Monday, 19. October 2026

EU laws

EU laws form the legal foundation of the European Union and shape far more areas of life than many people realize. The framework in which Brussels sets common rules, strives for harmonization and complements national legislators ranges from data protection and digital identities to financial and health policy. For entrepreneurs, citizens and administrations, this often means new standards, new obligations - but also new opportunities. Anyone who wants to understand how EU political decisions affect everyday life should be familiar with the mechanisms, background and practical consequences of these legal acts. This keyword brings together relevant developments, explains the context and classifies which EU laws will be particularly important in the future.

Jeffrey Sachs warns Germany: Why Europe's security needs to be rethought

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Jeffrey Sachs writes open letter to Chancellor Merz

In his open letter to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, published in the Berliner Zeitung on December 17, 2025, the well-known economist and professor Jeffrey D. Sachs speaks out with a clarity that has become rare in the current European debate. Sachs speaks not as an activist, not as a partisan and not as a commentator from a distance, but as an economist and political advisor who has worked for decades at the central interfaces of international crises, security architectures and economic upheavals. The open letter contains an unusually sharp quote:

„Learn history, Mr. Chancellor.“

The letter is less a political intervention of the day and more a document arguing from a historical perspective. In it, Sachs does not call for quick solutions, but for a return to a way of thinking that has long been taken for granted in Europe: security as a reciprocal relationship, diplomacy as an instrument of stabilization and historical honesty as a prerequisite for trust. The fact that he addresses the German Chancellor directly underlines the special role that Germany plays in Europe in his view - not as a military pioneer, but as an organizing, balancing force.

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Game theory explains 25 years of geopolitics: How Europe lost its strategic role

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Game theory explains 25 years of geopolitics

For many, game theory sounds like dry mathematics, like formulas, like something that only plays a role in lectures or business games. In reality, however, it is an ancient thinking tool that existed long before its academic formalization. Diplomats used it, commanders used it, captains of industry used it - long before it was even called that. In the end, it is nothing more than a sober question:

„When several players have to make decisions in an uncertain situation - what options do they have and what are the consequences?“

This kind of thinking has become surprisingly rare today. Instead of analyzing alternatives, much is narrowed down to moral narratives or spontaneous interpretations. Yet in geopolitical issues in particular, a clear analysis of the possibilities would be the foundation of any mature policy. It is precisely this old craft that I would like to take up again in this article.

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The EU's 28th regime: The silent restructuring of the European Economic Area?

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28th EU regime

At the moment, half of Europe is talking about the so-called „28th regime“. Many are wondering what this is actually supposed to be. A new state? A secret EU project? Or just another attempt to modernize the single market? In fact, it is a concept that sounds grand, but in essence describes an additional form of company that is supposed to be optional and purely voluntary. The name „28th regime“ comes from the fact that there would be another set of rules in addition to the 27 national legal systems - like an additional tool in an already full toolbox.

The idea behind it did not come about overnight. Start-ups, investors and some SMEs have been complaining for years that the EU consists of 27 very different economic areas. Depending on which country you start up in, you have to follow different rules: different founding formalities, different liability rules, different requirements for employee participation or raising capital. This is an obstacle for international tech companies and often a deterrent for founders. This is precisely where the EU institutions want to start.

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CLOUD Act, data sovereignty and Switzerland: a turning point for European IT strategies?

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What the Swiss cloud resolution means for Europe

Something happened in Switzerland in mid-November that hardly anyone expected in this form: The country's data protection commissioners passed a clear, almost historic resolution. The message behind it is simple - and at the same time highly controversial: public authorities should no longer outsource their most sensitive data to international cloud services such as Microsoft 365 without hesitation. Why is that?

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The new EU censorship laws: What Chatcontrol, DSA, EMFA and the AI Act mean

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EU censorship laws

In an increasingly digitalized world, we spend a lot of time online: Chatting, shopping, working, informing ourselves. At the same time, the rules on how content is shared, moderated or controlled are changing. The Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the planned Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse (CSAR, often referred to as „chat control“) and the AI Act are key pieces of legislation proposed by the European Union (EU) to regulate the digital environment.

These regulations may seem far away at first glance - but they have an impact on you as a private individual as well as on small and medium-sized companies. This article will guide you step by step: from the question „What is planned here?“ to the background and timelines to the change of perspective: What does this mean for you in everyday life?

In the first part, we take a look at what is actually planned, which major legislative projects are currently being discussed or have already been passed and the reasons for their introduction.

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The EU's digital ID: linking, control and risks in everyday life

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Digital ID of the EU

When you hear about „digital ID“, „European identity wallet“ or „EUDI wallet“, it sounds abstract at first - almost like another complicated IT project from Brussels. Many people have never consciously heard of „eIDAS 2.0“, the underlying EU regulations. And yet this project will affect almost every citizen of the European Union in the long term.

In essence, it is about something that we have been carrying around with us on paper or as a plastic card in our everyday lives for decades: official proof of our identity. Until now, we have had various documents - ID card, driver's license, health insurance card, tax ID, account login, insurance number. Each system works separately, each with its own processes, often confusing and sometimes annoying.

The EU is now pursuing the goal of merging these scattered areas of identity into a standardized digital solution.

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A fact check on the electronic patient file (EPR): risks, rights and objections

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All the facts about electronic patient records

The electronic patient file, or ePA for short, is one of the most ambitious digitization projects in the German healthcare system. It is intended to bundle medical information centrally - from findings and laboratory values to medication plans, vaccinations and hospital reports. The aim is to better connect doctors, therapists, pharmacies and patients, avoid duplicate examinations and improve the quality of treatment.

What sounds modern and efficient on paper raises numerous questions in practice: Who has access? How secure is the data? And above all: do I even want all my health information to be stored and accessible centrally - even if I haven't asked for it?

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The digital euro is coming - what it means, what it must not do and what it could do

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The digital euro is coming

Public money is more than just a medium of exchange - it is a symbol of state sovereignty, a guarantor of economic order and a means for all citizens to participate freely in economic life. For centuries, cash was an expression of this freedom: anonymous, unconditionally usable, valid everywhere. With the gradual replacement of cash by digital payment methods, a central question is now being posed anew: who will control the money of the future - and under what conditions?

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