Berlin pulled out the red carpet with a glitzy summit dedicated to digital sovereignty as the European Commission prepares to simplify digital rules in a new omnibus plan due to be unveiled on Wednesday.
“We’re very interested to see what tomorrow holds. We hope it’s a big, bold step in the right direction,” said Carsten Wildberger from the German Ministry of Digital Transformation during a panel discussion at the Berlin Summit.
The European Commission has been working for several months on new proposals to “simplify” rules and reduce administrative burdens on businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises struggling to comply with complex EU rules, keep talent in Europe and maintain a competitive edge in global competition.
The European Commission hopes its digital simplification plan, backed by France and Germany and announced on Wednesday after months of negotiations, will “save billions of euros and boost innovation”. Still, the proposal is met with skepticism in the European Parliament and among progressive groups in civil society because of the dismantling of protections.
This document proposes amendments to the Data Protection Regulation and the recently adopted AI Act.
The rules for “high-risk AI systems,” which are AI technologies used for sensitive purposes such as resume analysis, school exam evaluations and loan applications, were originally scheduled to take effect in August 2026, but are now scheduled to be delayed until December 2027, according to a draft version. The European Commission cited difficulties in establishing the necessary standards as the reason for the postponement.
In the original text, the classification of a system as “high risk” was to be assessed by national authorities. The leaked draft, which has not yet been formally approved, suggests that the clause will be replaced by a simple self-assessment, potentially weakening safeguards to ensure compliance with the rules.
France’s Minister for AI and Digital, Anne Le Enenf, said at the Berlin summit that she supported the postponement.
“There are too many uncertainties surrounding the AI Act, and these uncertainties are slowing down our own ability to innovate,” he said, adding, “The United States and China are leading the AI race, and we cannot stand in the way of companies’ ability to innovate.”
German Minister Carsten Wildberger said his country supported the postponement, adding: “It’s important that we continue this dialogue because the world is moving so fast and the rules have to be continually rewritten.”
He prefers a “learn from failure” approach. “You don’t eliminate all risks up front. First, build the products and then think very seriously about how those products will work: are they safe, are they going to have the right processes in place.”
Congressional Resistance to Opening a Pandora’s Box of Harm
Still, members of the European Parliament are concerned that the Commission’s proposals could open a “Pandora’s box” that would increase risks for consumers and ultimately benefit big US tech companies. Lawmakers consulted by Euronews did not want to be named because the European Commission’s plan is not yet official and consultations are ongoing. They suggested that big tech companies are dragging their feet to avoid compliance with current rules and paying more money than ever for lobbying.
Members of the European Parliament, from a variety of political groups, from the traditional majority, including the left, to the centrist liberal Renew, have already indicated they will vote against the proposal.
Other provisions include exempting small businesses from reporting requirements and delaying the labeling of AI-generated content until 2027. Most recently, an AI-generated deepfake disrupted the Irish presidential election after a viral AI video depicting a fake version of presidential candidate Catherine Connolly saying she was withdrawing from the race.
Another part of the omnibus focuses on simplifying the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It aims to ease access to data for training AI models, reduce the number of cookies visible to users, and harmonize the implementation of GDPR across all member states. Currently, different national authorities interpret data protection obligations differently, which can lead to inconsistencies.
Online rights advocates believe the omnibus has exceeded its mission to the point of undermining fundamental rights.
A letter signed by three major NGOs and addressed to the Virkunen Commission says: “The legal reforms currently being considered go far beyond mere simplification. Core elements of the GDPR, the e-Privacy Framework and the AI Act would be deregulated and established protections would be significantly reduced.”
On Wednesday, the European Commission will also launch a “digital suitability check” to examine how effective existing digital rules, such as the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, are and examine areas where there may be overlap. This could lead to a further wave of simplifications from the European Commission side.
Commissioner Henna Virkunen said: “We will also take a deeper look at the regulations and then propose further simplification initiatives.”