Possible Delay in Implementing EU AI Act Now Formally on the Table

“If we see that the standards and guidelines [to support implementation] are not ready in time, we should not rule out postponing some parts of the AI Act,” Virkkunen said, according to Politico Europe, confirming rumors that have been circulating in recent weeks. Technology publication MLex reported in May that the Commission was considering a “stop-the-clock” measure to pause the countdown to implementation.

Agreement on technical specifications for device makers and AI service providers to comply with the law’s many different mandates has proved difficult, and the drafting process has fallen significantly behind schedule. The delay has been blamed on the scope and the complexity of the required specifications to meet the law’s many mandates, some of which require development of standards in areas for which there is no prior state-of-the-art.

The Code of Practice for developers of general-purpose AI models, meanwhile, which once appeared to be on a glide path to adoption, blew past a May 2 deadline for delivery of the final version. The code has changed significantly through each successive draft amid a fierce lobbying push by U.S. technology companies with the support of the Trump White House.

According to the minutes of a meeting last week with a member of Virkkunen’s staff, representatives from Microsoft, Google, Amazon, IBM, and OpenAI, among others, again pushed for changes. Their main talking points, according to the minutes were that the code should not go beyond the scope of the AI act, should be as simple as possible to minimize the administrative burden, and should provide “sufficient time” following publication of the final version for signatories to implement the various commitments.

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“The Commission representative took good note of these observations,” the minutes said.

The observations, in fact, dovetail with the Commission’s own recent push to “simplify” many of the EU’s complex, sometimes conflicting, regulations, including technology regulation, which have come to be viewed by many as an impediment to innovation and economic growth.

Last week, the Commission unveiled a wide-ranging plan to spur development of Europe’s digital infrastructure and connectivity and strengthen engagement with international partners. That followed the Commission’s release of a new Start Up and Scale Up strategy intended to make it easier for innovators and entrepreneurs to develop and finance their businesses at home rather than relocating them to the U.S. and other territories seen as more fertile ground for innovation.

The possibility of a delay of the AI Act, meanwhile, was greeted positively by at least some of the ministers at Friday’s meeting in Luxembourg. The discussion point was formally put on the agenda by Poland’s junior digital minister Dariusz Standerski, who chaired the session. “In time, when we still do not know the specifics, that could be reasonable,” he told Politico on the sidelines of the meeting. But to “postpone the enforcement for 12 months and do nothing in the meantime … would be in vain.”

According to MLex, Germany said it is “very open” to extending the timeline, while the strongest statement in support of the idea came from Czechia.