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?
Europe
Europe is more than just a political institution or a geographical area. It is a historically evolved area of thought, culture and experience in which questions of democracy, freedom, the rule of law and coexistence are constantly being raised anew. The keyword „Europe“ therefore brings together contributions that deal with European ideas, developments and conflicts - from European politics and legislation to institutional decisions of the EU and biographical portraits of people who have shaped, criticized or developed Europe. The aim is not to reduce Europe to buzzwords or daily political events, but to make connections visible, classify backgrounds and juxtapose different perspectives. Europe does not appear here as a finished project, but as an open process that needs to be understood, discussed and shaped.
The new EU censorship laws: What Chatcontrol, DSA, EMFA and the AI Act mean
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?
The EU's digital ID: linking, control and risks in everyday life
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.
The digital euro is coming - what it means, what it must not do and what it could do
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?