The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is organising a stakeholder consultation in preparation of the CoR opinion on "Digital simplification and Data Union Strategy", covering the following initiatives of the European Commission published last November:

• The proposal for a Digital Omnibus regulation (COM(2025) 837).
• The proposal for a Digital Omnibus on AI regulation (COM(2025) 836).
• The communication on Data Union Strategy (COM(2025) 835).

📅 24 February 2026 
🕒 14.30 -16.30 CET

Pehr GRANFALK (SE/EPP), Member of Solna Municipal Council, rapporteur for this opinion, would like to collect stakeholders' experience so far with the legislation currently in force governing the use of data, Artificial Intelligence and gather their views on potential improvements to be introduced further to the Commission's proposals for the two Digital Omnibus regulations.  

The rapporteur would like to gather views and feedback on this topic and specifically on the following questions:

1. How do you think simplification measures proposed in both Omnibus regulations will reduce administrative burden for cities and regions when it comes to B2G data sharing and sharing (anonymised) citizens' data to companies?
2. Where do compliance challenges (with regulations) persist, in particular for smaller municipalities?
3. How do you perceive the balance between data sovereignty and the need for trusted cross-border data flows, in particular in the context of international projects or cooperation with non-EU countries?
4. What has your/your partners' experience been in preparing for the deployment of high-risk AI systems? Are there sufficient resources, guidance and training to ensure compliance with requirements such as human oversight and are you able to ensure you comply with requirements regarding AI literacy?
5. How are the Data Act and AI Act so far influencing the digital transformation of public services in your city/region? Are SMEs and start-ups able to access relevant datasets and AI infrastructure as intended?
6. What legal/administrative obstacles has your city/region encountered in implementing the Data Act and the AI Act, in particular regarding the GDPR constraints, voluntary sharing mechanisms and management of public sector data?
7. Are the proposed changes in the Data Act and the AI Act sufficient to safeguard transparency, accountability and fundamental rights when deploying AI systems in public services? Where do you see potential risks or gaps?
8. Looking ahead, what additional guidance, resources or policy adjustments would help LRAs better implement the Data Act and the AI Act?

The meeting will be held in English. Interpretation through AI tools could be used, subject to participants’ prior agreement.

The consultation will take place in hybrid format, on the premises of the CoR (Rue Belliard 99-101, Brussels) in room JDE 53, and online via Teams.

In case you prefer to send your input in writing, please send it to econ@cor.europa.eu and marek.bobis@cor.europa.eu by Friday, 27 February 2026 at the latest.