What if following EU law was as smooth as scrolling through your banking app? Thanks to regulatory technology — or RegTech — that idea is becoming less science fiction and more like tomorrow’s reality.
RegTech: making EU law as easy as using an app
Law, But Make It User-Friendly
Imagine a world where navigating EU regulations doesn’t require legal degrees or sleepless nights. Where businesses — whether a local startup or a global player — can rely on smart tools that help them stay compliant, track regulatory changes, and spot legal risks early.
This is the promise of RegTech.
It started in the financial world after the 2008 crisis, when banks were drowning in paperwork and reporting rules. But today, its power goes far beyond finance. From automating audits to tracking legal obligations in real time, RegTech tools are helping both businesses and regulators streamline their work — without sacrificing legal quality or safety.
From Crisis Response to Smart Innovation
Originally built to help banks handle complex financial rules, RegTech has now expanded into areas like cybersecurity, data protection, and environmental standards (ESG).
In today’s fast-moving, data-driven economy — powered by AI and cloud computing — RegTech is becoming the backbone of smarter regulation. It gives companies the freedom to focus on what they do best: creating, innovating, and growing.
For the EU, this isn’t just about convenience. It’s about staying competitive — not by ditching rules, but by making them work better through technology.
Brussels’ New Mission: Less Paper, More Clarity
When the second term of the von der Leyen Commission began, one bold promise stood out: cutting red tape. Specifically, reducing reporting obligations by 25% overall and by 35% for SMEs. The plan also included five legislative simplification packages to boost innovation and investment.
So far, efforts have focused on streamlining overlapping regulations — like those on data protection (GDPR), cybersecurity, and financial law. Some proposals, such as the AI liability directive, have even been withdrawn for being too complex.
But as former Italian PM and ECB chief Mario Draghi pointed out in a recent report, the real problem isn’t how much law we have, but how it’s designed.
Right now, more than 60% of EU companies say over-regulation is a barrier to investing. Deleting rules won’t fix that — smarter regulation will.
RegTech: A New Way of Thinking About Regulation
For real change to happen, RegTech can’t be treated as an optional extra. It needs to be fully integrated into how the EU creates and enforces law.
That means two things:
- Supporting innovation. EU institutions should invest in startups building RegTech tools — with accelerators, tailored funding, and incubators. Trusted tools could receive official EU certification or be tested in shared sandboxes, especially in sensitive areas like privacy or cybersecurity.
- Designing digital-ready laws. Regulation should be written with automation in mind — especially in fast-moving areas like AI, ESG reporting, and digital safety. Imagine if rules came with built-in tools to calculate risk levels, file reports, or track compliance.
A Predictable Europe Is a Competitive Europe
Some fear that simplifying rules might weaken the EU’s ability to protect people or markets. But history tells us the opposite. From paper forms to PDFs to automated systems, every generation of lawmakers has used the tools of their time.
RegTech is just the next step. It doesn’t mean weaker rules — it means better enforcement, greater clarity, and stronger legal certainty.
And at a time when global instability is shaking trust in institutions, a more coherent, tech-powered legal system could be one of Europe’s biggest strengths.
RegTech: Europe’s Opportunity to Lead
Today, the EU faces a clear choice. Either let RegTech grow in fragmented national markets — or build a pan-European ecosystem that turns compliance into a competitive advantage.
The EU did it before with fintech. Now it’s time to do the same with regulatory tech.
Done right, RegTech could become Europe’s new shared engine — like the single market or the euro once were. A system that simplifies, connects, and strengthens. A foundation for a resilient, forward-looking Europe ready for the challenges of the 21st century.
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