--- title: "Ask EU how" subtitle: "A few of the ideas the Brussels bubble is currently debating on technology" author: "Lorenzo Ancona" date: 2026-05-13 language: en words: 1035 canonical: https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/ask-eu-how license: CC BY 4.0 cite_as: "Ask EU how by Lorenzo Ancona, Artifacts, 2026-05-13. https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/ask-eu-how (CC BY 4.0)" --- # Ask EU how Last week, Artifacts attended the [Politico AI & Tech Week in Brussels.](https://www.politico.eu/ai-tech-week-2026/?_Tech_-_EOM1_-_auto_conf) Topics went well beyond AI - **sovereignty, data, chips, platforms, online safety, entrepreneurship.** Which is refreshing, since AI dominates so much of the conversation everywhere. [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TEse!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbba9033f-f7e7-472f-9ae5-3b3bfe58842f_3024x3058.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TEse!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbba9033f-f7e7-472f-9ae5-3b3bfe58842f_3024x3058.jpeg) What struck me was **the breadth of opinions**, moving past the tired regulator-versus-private-sector dichotomy. Instead: **regulators** more open to explain and listen, **third parties** trying to mediate, scaling **companies** voicing their needs, large **enterprises** less defensive, **academics** naming the complexity. But there’s still a pattern quite visible: **a fundamental disconnection between those designing regulation and those building the technology, who rarely attend such events.** Which then triggers lots of talks about the *what* needs to be done, and **much less about the** ***how*** **to get there.** Finally, a special mention goes to the Politico journalists, who asked precise questions, pulled speakers back on track when needed, and kept pointing toward where the real complexity lives. Anyway, **here are five things the Brussels Tech ‘Bubble’ is discussing** - in an attempt to make it readable for those outside of it (and go follow [Unbubble Hub](https://unbubblehub.substack.com/), speaking of bubbles) > ### *First of all*, Europe wants more control on the technologies we use This is the thing everyone agrees on. **Sovereignty is the political frame of such control**, with the core idea being *“someone on the other side of the planet cannot switch off our infrastructure.”* Therefore, it’s also a matter of strategic security. **Less agreement exists on what counts as a European technology and when it can really be considered sovereign.** More importantly, it remains unclear which domains to prioritize - semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, data centers, software - and what the real impact would be on the private sector actually building these systems. Yet, end of the month may provide more info with the release of the [‘Tech Sovereignty Package’](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/07/eu-commission-cloud-sensitive-data.html) by the Commission. > ### *Therefore*, Building European is the path The idea that Europe and European companies can build breakthrough technologies is **no longer a myth.** Simplification packages like [EU inc](https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/eu-inc-making-business-easier-european-union-2026-03-18_en) - a streamlined legal structure for digital startups - are welcomed with genuine enthusiasm and curiosity. **Much more alignment exists on the idea that regulation need not be a drag but should enable easier business.** And finally, pushing for a [Eurostack](https://eurostack.eu/) - a European-controlled tech infrastructure - and actively financing innovation seems to be the way forward. > ### *That’s why* Antitrust matters (a lot) on AI To avoid scenarios like Google Search edition 2, where the search market is heavily concentrated, **with AI it’s critical to prevent companies from entrenching themselves as blockers.** This matters especially for Europe’s hope to keep alive the dream of a European AI flagship company. > ### *And still on AI*, the real work with regulation is actually on implementation It was fun to be in Brussels at the Politico event on the day of the [AI Omnibus](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1024), which meant a delay and a simplification in the implementation of the AI Act. **It’s also increasingly clear that AI regulation is primarily AI governance** - not just the rules, but how they’re enforced. The actual work starts after the paperwork, and many speakers suggested Europe is behind here. **Figuring out how to operationalise the AI Act is what will keep the bubble busy in the months ahead.** Getting this right matters for safety, for clarity, for whether the rules can actually be enforced. This whole situation brought me back to someone who once told me: *“A politician who doesn’t care about the outcome of their policies is like a CEO who doesn’t care about the outcome of their product.”