launch of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. The measures cover restrictive visa options, digitalised procedures, travel-document security, longer-validity multiple-entry visas, support for innovation talent, border-management IT and a proposed EU Visa Support Office within a revised Frontex mandate. - [European School Alliances]() — status: forthcoming. The programme will knit Europe’s education and innovation fabric into a single, high-performing network. Universities alliances will launch joint programmes (especially in AI, quantum, semiconductors, data and cybersecurity) under a European degree/label, backed by an EU legal status and an investment pathway that secures long-term cooperation, shared infrastructures, and partnerships with business and research. In schools, a 2026 pilot will create European School Alliances to boost pupil and teacher mobility, enable cross-border cooperation between schools and authorities, and serve as testbeds for pedagogy, curricula and competence frameworks. Alliances will help schools become learning organisations focused on mastering basic skills. - [European Skills High Level Board]() — status: not recorded. The Board will be the steering hub of the Union of Skills, chaired by the Commission and uniting business leaders, education and training providers, and social partners. It delivers cross-sector insight and guidance on skills issues, drawing on evidence from the European Skills Intelligence Observatory and aligning action with the competitiveness steering mechanism. It will support a new EU-27 Recommendation on human capital and inform country-specific recommendations, while taking into account the Digital Decade Board’s advice on digital basic skills. With a dynamic, agile set-up, the Board can convene stakeholders quickly and accelerate implementation across sectors. - [European Strategy for VET]() — status: forthcoming. The Strategy upgrades VET into a first-choice pathway for competitiveness, cohesion and generational renewal. It tackles skills shortages by modernising curricula with employers, expanding work-based learning, and boosting mobility and internationalisation (via Erasmus+ and a pilot European VET diploma/label in 2025–26). It raises excellence and inclusiveness, combats gender stereotypes, and sets a 2030 STEM target: at least 45% of initial medium-level VET enrolment, with one in four women. Centres of Vocational Excellence will scale transnational partnerships and drive national reforms, while recognition frameworks ease cross-border learning and careers, making VET as valued as higher education across the Union. - [Fair Labour Mobility Package]() — status: forthcoming. The Package will remove frictions to cross-border work while safeguarding rights, making Europe’s labour market more efficient. It will propose a European Social Security Pass for digital verification of entitlements, streamline posting procedures, and clarify social-security coordination for cross-border remote work. The package will strengthen the European Labour Authority’s mandate and data capabilities to improve enforcement and joint inspections. A Skills Portability Initiative will simplify recognition of qualifications and interoperable digital credentials, including for third-country nationals. Together, these measures cut administrative burden for employers and workers, enable service provision, and support talent circulation across the Single Market. - [Intergenerational Fairness Strategy]() — status: delivered. The Commission will present the first EU-wide strategy to embed long-term, intergenerational perspectives across policymaking. It will: (1) strengthen intergenerational democratic participation and scrutiny; (2) tackle cross-cutting challenges (i.e. climate, housing, fiscal sustainability, skills and lifelong learning) through an intergenerational lens; and (3) empower all ages, combating ageism and protecting children’s rights. The strategy is being co-created via a 2025 four-phase process and may include a monitoring tool for intergenerational fairness. It will align with the Union of Skills agenda and related education actions, ensuring no generation is left behind. It will propose metrics and mainstream youth participation. - [Quality Jobs Act]() — status: forthcoming. Developed with EU social partners in 2025, the Quality Jobs Roadmap will set a coherent EU strategy to raise job quality alongside competitiveness. It will back fair wages, high health-and-safety standards, decent working conditions, work-life balance, gender equality and wider collective bargaining; strengthen enforcement of work-related rights; and support access to training and fair job-to-job transitions, drawing on the European Pillar of Social Rights. It will align with the Competitiveness Compass, Union of Skills and the Clean Industrial Deal so decarbonisation creates attractive jobs and regional cohesion, and may announce targeted legislative and non-legislative actions with robust monitoring and evaluation. - [Recommendation on Human Capital]() — status: delivered. The Commission will introduce a recommendation on education and skills within the European Semester to anchor the Union of Skills in the competitiveness steering mechanism. It will be underpinned by the European Skills Intelligence Observatory and advised by a European Skills High-Level Board, ensuring timely, granular evidence and guidance. The recommendation will target structural reforms across the skills pipeline (i.e. basic education, VET, higher education and lifelong learning) linking them to labour-market needs. It will inform Council debates, the Joint Employment Report and country reports/CSRs, and promote whole-of-government coordination across education, employment and economic portfolios, nationally. - [Skills Portability Initiative (SPI)]() — status: forthcoming. The initiative will remove barriers to cross-border work by making skills and qualifications usable across the Single Market. It will consider a legislative proposal to ease mobility and promote common EU formats for interoperable digital credentials, building on EQF, Europass and ESCO. Recognition in regulated professions will be expanded and modernised using digital tools, while simpler common rules will be explored to recognise third-country nationals’ skills. In parallel, the EU will develop a framework for automatic recognition of qualifications and learning periods in school, VET and higher education, and examine accession to the Lisbon Recognition Convention. - [STEM Education Strategic Plan]() — status: delivered. The EU will reverse declining STEM performance and close talent gaps by 2030 through enrolment targets (45% of initial VET in STEM, 32% tertiary, and 5% ICT PhDs) with gender goals (≥25% women in VET, 40% tertiary, 33% ICT PhDs). It will modernise curricula via a STEM competence framework, pilot STEM education centres, and launch Advanced Digital Skills Competitions. Universities and Centres of Vocational Excellence will offer joint programmes and micro-credentials aligned with industry, moving toward a European degree for engineers. A Teachers & Trainers Agenda and actions under the Union of Skills will boost capacity and attractiveness. - [Union of Skills]() — status: delivered. Union of Skills measures span basic education, digital learning, science and technology education, vocational training, higher education and labour-market mobility. The programme lists action on basic skills, a Skills Guarantee, skills academies, university-business partnerships, portability and recognition of qualifications, a European degree or label, and talent attraction. Its timetable includes pilots, strategies, frameworks and legal arrangements. --- [Reading guide and interpretation notes]() · [Methodology]()