EU AI Act pushed back
European Parliament committees backed a one‑year delay for high‑risk AI deadlines—now December 2027 and August 2028—but binding requirements still start this August and fines can hit €35M or 7% of global turnover. Companies should note the delay buys time, not leniency: SMEs and enterprise software vendors remain at risk if they don’t add traceability, auditability, and shutdown controls. (ppc.land; xpert.digital)
The European Parliament’s IMCO and LIBE committees adopted a joint negotiating position on the “Digital Omnibus on AI” under file A10‑0073/2026, with rapporteurs Arba Kokalari and Michael McNamara and a committee vote of 101 in favour, 9 against and 8 abstentions. (ppc.land) The committee text removes the Commission’s proposal to link high‑risk obligations to an adoption trigger and instead embeds fixed calendar application dates directly into the Parliament’s draft amendments. (ppc.land) The Council had already adopted its own negotiating mandate earlier this month, which likewise set a fixed timeline and explicitly reinstated the duty for providers to file entries in the EU database when claiming an exemption from high‑risk classification. (consilium.europa.eu) The joint committee position will go to a plenary vote scheduled for 26 March, after which trilogue negotiations between Parliament, Council and Commission are expected to start in spring 2026 to seek a final compromise text. (insideprivacy.com) Substantive committee amendments include converting a proposed mandatory AI‑literacy obligation into encouragement measures for Member States and the Commission, and shifting the machine‑readable marking deadline for synthetic content in the draft — the co‑rapporteurs proposed around 24 targeted amendments to the Commission’s package. (simmons-simmons.com) The committee vote establishes a Parliament negotiating mandate but does not change existing legal obligations until the plenary and interinstitutional talks adopt an amended regulation; current rules remain in force until any legislative amendment is formally agreed and published. (aiacto.eu)
