EU and Singapore look to deepen cooperation in digital identity, AI, cybersecurity

The European Union and Singapore are looking ahead for digital cooperation, as technological competition heats up around the world.

The EU and Singapore reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation across a wide range of digital areas, from artificial intelligence to cybersecurity, in their second ever Digital Partnership Council meeting, held in Brussels on Monday.

The European Council examined trust services, with an emphasis on cross-border interoperable use cases for verifiable credentials, including digital identity systems. Cybersecurity cooperation was reinforced, with both sides stressing the need for bilateral and multilateral action to ensure a resilient market and to continuously evaluate emerging risks.

The two sides stressed their shared ambition to enhance competitiveness, cultivate innovation and guide international digital rules and standards.

The meeting was co-chaired by Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, and Josephine Teo, Singapore’s Minister for Digital Development and Information. The two leaders welcomed the progress already achieved under the partnership and agreed to align future priorities with the fast-moving digital landscape.

“It was a pleasure to co-chair today’s meeting and to take a fresh look at how the EU and Singapore can best cooperate to boost our shared competitiveness, resilience and innovation for a secure digital future,” said Virkkunen.

Discussions focused on several key areas of collaboration. On AI, both sides reaffirmed their administrative arrangement on AI safety and explored future exchanges on language models, including the EU’s Alliance for Language Technologies European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (ALT-EDIC) and Singapore’s Sea-Lion project.

Online safety was also a priority, with both parties pledging to jointly address risks from online platforms, strengthen consumer protection, tackling scams, and explore tools such as age verification to safeguard minors.

Data flows were highlighted as another area of mutual benefit, with discussions on potential cooperation in data spaces. In addition, both parties expressed interest in collaborative research on semiconductors and quantum technologies, including through the EU’s Horizon Research framework, and encouraging cross-border investments in the semiconductor ecosystem.

The Council further noted the significance of the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement signed in May 2025, which sets binding rules to build consumer trust, provide legal certainty for businesses, and remove unjustified barriers to digital trade.

Officials said the Digital Partnership Council will play a vital role in enhancing economic security, strengthening research and innovation capacity, and building resilience in critical technologies such as semiconductors. The European Union is seeking to level up its technological competitiveness and autonomy as its economic security is squeezed by the U.S. and China.

Earlier this year, the EU unveiled its International Digital Strategy, which outlines an ambitious plan to strengthen its position in global digital affairs. This includes supporting the development of trust services and digital identity solutions based on European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet specifications.

With Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans, the bloc will continue to prepare for their gradual integration with the EUDI Wallet. Collaboration with India, Egypt, Uruguay and Brazil will focus on e-signatures and DPI interoperability. The EU’s work with Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore focuses on promoting the EU model for eInvoicing.

The EU-Singapore Digital Partnership was first signed on February 1 2023, following its announcement at the EU-ASEAN summit in December 2022 by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Singapore’s then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Since then, the partnership has prioritized areas including AI, digital identities, semiconductors, digital transformation and skills development, while also advancing cooperation in trusted data flows, digital trust, protection of minors, standards and digital trade.

The updated priorities announced in Brussels on Monday reflect the EU’s International Digital Strategy, it said in a release, emphasizing deepening partnerships and focusing on emerging technologies, cybersecurity and online platforms.

Article Topics

cybersecurity  |  digital government  |  digital identity  |  EU  |  Europe  |  interoperability  |  Singapore