Laura Schukraft

Laura Schukraft is a Legal Intern who attended the Faculty of Law of the University of Fribourg and the European Legal Studies Department of the College of Europe.

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Driverless and autonomous vehicles (“AVs”) are moving from test tracks and pilot schemes to commercial deployment around the world. In the U.S. and China, robotaxi fleets and autonomous trucking services are proliferating. Similar developments are happening in the EU and UK. In London, the first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service launched in early September 2026, with a supervised fleet carrying paying passengers. In Germany, regulators have granted the first nationwide authorisations for Level 4 urban testing and cab-less Level 4 autonomous trucks. At the international level, UNECE has adopted the first global rules for fully driverless vehicles, as discussed in our earlier blog post here.

As AV technology matures, the regulatory and liability frameworks that will govern it are starting to emerge. This article provides an overview of the key developments that will affect autonomous vehicle manufacturers, and technology companies and mobility-service providers operating in this sector.

Continue Reading Overview of EU and UK Regulatory Developments relating to Autonomous Vehicles

In recent months, children’s online safety and privacy have moved to the top of the EU’s digital agenda. The European Commission is expected to outline its proposal on minors’ access to social media this week, a potentially significant development that would build on the recommendations of the Commission’s Special Panel…

Continue Reading Horizon Scan: Children’s Online Safety and Privacy (EU and Beyond)

On June 3, the European Commission published its Tech Sovereignty Package, a set of legislative and policy initiatives designed to address what the Commission characterizes as Europe’s technological dependencies on non-European suppliers. The Package marks a further step in the evolution of the EU’s technology policy, with initiatives spanning the full tech stack—from chips and infrastructure to software, cloud, and artificial intelligence. Through this “ecosystem” approach, the Commission seeks to reduce supply-side dependencies by strengthening domestic capabilities in Europe and stimulating demand in downstream sectors.

The Package comprises four components: two legislative proposals—(i) the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), and (ii) the Chips Act 2.0—as well as two non-legislative initiatives—(iii) the EU Open Source Strategy and (iv) a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in Energy.

Continue Reading EU Tech Sovereignty Package

EU Member States are currently designing two possible new Important Projects of Common European Interest (“IPCEIs”) to support the development of AI and compute infrastructure in the EU (together the “Digital IPCEIs”), subject to European Commission (“Commission”) approval.

On 10 March 2026, the “matchmaking” phase under the IPCEI on Artificial Intelligence (“IPCEI-AI”) was officially launched in Berlin. It brings together companies whose AI projects have been pre-selected through national calls for expressions of interest (“CEIs”) in each participating Member State. Its objective is to form European consortia eligible for State co-funding under the IPCEI-AI. National CEIs in 17 participating Member States are now closed; Finland and Lithuania are still expected to launch their CEIs.

A second digital IPCEI on Compute Infrastructure Continuum (“IPCEI-CIC”) was launched in late 2025 by 15 Member States. Several of these participating Member States – including Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain – have not yet launched their CEIs.  

Continue Reading Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) on Artificial Intelligence and Compute Infrastructure Continuum

Europe has switched to a wartime mindset and is surging defense spending to levels not seen since the Cold War: 20% growth in 2024 and in 2025, and a total of around $450 billion across the EU. Europe is also ramping up defense production locally, and seeking to accelerate this process through preferential funding schemes. Ukraine has become a military powerhouse and a global leader in defense tech, such as drones and counter-drone systems. And the tech Ukraine has other countries need, particularly in the Middle East. The upcoming NATO summit in Ankara in July and the prospective EU-GCC summit later this year in Saudi Arabia will continue to shape investment priorities across EMEA. For private equity firms, technology companies, prime defense contractors, and scale-ups operating in the defense sector, this shift creates opportunities to meet rising demand, while also introducing additional regulatory complexity that must be navigated carefully to secure market access and long-term strategic positioning.

Continue Reading Future of Defense Across EMEA