technology
EU Reaches Provisional Deal to Amend and Delay Parts of Landmark AI Act
Negotiators from the European Parliament and Council struck a deal at 4 am Thursday on the AI Omnibus, an effort to ease overlapping AI regulations. The agreement narrows exemptions, sets new compliance deadlines and extends SME relief to larger firms. An industry coalition urged further changes to the separate Digital Omnibus package.
May 10, 1:30 AM·2m read1 source
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Negotiators from the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on the AI Omnibus at 4 am on Thursday. The AI Omnibus is an EU effort to simplify AI rules after months of heated debates over exemptions, legal challenges and concerns that the package could undermine the original AI Act.
The deal limits removal of overlapping AI Act provisions with sectoral rules to machinery products only.
Overlaps for medical devices, toys, lifts and watercraft will instead be addressed through implementing acts. ” Personal data processing will be permitted to detect and correct biases in both high-risk and non-high-risk AI systems. SME exemptions were extended to small and mid-caps with up to €200 million euro turnover.
Euronews reported that the change is intended to support EU tech scale-ups. Stricter rules will apply to AI systems that can be used to create child sexual abuse material or non-consensual deepfake nudity and sexually explicit content. Those systems must comply by December 2 2026.
The application of high-risk rules was set for 2 December 2027 for stand-alone high-risk AI systems. For high-risk AI systems embedded in products the date is 2 August 2028. The grace period for watermarking AI-generated content was set at 2 December.
The deadline for AI regulatory sandboxes was set for 2 August 2027. That represents a one-year delay from the original planned deadline of August 2 2026. Euronews reported the extension reflects broader enforcement delays.
The European Parliament and Council must still formally approve the AI Omnibus. While key negotiators celebrated the outcome, doubts remain about whether the measures will sufficiently help European businesses navigate complex rules few appear ready to meet. Attention has now shifted to the Digital Omnibus package focused on AI development and data.