* That’s probably something to keep in mind. > ### Which is a *very similar story* to the one on Age Verification Age verification has become the new buzzword in tech regulation. **Everyone agrees, of course, that protecting children online is a priority.** Yet fewer people grapple with the **complexity** of actually implementing a proper verification system - the technical and privacy problems, the likelihood of bans, [what we do with VPNs](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2026/782618/EPRS_ATA(2026)782618_EN.pdf) (with some ideas that seem quite bizarre, to say the least) **This is the clearest example of the** ***what*** **versus** ***how*** **gap.** Easy to agree on the goal (protecting children), harder to think through implementation. **On this matter, which is fundamentally technical, the debate remains heavily political.** It will take time and considerable controversy, while the [EU Commission just announced](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9q3x19ddl7o) they’re considering a social media ‘delay’ (=ban) for minors this summer, pointing to the recently released [EU age-verification app.](https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/european-age-verification-app-keep-children-safe-online-2026-04-15_en)
On age verification, I had written a piece btw: [](https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/shut-that-door) ## Shut that door [Lorenzo Ancona](https://substack.com/profile/142944754-lorenzo-ancona)·13 December 2025[![Shut that door](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!m6O6!,w_280,h_280,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8b0fb261-d34a-45a8-a95e-77fc1d7f1b3d_1024x1024.png)](https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/shut-that-door) In these days, in Australia anyone under 16 will lose access to the usual parade of social platforms: Snap, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc. [Read full story](https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/shut-that-door) [Leave a comment](https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/ask-eu-how/comments) > ### **Save for Later** What if bots [revive debate and democracy](https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/2ae49e3c-586b-4851-9950-1b6b2a7207e8)? New [CivicTech Guide](https://app.civictech.guide/feed) to check out but also [how governments use GitHub](https://government.github.com/community/). Someone claims [HTML is back](https://x.com/trq212/status/2052809885763747935?s=20) because of AI. Others that [Gen Z doesn’t love AI](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/920401/gen-z-ai) that much. And finally [maybe tokens](https://www.semafor.com/article/05/08/2026/anthropic-spacex-compute-deal-shows-how-tokens-are-taking-over-the-economy) are the currency of tomorrow? The US Administration wants to [look more into powerful AI models](https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/0e0fdbd9-cd1a-46db-9663-8adb1d892af4). In the meantime, Mythos by Anthropic helped Mozilla spot a [lot of vulnerabilities.](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/07/how-anthropics-mythos-has-rewritten-firefoxs-approach-to-cybersecurity/) On media, [Substack is losing ground](https://www.theverge.com/tech/927294/substack-tax-ghost-beehiiv), but also how to [get better at spotting deepfakes](https://www.theverge.com/tech/888303/photo-video-fake-news-verification-nyt-bellingway). Why you should do [one thing at a time.](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/05/monotasking-inside-the-box-excerpt-david-epstein/687015/) > ### **The Bookshelf** [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A8Al!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F563bfa76-a926-4393-8964-3ff438208a45_1080x1080.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A8Al!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F563bfa76-a926-4393-8964-3ff438208a45_1080x1080.png) Not a book on tech, but rather on Europe and its history. Research claims our brain is made for stories, and so **reading those of ‘normal’ people that made Europe** can be a good way to get to know more about how we got where we are. And Raquel Varela writes so well :) 📚 **All the books** I’ve read and recommended in Artifacts are [here.](https://airtable.com/appK7fMPX1DMkQYzL/shrRh8TgI7GtmgBxM) > ### **Nerding** [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLnn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c50ab8-05d2-4302-a8a6-2bdd27404545_1080x1080.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLnn!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c50ab8-05d2-4302-a8a6-2bdd27404545_1080x1080.png) **Ok today we go full speed on Europe!** In case you want to use less and less non-European tech, [European Alternatives](https://european-alternatives.eu/) is the go-to portal to support your transition on all the different services. > ### **☕?** If you want to know more about Artifacts, where it all started, or just want to connect... [Let's grab a virtual coffee ☕](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ2ibxlzyU7rgnuoTgqXb_DFc19dfHmJeu1OAu17IY0_oHrtcJtvtctAJnMabirgZNx5Z5NAPGs0)