EuroISPA: Shaping Digital Policy and Internet Governance in Europe

Founded in 1997, EuroISPA is the world’s largest umbrella association of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the world, representing over 3,300 ISPs across EU and EFTA countries. Headquartered in Brussels, EuroISPA plays a pivotal role in shaping European digital policy, advocating for a competitive, open, and sustainable Internet. 

As the EU progressively intensifies its focus on digital policymaking, it is more important than ever to place digital infrastructure at the core of decisions that shape the Internet. A truly forward-thinking digital policy must engage all actors along the Internet value chain, ensuring an innovative and competitive ecosystem that serves the interests of EU citizens.

Through its expert committees and quarterly general assemblies, EuroISPA fosters collaboration among national ISP associations, ensuring a unified voice on critical issues such as cybersecurity, data economy, digital infrastructure, and online content regulation. Over the past year, the association has intensified its efforts to engage with policymakers, shape EU legislation, and champion a fair, open, and secure digital environment.

EuroISPA’s leadership and influence in EU policy

The strength of EuroISPA lies in its diverse membership and strong leadership. In November 2024, the association reinforced its governance structure, re-electing Elina Ussa (FiCom) as President, Alex de Joode (AMS-IX) as Treasurer, and Romain Bonenfant (FFTélécoms) as Board Member. As eco’s Head of International, Digital Infrastructures & Resilience, I was also honored to be reconfirmed as Vice-President. Furthermore, Dalia Coffetti (AIIP) was elected as a new Board Member.

Under this leadership, EuroISPA will continue to be a strong advocate for ISPs of all sizes while navigating the evolving European digital regulatory environment. As we mutually observe, several current issues in the European Internet landscape are increasingly being handled at the infrastructure level. This places EuroISPA in a favorable position to share the expertise of its members in EU discussions.

Examples of EuroISPA’s current digital policy focus areas

As digital regulation continues to evolve, EuroISPA remains at the forefront of discussions on digital policy, sustainability, artificial intelligence and Internet governance. Some of the key areas that we are focusing on include:

1.   Digital policy for a competitive and open Internet

Last year, EuroISPA drafted a manifesto to accompany the year’s European elections, comprising recommendations for an innovative and fair European Internet ecosystem. As such, the work of the EuroISPA in 2025 will focus on:

• Engaging with newly elected EU policymakers to work together towards achieving a well-functioning internal market
• A long-term vision on privacy online
• A harmonized European strategy for cybersecurity
• Legislative coherence for digital infrastructure

Our association warns against overly restrictive regulations that could hinder small and medium-sized ISPs, potentially leading to market consolidation and reduced consumer choice.

2.   Achieving sustainability in Europe’s digital sector

As part of the EU’s Green Deal goals, EuroISPA has recently published a position paper on climate-neutral digital economy. The association highlights how digital technologies – particularly 5G, fiber optics, and energy-efficient data centers – can contribute to reducing carbon emissions.

EuroISPA puts forward key actions to address sustainability challenges for the digital ecosystem and European economy. These entail:

• Focus on digital technologies and infrastructures to allow the green transition and to achieve greater sustainability
• Further addressing sustainability challenges
• Embedding sustainability throughout the whole digital supply chain
• Promoting investments of data centers located in the European Union to underpin the greening of the EU economy
• Supporting the modernization of network infrastructure

EuroISPA underscores the need for investment-friendly regulatory frameworks to ensure Europe remains a leader in digital sustainability.

3.   Shaping the AI landscape for Europe’s digital future

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the Internet industry, enhancing personalized content, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure. AI-driven automation improves network efficiency, while machine learning strengthens cyber defenses against ransomware, DDoS attacks, and fraud detection.

However, AI’s rapid adoption raises regulatory challenges, particularly concerning ISP liability for AI-generated content, copyright enforcement, and ethical AI use. With discussions about a possible revision of the Copyright Directive, EuroISPA stresses the need for clear and proportionate copyright rules that protect creators without imposing excessive liability on ISPs.

In this context, the recently adopted EU AI Act represents a groundbreaking regulatory shift. As the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for AI, it will shape the way ISPs and other digital service providers handle AI governance, liability, and compliance. While the AI Act aims to promote trustworthy AI development, it also raises concerns about compliance costs and potential restrictions on innovation. EuroISPA will continue to advocate for a risk-based, balanced approach to AI regulation, ensuring that Europe remains competitive while fostering an open and secure digital ecosystem.

As AI continues to shape Europe’s digital future, EuroISPA supports a risk-based regulatory model that encourages responsible AI development while ensuring an open, secure, and competitive Internet ecosystem. The association will actively engage with policymakers to ensure that any future revisions to the Copyright Directive reflect the realities of AI-driven content creation and distribution.

4.   Internet governance

In an era of geopolitical tensions and global Internet fragmentation, EuroISPA has taken a strong stance on the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance. The association supports EU participation in global Internet governance bodies such as ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), IETF (the Internet Engineering Task Force), and IGF (the Internet Governance Forum), while emphasizing the need for harmonized cybersecurity policies.

With rising threats like ransomware, DDoS attacks, and nation-state cyber warfare, collaborative responses are essential. EuroISPA advocates for cybersecurity regulations that protect ISPs without overburdening smaller operators. Our approach focuses on:

• Supporting diversity in operators through reduced bureaucracy
• Promoting proportionate cybersecurity compliance requirements
• Developing collaborative frameworks for shared threat intelligence
• Addressing emerging technological risks, including quantum computing and artificial intelligence

Conclusion: Strengthening Europe’s digital future

EuroISPA continues to be a key driver of digital policy in Europe, championing a secure, competitive, and sustainable Internet. Through its comprehensive approach to policy advocacy, sustainability initiatives, and industry development, the association is well-positioned to guide the European Internet ecosystem through the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. With its renewed leadership and clear strategic vision, EuroISPA continues to work towards an innovative, secure, and sustainable digital future for Europe.

As regulatory challenges evolve, EuroISPA’s commitment to defending the open Internet, promoting sustainability, and advocating for fair policies will remain instrumental in shaping Europe’s digital landscape for years to come. To remain a global leader in Internet service provision, the EU must foster a competitive digital market at both the infrastructure and service levels. By shaping policies that encourage participation from businesses of all sizes, the EU can position itself at the forefront of emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing, and blockchain. However, achieving this requires clear and consistent regulation – ensuring alignment with existing laws, minimizing legislative overlap, and creating a stable framework that drives innovation, strengthens security, and upholds fairness across the digital ecosystem.

Lars Steffen is Head of International, Digital Infrastructures & Resilience at eco – Association of the Internet Industry (international.eco.de), the largest Internet industry association in Europe. At eco, he coordinates all international, infrastructure and security-related activities of the association and takes care of the members from the domain name industry. He is also the Vice-President of EuroISPA, the umbrella organization of European provider associations.