Glossary
Definitions for the key policy terms and platform concepts used across brusseling.it. The analytical framework — including the eight-area Gliederung — was developed at TUM Think Tank and forms the editorial backbone of this platform.
Initiative
An initiative is a curated grouping of EU policy documents around a single regulatory file or legislative effort. It has a primary document, a processing status, timeline events, and links to parent strategic plans. Initiatives are the core tracking unit on brusseling.it.
Strategy
A strategy is a high-level EU Commission document — typically a Strategic Plan or Communication — that sets the political direction for a policy area. Multiple initiatives are linked to each strategy as concrete regulatory follow-throughs.
Communication
A Communication is an official Commission document presenting a policy position, proposing an action plan, or reviewing implementation. Communications often launch new legislative packages and are tracked as foundational strategy documents.
Legislative Initiative
A Legislative Initiative is a proposed EU regulation or directive. It moves through a defined legislative cycle: Commission proposal → Parliament and Council positions → trilogue negotiations → adoption. Each stage is tracked as a timeline event.
College Meeting
A College Meeting (formally a Special Meeting of the College, SEC) is a formal gathering of the European Commission's 27 Commissioners. Regulatory proposals, communications, and decisions must pass through College adoption to become the official Commission position.
Decision
A Decision is a binding EU legal act that is directly applicable to its addressees (member states, companies, or individuals). Unlike directives, decisions do not require transposition into national law.
Opinion
An Opinion is a non-binding EU institutional statement. The Commission, Parliament, Council, or advisory bodies (EESC, CoR) may issue opinions on legislative proposals or policy developments. They carry political weight but no legal obligation.
Recommendation
A Recommendation is a non-binding EU act inviting member states, companies, or other parties to behave in a particular way. Recommendations are soft law — they express a preferred policy direction and often precede binding legislation.
Court Ruling
A Court Ruling is a judgment issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) or the General Court. CJEU rulings are binding on all member states and EU institutions, and frequently reshape how regulations are interpreted and enforced.
Policy Priority
A Policy Priority is one of eight canonical thematic areas of EU digital policy, as defined in the editorial Gliederung. They organise the full landscape of EU digital regulation from infrastructure to skills to external strategy. The eight areas are stable for v0 and should not be renamed without editorial sign-off.
Promised Timeline
The Promised Timeline is the Commission's own stated delivery date or delivery quarter for a legislative or policy action. It is drawn from official documents (e.g. Strategic Plans) and recorded in the Mastersheet. It reflects the Commission's announced schedule, not an independent prediction.
Gliederung
The Gliederung is the editorial 8-area outline of EU digital policy developed at TUM Think Tank. The eight areas — Research & Technology, Infrastructure, AI & Data, Competitiveness, Human Capital, Single Market, External Strategy, and Implementation — are the canonical taxonomy for brusseling.it. They may not be reordered or renamed without editorial sign-off.
Mastersheet
The Mastersheet is the consolidated editorial dataset maintained at TUM Think Tank. It covers approximately 125 EU digital policy initiatives, cross-referenced to their parent strategic documents, policy priorities, promised timelines, and external identifiers (DPA, GTA). It is the authoritative seed data for brusseling.it.
Dokumentensammlung
The Dokumentensammlung is a curated editorial collection of 168 EU digital policy PDFs, delivered on 7 May 2026. It comprises 60 Communications, 32 Laws, 15 Strategic Plans, and 61 College Meeting (SEC) documents. It forms the v0 document corpus for brusseling.it.