The same day, the Commission opened a consultation on an effort to simplify the EU’s tech rulebooks, in which it said that “targeted adjustments” to the EU’s AI Act are on the table as part of that package. Pausing parts of the act would require an adjustment to the law.
On Friday, POLITICO reported exclusively on an undated draft of the Commission’s plan to boost AI adoption, expected to be presented Oct. 8. The Commission said the standardization bodies “have not met the deadline to deliver the requested standards.”
The Commission is still keeping its options open, saying in the draft it would not let this development “jeopardise” next August’s enforcement date.
It has declined to be drawn on the next steps. “We have a digital omnibus coming up,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told reporters last Tuesday at a daily press briefing, referring to the simplification package that should be finalized in November.
Poland — which helmed the presidency of the Council of the EU until June and has consistently been open to delays — meanwhile circulated a paper to fellow EU countries in which it suggested delaying fines for companies that breach the high-risk AI rules by six or twelve months.
Warsaw expressed concerns about the law’s “tight implementation deadlines” and warned that European startups could be incited to relocate to “less regulated jurisdictions” if no changes are made. Sweden and the Czech Republic have also shown themselves in favor of a pause.