The Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner for Tech-Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, announced that the European Commission will table targeted amendments to the AI Act next week as part of the upcoming “digital omnibus” package. These amendments aim to bolster legal certainty for industry by addressing gaps in technical standards and regulatory timing.
A key issue driving the amendments is the mismatch between the law’s enforcement timeline and the readiness of associated technical standards. Commissioner Virkkunen noted that “we don’t have the [technical] standards yet — and they need to be ready one year before the next phase.” To ease the transition, draft plans suggest introducing a one-year grace period before national authorities can impose fines, meaning enforcement could start as late as August 2027.
While the Commission emphasises that its commitment to the core principles of the AI Act remains unchanged, the details of the amendments are still unspecified. Virkkunen stopped short of committing to a formal pause of any provisions, instead framing the effort as balancing innovation, burden reduction and regulatory assurance. However, human-rights experts have warned that watering down protective measures could undermine the regulatory framework’s purpose.
For business leaders and AI developers operating within the EU, this means a period of both opportunity and uncertainty. On one hand, the proposed amendments could bring clearer, more manageable requirements. On the other hand, firms should monitor the evolving regulatory landscape — including timelines, technical standardisation and enforcement certainty — to align their compliance strategies proactively.
