The European Parliament has given its final approval to the amendment of certain rules within the EU’s as part of the digital omnibus package. The vote passed with 423 votes in favour, 57 against and 174 abstentions.
New deadlines
The legislation postpones the application of certain parts of the AI Act to ensure that the necessary standards and support measures are in place. Obligations on high-risk AI systems will apply:
- from 2 December 2027 for stand-alone high risk AI systems;
- from 2 August 2028 for AI systems embedded as safety components and covered by EU sectoral legislation on safety and market surveillance.
The law also delays the application of watermarking obligations on AI-generated content until 2 December 2026. By this time, AI-generated content will have to be labelled in a machine-readable way to increase transparency.
Ban on nudifier apps
The law bans AI systems that generate child sexual abuse material or create images, videos and audio depicting an identifiable person’s intimate parts, or sexually explicit activities, without their consent. Providers will not be allowed to place these systems on the EU market, unless they come with adequate technical safeguards to prevent the creation of such material. The prohibition also applies to deployers using them for this purpose.
Companies will have until 2 December 2026 to bring their systems in line.
Reducing overlaps and centralising enforcement
Other changes to the AI Act include:
- the removal of overlapping requirements on AI for machinery products by clarifying that they only need to comply with sectoral safety, while ensuring an equivalent level of health and safety;
- a clearer definition of what qualifies as a “safety component”, meaning that products with AI functions that only assist users or optimise performance will not automatically face high-risk obligations, if their failure or malfunction does not pose health or safety risks;
- the possibility to process personal data where strictly necessary to detect and correct biases, with proper safeguards, in both high-risk and non-high-risk AI systems;
- the extension to small mid-cap enterprises (SMCs) of SME exemptions from certain rules to support their growth;
- streamlined enforcement of certain general-purpose AI systems within the EU’s AI Office.
Quotes
During the plenary debate, co-rapporteur for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee Arba Kokalari (EPP, SE) said: “To all the entrepreneurs and engineers out there, we are pressing the pause button on the AI Act and we are reducing red tape. It must be simpler to build the future’s tech companies in Europe and to stay in Europe, so we can become an AI continent. Do that, and we can ensure our prosperity, our security and our future. We are also getting rid of duplication of rules for machine products and we are reducing reporting obligations to help companies. We are also banning AI systems that generate child sexual abuse material.”
Co-rapporteur for the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee Michael McNamara (Renew, IE) said: “This omnibus was about establishing legal certainty by extending certain timelines while preserving the AI Act’s architecture and strengthening protections where possible. We agreed to a limited change on machinery products, with clear safeguards, and secured an outright ban on AI nudification apps. They impact real people, overwhelmingly women, with the purpose of humiliating, degrading and objectifying them. I’m proud that this Parliament fought for the ban, which will enter into force before the end of this year.”
Next steps
Before the law can enter into force, it still needs to be adopted formally by the Council.
Most of the provisions of the AI Act will start to apply on 2 August 2026.
Press conference
Co-rapporteurs Arba Kokalari (EPP, Sweden) and Michael McNamara (Renew, Ireland) will hold a press conference on Wednesday at 10.00 CEST.
Background
The legislation adopted today is part of the seventh omnibus package on simplification proposed by the European Commission on 19 November 2025 (“the digital omnibus”). Parliament is currently working on two other proposals, one amending the data use and data protection laws, and another establishing European business wallets.