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Over the past decade, the EU has emerged as one of the world’s leading regulatory actors in the digital sphere. Through landmark initiatives such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the AI Act, the EU has sought to shape the digital environment according to principles of accountability, transparency, fundamental rights, and democratic governance. Alongside these regulatory efforts, the EU has increasingly promoted digital transformation as a key policy objective, notably through Next Generation EU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which have made digitalization a central component of post-pandemic recovery strategies across member states.The global influence of these policies has been widely recognized, with several regulatory standards, particularly those established by the GDPR, being adopted or emulated beyond the EU and accepted by major technology companies seeking access to the European market. At the same time, these developments raise important questions not only about the outcomes of digital governance, but also about the political processes, actors, coalitions, and conflicts shaping the formulation, implementation, and effectiveness of EU digital policies. Moreover, the EU’s approach has attracted significant criticism. Critics argue that the proliferation of regulatory frameworks may impose excessive compliance burdens, constrain innovation, and reduce the competitiveness of national firms in comparison with their counterparts in the US and China. This panel invites contributions that critically examine the role of the EU in shaping digital governance at the national, regional, and global levels. We welcome theoretical, empirical, comparative, and policy-oriented papers addressing topics such as the impact of EU digital regulations, the politics and policymaking of EU digital governance, the implementation and effectiveness of EU digital policies, digital transformation under Next Generation EU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the diffusion of European regulatory standards beyond the EU, the relationship between digital governance and democratic resilience, digital sovereignty, platform governance, artificial intelligence regulation, cybersecurity, data protection, and the challenges posed by emerging technologies.