Policy innovation at the speed of technology : governance transformation for the AI era (2026-2030)

Europe faces an unprecedented challenge: AI task completion capabilities have been doubling every seven months since 2019, and this trend has accelerated to every four months in the 2024- 2025 period (Kwa et al., 2025), while democratic policymaking operates on three- to five-year cycles. This fundamental mismatch threatens to shift power irreversibly from democratic governments towards corporations and undermine democratic control over increasingly powerful technologies. The period from 2026 to 2030 represents a critical window to transform governance itself before AI potentially reaches advanced-level intelligence. This brief proposes a comprehensive strategy for policy innovation, sketching immediate solutions through 2030. Essential actions include establishing Regulatory Evidence Experts to bridge science and policy, implementing fast-track frameworks that maintain democratic legitimacy while enabling rapid responses, creating digital engagement platforms for meaningful public participation, and building anticipatory governance capabilities. Without urgent transformation of policymaking processes, Europe risks being governed by technologies it cannot effectively oversee.