• Speaker: Brando Benifei, MEP
• Interviewer: Jannis Brühl

Summary of the Event

On February 10, 2026 the Polis Digitalis Series started with an interview of influential MEP Brando Benefei by distinguished journalist Janis Brühl.

Brando Benifei is an active and influential member of the European Parliament and, most pertinently for today’s event, after having served as a co-rapporteur of the AI Act is now the chair of the EP delegation for relations with the United States. Janis Brühl is one of Germany’s leading journalists and heads the digital and finance team at Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The setting for this interview was the following current geopolitical situation on dignity and independence versus digital, and not only, vassalage:

From the attempts by the Trump administration and the Big Tech oligarchs to cancel or weaken EU digital regulation to the Greenland developments and the publication of the new US security strategy, we are witnessing concerted attacks which constitute a real and present existential danger for the EU.

Will the EU stand strong and united in this “moment of truth” or will it backslide towards a loose gathering of weak states where Big Tech can purvey their platforms and AI applications with no rules or guardrails and with total impunity?

Benifei made the following insightful points. E.g. :

• The US “overplayed” its pressure which has now backfired (which is helpful!)
• Split among MAGA legislators concerning AI regulation.
• The difference between the Data Omnibus and the AI Omnibus political decision prospects.
• The PR of the EC on the AI Act has been very poor from the start (saying that “we will correct mistakes” rather than saying “We are pioneers, prepared a good Act and now want to make it even better”!).
• The apparent lack of political will among the EU member states to adopt a common industrial policy that can work towards true “digital sovereignty”.
• The US industrial policy is becoming more … Chinese while the EU industrial policy remains non-existent.

The goal of the Polis Digitalis series is to bring together policy makers, journalists and academics to discuss the most recent actual or foreseen developments of policy decisions for the digital sphere, reflect on their impact, raise awareness in civil society at large and, when deemed suitable, formulate proposals in the spirit of Digital Humanism. Stay tuned for the next editions.

Video Recording of the Interview:

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This event was made possible with the support of bidt and EUDHIT.