Steering Committee for New and Emerging Digital Technologies (CDNET)
The Steering Committee for New and Emerging Digital Technologies (CDNET) conducts and coordinates the intergovernmental work of the Council of Europe in the field of new and emerging technologies, ensuring that this work supports innovation, and give its legal and policy expertise to the Committee of Ministers on all questions within its field of competence. CDNET also serves as custodian of the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225) until the Conference of the Parties is established.
The CDNET Chairperson and an AI expert took part in the 7th Plenary Meeting of the World Network of Electoral Justice.
During the meeting, they presented the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, together with HUDERIA, the Council of Europe’s risk and impact assessment methodology for AI systems.
HUDERIA’s relevance to electoral systems drew particular interest, prompting important discussion about the use of AI in the context of elections.
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Composition
The Committee brings together:
- representatives of the 46 member States, designated by their respective governments, and who have recognised expertise in the field of digital governance and the legal implications of the functioning of different forms of AI ;
- representatives of the observer States to the Council of Europe, namely Canada, the Holy See, Japan, Mexico and the United States of America; of non-member States with observer status in the CDNET, namely Brazil and Cabo Verde; of non-member States with observer status in the CDNET having had observer status in the CAI, namely Argentina, Australia, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Israel, Peru and Uruguay; and of non-member States with which the Council of Europe has a Neighbourhood Partnership including relevant co-operation activities, namely Kazakhstan, Morocco and Tunisia;
- representatives of other Council of Europe bodies and sectors, in particular the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, and intergovernmental committees dealing with issues pertaining to artificial intelligence;
- representatives of other international and regional organisations working in the field of artificial intelligence such as the European Union, the United Nations (in particular UNESCO), the OECD or the OSCE, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN);
- representatives of the private sector, including companies and associations with which the Council of Europe has concluded an exchange of letters under the partnership with digital businesses;
- representatives of civil society, research and academic institutions which have been admitted as observers by the CDNET.
Meetings
1st Meeting, 16-17 April, 2026
2nd Meeting, 21 - 23 October 2026
Meetings
1st Meeting, 8 September 2026
CAI
The terms of reference of the CAI were adopted until the end of 2025 to finalise the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and to prepare a legally non-binding methodology for the Risk and Impact Assessment of AI Systems from the point of view of Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law (HUDERIA) to support its implementation. This work has been completed.
CAHAI
The Ad Hoc Vommittee on Artificial Intelligence examined the feasibility and potential elements on the basis of broad multi-stakeholder consultations, of a legal framework for the development, design and application of artificial intelligence, based on Council of Europe’s standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The CAHAI fulfilled its mandate (2019-2021).
In line with the commitment of member States in Reykjavik to ensuring a leading role for the Council of Europe in developing standards in the digital era to safeguard human rights online and offline, a new Steering Committee for New and Emerging Digital Technologies (CDNET) was created.
The CDNET will carry on the work of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) in the field of artificial intelligence, in particular to promote the Framework Convention on AI and to develop the Huderia model further. It will also co-ordinate with other intergovernmental committees and Council of Europe entities addressing the implications of new and emerging digital technologies in their respective fields of activity.