On Tuesday, representatives of European Union member states, the European Parliament and the European Commission met for a 12-hour trilogue to negotiate the final text of the AI Omnibus, a package of amendments to the EU AI Regulation, but failed to reach a political agreement. According to reporting by the Next Web, talks will continue in May.
The central disagreement
The main dispute concerned whether high-risk artificial intelligence systems embedded in consumer products—such as medical devices, toys, smart cars or industrial machinery—should be exempted from additional obligations under the EU AI Regulation in favor of existing sectoral rules. The European Parliament has pushed for relying on existing sectoral regulation for these systems, while the Council, representing member states, has shown little enthusiasm for such a broad exemption so far.
Background: the AI Regulation and the omnibus
Some EU member states had already started regulating AI in specific sectors. The most extensive initiative is the EU AI Regulation, which entered into force in August 2024. It is the world’s first comprehensive AI law: it bans certain uses of AI, constrains some development pathways, requires clear labelling of AI-generated content and of interactions with AI systems, demands greater transparency from developers, and promises stricter oversight of deployed algorithms.
The AI Omnibus is intended to reduce regulatory burdens on companies so that European firms can better compete with American and Asian rivals. Critics argue that the omnibus would effectively roll back previously negotiated safeguards.
Deadlines at stake
Under the current regulation, core obligations for high-risk AI systems would apply from 2 August 2026. One objective of the omnibus was to postpone these application dates: for stand-alone high-risk systems to 2 December 2027, and for systems embedded in regulated products to 2 August 2028.
To make such postponements legally effective would require a final political agreement within a few weeks, followed by an official vote in the European Parliament, approval by the Council and formal publication of the law. Those procedural steps would need to be completed quickly for any revised deadlines to take effect.
What happens next
Negotiations are set to resume in May. If no timely agreement is reached, the original deadlines will remain in force; if the parties do agree, rapid legislative action will be necessary to implement any postponements.
The outcome will affect both European technology companies’ competitiveness and consumer protection: the talks balance efforts to ease compliance burdens against preserving previously established safety and oversight guarantees.
