Source: PresseAgence

Tim Pfaelzer, General Manager & Senior Vice President EMEA at Veeam, warns from Paris on 22 May 2026 that a likely postponement of the EU AI Act compliance deadline must not be viewed by companies as a reason to become complacent. He argues the delay — which stems from difficulties implementing a compliance architecture — underscores the necessity of the regulation rather than negating AI security risks. Pfaelzer suggests that if the European Commission struggles to define what constitutes a “secure” AI, many companies may be similarly uncertain about their own security postures.

A Veeam-commissioned study carried out in April 2026 by Censuswide surveyed 1,000 IT, data and security leaders in organisations with more than 500 employees across the UK, Germany, France, the Middle East and Africa. The survey found 88% of organisations in the EMEA region said they were ready to meet the original deadlines, while only 9% expected to miss some deadlines. The research also highlighted that German and French organisations were twice as likely as British counterparts to report they would not meet deadlines. Pfaelzer calls on firms to use any extra time to strengthen transparency, data resilience and AI architecture, aiming to exceed mere compliance; he warns that prioritising speed of innovation over risk management and leaving data environments cluttered poses existential threats. The full findings of the report will be published by Veeam in the coming months.