The EU AI Act Newsletter #98: Parliament, Council and the Omnibus Showdown

MEPs adopted a joint position on simplifying the AI Act with 101 votes in favour, nine against and eight abstentions. The Council agreed on streamlining AI rules.. Legislative Process MEPs support postponement of certain rules: Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a joint position on simplifying the AI Act, with 101 votes in favour, 9 against and 8 abstentions. Notably, the proposal supports postponing activation of certain high-risk AI system rules, given that key standards may not be finalised by the 2 August 2026 deadline. To ensure predictability, MEPs propose fixed application dates: 2 December 2027 for high-risk systems and 2 August 2028 for systems covered by EU sectorial safety legislation. In addition, MEPs favour shorter watermarking compliance extensions until 2 November 2026. Separately, they introduce a ban on “nudifier” systems creating or manipulating sexually explicit images resembling identifiable persons without consent, excluding systems with effective safeguards. They also back extending SME support measures to small mid-cap enterprises. Following the Parliament's plenary vote expected on 26 March, negotiations with the Council will commence. Council agrees its position to streamline rules: The Council has agreed its position on streamlining AI rules, treating the proposal with utmost priority. Member [...] ---Outline:(00:41) Legislative Process(03:09) Analyses(09:18) Discussion about this post(09:22) Ready for more? --- First published: March 24th, 2026 Source: https://artificialintelligenceact.substack.com/p/the-eu-ai-act-newsletter-98-parliament --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.