Source: Review of AI Law

Internal Market and Civil Liberties committees voted in favor of a significant simplification package for the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). The omnibus proposal seeks to postpone application deadlines for high-risk AI systems to ensure legal certainty while technical standards are still being finalized. Under the committee text, systems used in areas such as biometrics and law enforcement would have until December 2027 to comply. Sector-specific products, exemplified by medical devices, would receive an extended compliance date until August 2028. The proposal expressly aims to align timelines with the finalization of technical standards and reduce immediate compliance pressure on affected businesses.

The committees additionally introduced a prohibition on “nudifier” applications, defined as AI systems that create non-consensual sexually explicit images of real individuals, while excluding systems that incorporate effective built-in safety mechanisms. The package provides increased flexibility for small mid-cap enterprises and streamlines requirements for products already governed by existing EU safety regulations to avoid double regulation. A plenary vote is scheduled for March 26, 2026 in Brussels. If the plenary approves the package, negotiations with the Council would begin shortly thereafter.