Shaping the Future of Virtual Worlds: The European Commission's Vision at Laval Virtual 2025
BARBARA SCHIAVI - LAVAL VIRTUAL 2025
Laval Virtual, France – April 9-11, 2025
At Laval Virtual 2025, one of Europe’s leading events in immersive technologies, Alexandros Vigkos from the European Commission presented a strategic overview of the EU’s emerging policy framework for Virtual Worlds (VW) and Web 4.0. The session, titled “Shaping the Future of Virtual Worlds”, outlined the political priorities for 2024-2029 and initiated a structured discussion with stakeholders across industry, research, and policy.
EUROXR IN ACTION FOR EU: Contributing to the Future of Virtual Worlds
Among the notable contributions from the EuroXR community was the participation of Barbara Schiavi, EuroXR Advisory Board Member and Head of R&D at Vinci Construction. Schiavi took part in the B2B conference sessions, where she presented her work on integrating XR technologies into engineering and construction processes. Her intervention focused on the use of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Building Information Modeling (BIM), illustrating how immersive technologies are actively transforming industrial design and simulation workflows.
Her presentation aligned with key event themes, such as:
Immersive simulations and engineering innovation, including the use of digital twins and advanced simulations in industrial design.
AI-powered virtual characters and avatars, showcasing how intelligent agents are revolutionizing interactions in training and industrial environments.
Barbara’s participation not only highlighted applied research in XR but also reaffirmed EuroXR’s commitment to bridging technological advancement with real-world industry use cases.
EU Political Priorities 2024–2029: A New Digital Mandate
The European Commission’s vision for the next five years is deeply rooted in advancing European digital sovereignty, with immersive technologies playing a central role. Citing President Ursula von der Leyen’s political guidelines, Vigkos emphasized:
Achieving the EU’s digital targets and completing the Digital Single Market as a “gamechanger” for productivity and competitiveness.
Stepping up investment in frontier technologies, such as AI and XR.
Unlocking the potential of European data to support technological growth.
These strategic goals aim not just to modernize Europe’s tech landscape, but to position the EU as a leader in the next generation of virtual experiences.
The Competitiveness Compass: Innovation as a Driver of Growth
To close Europe’s innovation gap and boost competitiveness, the Commission is focusing on key enablers:
Creating better conditions for startups and scaleups.
Developing a deeper, more efficient venture capital market.
Facilitating mobility and retention of talent.
Investing in cutting-edge digital infrastructures.
Fostering cross-border innovation through regulatory alignment.
This “competitiveness compass” reflects a shift from programme-driven policy to a policy-based budget model under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The goal: ensure a more focused, flexible, and impactful EU investment strategy, including the creation of a European Competitiveness Fund.
Europe’s Start-Up & Scale-Up Strategy
Vigkos highlighted the recent Call for Evidence launched by the Commission on startup and scaleup policy, identifying persistent challenges:
Limited access to finance
Heavy regulatory and administrative burdens
Lack of access to skilled talent
Barriers to public procurement participation
These obstacles are especially relevant to startups in the Virtual Worlds sector, where fast innovation cycles often clash with rigid regulatory frameworks and fragmented national policies. In response, the Commission proposes:
Simplifying regulations (including a potential EU-wide startup legal status – the “28th regime”).
Improving access to markets and procurement opportunities.
Enhancing talent pipelines and cross-border recruitment.
Promoting pan-European scaling of digital businesses.
Research & Development Priorities for Virtual Worlds
The session featured an interactive component where participants identified key R&D gaps and needs within the immersive tech landscape, especially through feedback collected during registration. Notable mentions included:
Advanced haptics and hardware
AI-generated XR content (frontend and backend)
Collaborative XR platforms
High-precision 6DoF tracking
Sound synthesis, volumetric video compression
User-centered design for better headset usability
Interoperability and content portability
The conversation emphasized the urgency to invest in foundational technologies while also building the tools needed to create, distribute, and monetize XR content at scale.
Regulation & Innovation: The Sandbox Approach
Regulatory concerns featured prominently in the discussion. Based on survey input, the following issues were raised:
Intellectual Property (IP) management in interregional projects
Patent filing and CE certification processes
Spatial content moderation
Virtual property and asset linking
Cross-border data sharing and protection
Copyright and licensing frameworks
To address these complexities, the Commission is exploring the use of “Virtual Worlds Regulatory Sandboxes”, safe, flexible environments where companies can test immersive applications under temporary regulatory exemptions. These sandboxes are intended to:
Reduce uncertainty for innovators.
Encourage responsible experimentation.
Inform future EU regulatory approaches.
Collaborative Discussion: Identifying Shared Priorities
The session employed a structured group format to gather input:
5 minutes of individual reflection
15 minutes of small group discussion (prioritizing 3 key issues)
Roundtable reporting to identify common challenges
This approach revealed broad alignment around the need for:
Regulatory simplification
Open and interoperable technical standards
Greater coordination between research, policy, and industry
These insights will inform future EU funding calls and policy instruments supporting the XR ecosystem.
Looking Ahead: Key EU XR Milestones
Participants were invited to join upcoming EU funding info days:
Horizon Europe Info Days: 13–14 May 2025
Digital Europe Programme Info Day: 16 May 2025
These sessions will offer guidance on how to apply for R&D and market deployment funding related to immersive technologies.
Additionally, stakeholders were encouraged to engage with the VR/AR Industrial Coalition, a European platform uniting private actors across XR sectors.
For more information: CNECT-VRARCOALITION@ec.europa.eu
Conclusion: A New Era for European XR
The Laval Virtual 2025 session confirmed that Europe is ready to lead in the development of Virtual Worlds. Through ambitious policy design, targeted investment, and structured dialogue with stakeholders, the European Commission is laying the groundwork for a competitive, inclusive, and innovative XR ecosystem.
As the boundaries between physical and digital realities blur, the EU’s proactive stance ensures that European values and interests remain at the core of this transformation.
