The impending unveiling of the EU’s omnibus bill, intended to streamline bureaucracy and reshape the digital landscape, is already sparking fierce debate and raising serious concerns about the potential erosion of fundamental rights. Alexandra Geese, Vice-Chair of the Green Party faction in the European Parliament, has issued a stark warning against what she describes as a dangerous blurring of lines between necessary simplification and a significant compromise on democratic safeguards.
Geese’s critique centers on the risk that the bill, designed to accelerate innovation and competitiveness, might inadvertently legitimize opaque data practices employed by large technology companies. In an interview with the “Rheinische Post”, she argued that sacrificing established democratic standards – particularly in the realm of data protection – will ultimately undermine Europe’s ability to foster genuinely competitive artificial intelligence. “We will not develop competitive AI if we lower our democratic standards” she stated, underscoring the existential stakes involved.
The core of Geese’s worry stems from the perceived loosening of data protection measures outlined in the initial draft of the omnibus legislation. She fears that the current proposal could effectively strip citizens of their agency, preventing them from controlling the distribution of their sensitive personal data, including health records, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and residential information. This, she contends, would be a severe setback for individual liberties without offering any tangible benefit to societal progress.
The European Commission’s planned presentation of the implementation roadmap for this sweeping legislative overhaul comes at a particularly fraught moment, with pressure mounting to accelerate digital transformation while simultaneously safeguarding core European values. The Green Party’s warning signals a growing disquiet across the Parliament and beyond, raising critical questions about the balance between regulatory efficiency and the protection of individual freedoms in the digital age. The debate now hinges on whether the omnibus bill can be revised to deliver on its promise of simplification without sacrificing the hard-won rights of European citizens.