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The EU rules on AI should be paused while potential \u201cdrawbacks\u201d are assessed, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Tuesday during a conference considering the European Commission’s progress in implementing the recommendations set out in Draghi’s landmark report from 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The AI Act which entered into force in August last year, but will fully apply in 2027, is \u201ca source of uncertainty\u201d, the former Italian premier said.<\/p>\n
The rules aim to regulate AI systems according to the risk they pose to society, ranging from minimal enforcement to more compliance for high-risk systems and prohibitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first rules\u2014which included the ban on\u00a0‘unacceptable-risk’ systems\u2014landed without major complications. Codes of practice signed by most major developers, together with the Commission\u2019s August guidelines, have clarified responsibilities,\u201d Draghi said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the next stage\u2014covering high-risk AI systems in areas like critical infrastructure and health\u2014must be proportionate and support innovation and development. In my view, implementation of this stage should be paused until we better understand the drawbacks,\u201d he\u00a0added.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0intervention follows industry calls for delays earlier this year.<\/p>\n
CEOs from more than 40 European companies including ASML, Philips, Siemens and Mistral, asked<\/strong><\/a> in July for a \u201ctwo-year clock-stop\u201d on the AI Act. In a letter<\/strong><\/a> to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they said this would allow \u201cboth for reasonable implementation by companies, and for further simplification of the new rules.\u201d <\/p>\n The latest provisions on general purpose AI (GPAI), such as ChatGPT and Gemini, raised questions because Commission guidance aimed at helping providers was not ready in time. Euronews reported that several companies including Google have been askin<\/strong><\/a>g<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for a grace period to be able to comply with the voluntary code of practice on GPAI.<\/p>\n It remains unclear<\/strong><\/a> in most of EU member states which authority will be nominated to oversee businesses\u2019 compliance with the rules. The Commission hasn’t yet published a list of watchdogs in charge of enforcement. <\/p>\n Digital omnibus<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile the Commission\u2019s tech chief Henna Virkkunen announced that the EU executive will present a so-called digital omnibus package in December, which will review all existing tech legislation and could ease the burden on companies by cutting for example reporting or transparency obligations.\u00a0This would cover the bloc\u2019s AI rules too.<\/p>\n A group of more than 50 organisations \u2013 including Access Now, Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe (CDT) and the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) warned<\/strong><\/a> in July against re-opening or delaying the AI Act, claiming it would undermine key accountability mechanisms.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU ‘simplification’ agenda should not be used to drive deregulation, especially in the absence of credible evidence that this would be necessary or effective,\u201d the letter said, adding that EU rules are based on fundamental values and principles, \u201cefforts to simplify should build on hard-won legal protections, not dismantle them.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n The AI Act has also come under pressure from the US administration in recent weeks. US President Donald Trump threatened<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to impose “substantial additional tariffs” on countries that implement legislation targeting American tech companies, “unless these discriminatory actions are removed”.<\/p>\n The Commission said in response that “It is the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate economic activities on our territory, which are consistent with our democratic values.\u201d <\/p>\n