The European Commission launched its Digital Fitness Check consultation on November 19, and every business leader operating in or engaging with the EU market should take note. This initiative represents the second phase of the Commission’s plan to simplify the EU’s digital regulatory framework and acts as a comprehensive stress test of how the cumulative digital rulebook affects businesses.
As the digital acquis has expanded to keep pace with rapid technological innovation, companies have increasingly faced higher compliance costs and growing legal uncertainty. The challenge lies in the interaction between GDPR, NIS2, the AI Act, the Digital Services Act, and a broad set of other regulations that—while well-intended individually—collectively create a complex and resource-intensive compliance landscape.
The 2024 Draghi Report explicitly links part of Europe’s competitiveness gap to administrative burdens and regulatory inconsistencies. The Digital Fitness Check aims to address these issues by improving coherence across the digital rulebook and reducing unnecessary friction that slows innovation, all without weakening essential protections.
The consultation will remain open until March 11, 2026, giving stakeholders the opportunity to share real-world insights into overlapping obligations, operational burdens, and regulatory gaps. This is a critical moment to contribute to the creation of a more agile digital framework—one that safeguards European values while enabling economic growth and innovation.
