Ai in Europe: industry calls for simpler rules and clearer timeframes

It is business as usual, or rather, we are at the breaking point between the norm and the market. From Brussels comes a signal that we cannot ignore, signed by those who build and sell artificial intelligence every day.The weight of bureaucracy on innovation.

The Business Software Alliance, better known as the BSA, a true industry heavyweight representing major software manufacturers globally, has just issued a joint statement on the Digital Omnibus on AI, the legislative proposal presented by the European Commission to streamline the bureaucratic burden on businesses, following in the wake of the Draghi report. According to industry, further changes are needed, hence the warning: if the final agreement does not put simplification at the centre, Europe risks stifling its competitiveness just as it seeks to promote an AI-first approach. The signatories, which include giants such as AmCham EU, CCIA Europe and the ACEA, call for a clear and streamlined implementation of the AI Act, consistent with the Action Plan for the AI Continent.

The hottest point concerns the timing of compliance. Although there is satisfaction with the alignment on deadlines for high-risk systems, companies are calling for some technical sections of the annexes to be moved to avoid unnecessary overlaps with existing industry laws. But the real battle is over grace periods. Industry proposes to extend the period for labelling generative AI under Article 50 to 12 months, and strongly requests that this flexibility also apply to new systems placed on the market. Currently, the limit set for 2 August 2026 would create crippling legal uncertainty for anything launched after that date, risking delaying the release of new innovative products in Europe. Another key step is the request to exempt non-high-risk systems from registration in the EU database, a move that would streamline processes without compromising the risk-based approach of the AI Act

Despite the push for lighter regulation, the industry front is not backing down one iota on security. Support for the prohibition of odious practices such as 'nudification', the creation of non-consensual intimate images (NCII) and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is total and unconditional. The call is for these prohibitions to be handled with consistent guidelines by the Commission, ensuring that technology remains a tool for progress and not abuse. In summary, the coalition led by BSA and the other signatories calls for Europe to choose between being a museum of regulation or a hotbed of innovation. The industry is ready to cooperate, but demands that politics play its part by ensuring operational simplicity, because without these adjustments the promised 'radical simplification' will remain just a nice headline in a press release.