Two significant moves from the EU this week on AI regulation, both worth examining carefully.

The Council agreed its position on the proposal to streamline certain rules on artificial intelligence as part of the “Omnibus VII” legislative package. Simultaneously, the European Parliament’s IMCO and LIBE committees adopted their joint negotiating position on the Digital Omnibus on AI — with a plenary vote expected on 26 March.

Together, these mark a clear shift in EU AI governance. The direction of travel is toward simplification, not tightening.

What the Omnibus Does

The Omnibus VII package is the EU’s simplification agenda applied to digital legislation. It includes proposals for two regulations that would amend the AI Act — most notably by delaying the application of certain rules on high-risk AI systems and adding some exemptions for lower-risk applications.

The stated goal is to reduce compliance burden on businesses, particularly smaller ones. The concern from civil liberties groups is that “simplification” often means “削弱” (weakening) in regulatory contexts.

The “Nudifier” Ban

One concrete measure in the Parliament’s position: a proposed ban on AI “nudifier” systems — applications that use AI to remove clothing from images of people, creating non-consensual nude content.

This is the kind of targeted ban that’s easy to support in isolation. The question observers are asking is whether it’s a genuine commitment to AI safety, or a token concession to make the broader deregulation more palatable.

Why This Matters Beyond Europe

The EU AI Act was the world’s first comprehensive AI regulation. Whatever it does now — tightening or loosening — sets a precedent that other jurisdictions watch and sometimes copy.

The current US administration has explicitly signalled it wants light-touch AI regulation. The EU moving toward simplification creates more room for the two blocs to converge on a lower common denominator, rather than the EU raising standards globally as it did with GDPR.

That convergence would be a win for AI companies and a loss for everyone else.

What’s Coming Next

The parliamentary vote on 26 March will formalise the EU’s negotiating position. Then trilogue negotiations between Parliament, Council, and Commission begin. The final form of the Omnibus — and what it means for the AI Act’s ambitions — won’t be clear until those negotiations conclude.

But the direction is set. The EU that passed the world’s first comprehensive AI law is now in the business of cutting it back.

Sources: Council of the EU, LexisNexis