The European Commission has released the 2026 edition of the Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation, the key reference document coordinating European Union policy priorities with ICT standardisation activities across technologies, industries, and societal challenges. The 2026 edition expands the framework to approximately 260 standardisation actions grouped across 40 technology and application domains, reflecting the growing complexity and ambition of Europe's digital regulatory agenda.
What is the Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation?
The Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation is a working document published annually by the European Commission, developed in close collaboration with the European Multi-Stakeholder Platform on ICT Standardisation (MSP). It serves as an essential bridge between EU digital policy objectives and the technical standardisation activities carried out by European and international standards development organisations (SDOs) such as CEN, CENELEC, ETSI, ISO, IEC, IETF, IEEE, ITU, W3C, and others.
Unlike formal regulatory instruments, the Rolling Plan is a practical, living document — updated every year to remain aligned with the rapidly evolving EU policy and technology landscape. It does not claim exhaustiveness, but rather focuses on areas where ICT standardisation can have a direct, measurable impact in supporting EU policy implementation.
The Rolling Plan is complementary to the Annual Union Work Programme (AUWP), the formal Commission document identifying strategic standardisation priorities. Together, they form a comprehensive framework guiding the EU's standardisation ecosystem.
What's new in the 2026 Edition?
The 2026 edition introduces a number of significant updates, reflecting both new EU regulatory developments and the evolving technological landscape.
Three new chapters
The 2026 edition adds three new thematic chapters:
- Trusted and Secure Chips (3.1.12): addressing standardisation for hardware security components that underpin trusted digital infrastructure;
- Internet (3.1.13): covering the foundational protocols and standards that ensure an open, resilient, and interoperable internet;
- Trust in Media (3.2.9): a new societal chapter focusing on standards to support media authenticity, content provenance, and trust.
Additionally, the chapter on ePrivacy (3.2.10) has been reorganised and moved into the Societal Challenges section, more accurately reflecting its scope and policy relevance.
Major chapter revisions
Several existing chapters have undergone substantial revisions:
- Data Economy (3.0.1) and Data Interoperability (3.1.3): extensively revised to align with progress on the EU Data Strategy and the Data Act, which entered into implementation in 2025;
- Electronic Identification and Trust Services, including e-signatures (3.1.5): comprehensively updated in line with the revised eIDAS regulation and the EU Digital Identity Wallet;
- Cybersecurity / Network and Information Security (3.0.2): updated to reflect the evolving threat landscape and the implementation of key regulations such as NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act;
- eProcurement (3.3.1), eInvoicing (3.3.2), and Web 4.0 and Virtual Worlds (3.3.7): all substantially revised to incorporate the latest policy and standards developments.
Structure and thematic areas
The Rolling Plan 2026 is structured around two foundational horizontal drivers and four thematic areas:
- Foundational Drivers: Data Economy and Cybersecurity/Network and Information Security — cross-cutting areas that underpin standardisation activities across all other domains;
- Key Enablers: technologies such as 5G and beyond, Cloud and Edge Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Quantum Technologies, Electronic Identification, and the newly added Trusted and Secure Chips and Internet chapters;
- Societal Challenges: including Digital Health, eGovernment, Digital Skills, Safety and Transparency Online, Pandemic Preparedness, Emergency Communications, and the new Trust in Media chapter;
- Innovation for the Digital Single Market: covering eProcurement, eInvoicing, Retail Payments, Fintech and Regtech, Blockchain and DLT, Web 4.0, and Media;
- Sustainable Growth: including Smart Grids, Smart Cities, ICT Environmental Impact, Intelligent Transport Systems, Robotics, Building Information Modelling, Water Management, and more.
Key Trends Shaping the 2026 Edition
The 2026 Rolling Plan reflects a number of broader trends that have been gaining momentum across successive editions:
Artificial Intelligence
Standards for Artificial Intelligence have been a central topic in the Rolling Plan for over five years. The information compiled in successive editions has been instrumental in developing the EU's Standardisation Request in support of the AI Act, published in 2023 and 2024. As the AI Act enters its implementation phase, standardisation activity in this domain will continue to intensify, and the Rolling Plan will remain a key reference for tracking progress.
Data Economy and Data Interoperability
Standardisation in support of the data economy is gaining significant traction. The Data Act — which entered into force and began implementation in 2025 — is a major driver of this trend. The Rolling Plan's content on Data Economy similarly informed the Standardisation Request published by the European Commission in 2025 in support of the Data Act. As data flows become increasingly critical to the European economy, standards for data interoperability, data spaces, and data sharing frameworks will be a priority area.
Accessibility
Accessibility is receiving growing attention as the European Accessibility Act (EAA) progressively enters into force, requiring a high level of accessibility across a wide range of ICT products and services. Dedicated standardisation work is underway to meet these requirements, and accessibility considerations are increasingly being incorporated on a design-for-all basis across many other chapters of the Rolling Plan.
6G and Digital Twins
Looking ahead, 6G connectivity and Digital Twins are identified as areas that will receive increasing attention in future editions of the Rolling Plan, reflecting the EU's long-term strategic positioning in next-generation network infrastructure and industrial digitalisation.
EU Regulatory Standardisation Requests
The Rolling Plan continues to play an increasingly important role in supporting the development of formal Standardisation Requests issued by the Commission. Following the requests linked to the AI Act and Data Act, further requests are anticipated to support the implementation of major EU digital regulations, including the NIS2 Directive, Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, Cyber Resilience Act, and potentially future acts such as the Quantum Act, Digital Networks Act, and a Cloud and AI Development Act.
The 2026 edition, with its expanded scope and strengthened alignment with the current EU regulatory agenda, is particularly relevant for those working at the intersection of digital policy, standardisation, and technology development. Whether your focus is AI, cybersecurity, data interoperability, smart infrastructure, or digital inclusion, the Rolling Plan maps the standardisation landscape you need to navigate.
