The European Parliament’s Internal Market and Civil Liberties committees adopted a joint position on changes to the Artificial Intelligence Act, backing a limited postponement of some obligations for high-risk systems and supporting measures intended to simplify compliance. The proposal was adopted by 101 votes in favour, 9 against, and with 8 abstentions. Lawmakers argued that key standards may not be ready by the current deadline of 2 August 2026, and they set fixed application dates to improve predictability and legal certainty.
For high-risk Artificial Intelligence systems specifically listed in the regulation, including those involving biometrics and systems used in critical infrastructure, education, employment, essential services, law enforcement, justice or border management, the MEPs propose 2 December 2027. For Artificial Intelligence systems that are covered, or used as safety components in products that are covered, by EU sectorial legislation on safety and market surveillance, the MEPs propose 2 August 2028. Lawmakers also support giving providers more time to comply with watermarking rules for Artificial Intelligence-created audio, image, video or text content, but they prefer a shorter extension, until 2 November 2026, instead of 2 February 2027.
The committees also want to add a ban on so-called nudifier systems that use Artificial Intelligence to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling an identifiable real person without that person’s consent. That ban would not apply to systems with effective safety measures preventing users from creating such images. Alongside that restriction, lawmakers support allowing service providers to process personal data to detect and correct bias in Artificial Intelligence systems, with safeguards limiting such processing to cases where it is strictly necessary.
The position also seeks to ease the path for EU companies using Artificial Intelligence by extending support measures beyond SMEs to small mid-cap enterprises as they scale. To reduce duplication between the Artificial Intelligence Act and sector-specific product safety rules, lawmakers argue that obligations under the Act can be less stringent for products already regulated under sectoral laws such as medical devices, radio equipment and toy safety, while the Commission should address any resulting gaps by updating those rules. Once Parliament’s mandate is approved in plenary, with a vote expected on 26 March, negotiations with the Council can begin. The proposal is part of the seventh omnibus simplification package proposed by the European Commission on 19 November 2025.
