Policy / Mixed
European Union
The EU is proposing to speed up data centre deployment while tightening efficiency and water reporting.
The Commission proposed a Cloud and AI Development Act on 3 June 2026, aiming to simplify permitting and improve access to energy, land, water and finance, with a stated ambition to at least triple EU data centre capacity within five to seven years. In parallel, operators already report energy performance to an EU database, a public rating scheme based on energy and water efficiency has been put forward, and minimum performance standards are being consulted on. Both the proposal and the rating scheme are not yet final.
Power and grid
The Commission describes CADA as aimed at easier access to energy for data centres, but the pages fetched did not set out specific grid connection provisions.
The rules and programmes
| Instrument | Kind | Status | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) | Law | proposed | Commission proposal of 3 June 2026 for a regulation; the pages fetched did not report any Parliament or Council position. |
| Data centre rating scheme (Delegated Regulation 2026/7000) | Law | proposed | Dated 21 September 2026; would create public energy (PUE) and water (WUE) labels, first generated by 15 August 2027, and takes effect twenty days after Official Journal publication. |
| Energy Efficiency Directive data centre reporting | Law | in force | Larger data centres must report energy performance to a European database under Directive (EU) 2023/1791. |
| Minimum performance standards for data centres | Policy | consultation | The Commission page shows a public consultation open until 14 December 2026 and a legislative proposal targeted for the second quarter of 2027. |
Checked against the primary sources linked above on 2 October 2026. Due for review by 1 January 2027. This is a summary, not legal advice. If something is out of date, tell us.