The European Commission is planning a tax omnibus package for the end of June 2026 to simplify direct taxation. However, real relief will only be achieved if overlaps are consistently eliminated and rules that hinder investment are corrected. Why a minimal compromise is not enough and where urgent action is needed is outlined below.

On 7 May 2026, the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament reached agreement on an Omnibus package for the AI Act. The debate around the AI Act goes beyond regulatory fine-tuning. At its core, it is about Europe’s ability to translate AI technologies into industrial applications – and in doing so, to strengthen value creation, resilience and technological sovereignty in a sustainable way. In an increasingly competitive global environment, it is crucial for Europe to combine ambitious regulatory objectives with a strong industrial base. The BDI is committed to ensuring that companies in Germany and across Europe can not only develop AI technologies, but also scale and deploy them widely in industrial contexts.

In her Political Guidelines for 2024–2029, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a “new approach” to competition policy, aimed at better aligning it with common European objectives and more supportive of companies scaling up in global markets. Against this backdrop, the European Commission is currently revising its merger control guidelines, which have remained unchanged for around 20 years and form the basis for assessing corporate mergers.

Reducing red tape is one of the most pressing economic policy challenges facing the EU. The European Commission’s new communication on better regulation demonstrates that Brussels has correctly identified the core problem. However, in the BDI’s view, the measures so far and those announced fall well short of what is required. Tangible relief for businesses will only materialise once the flow of new regulation is significantly reduced. This necessitates a fundamental shift in the mindset of EU regulators.