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

<p> 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..</p> <p><strong> Legislative Process</strong></p><p> 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.</p><p> Council agrees its position to streamline rules: The Council has agreed its position on streamlining AI rules, treating the proposal with utmost priority. Member [...]</p> <p>---</p><p><strong>Outline:</strong></p><p>(00:41) Legislative Process</p><p>(03:09) Analyses</p><p>(09:18) Discussion about this post</p><p>(09:22) Ready for more?</p> <p>---</p>
<p><b>First published:</b><br/>
March 24th, 2026 </p>

<p><b>Source:</b><br/>
<a href="artificialintelligenceact.substack.com/p/the-e…; rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">artificialintelligenceact.substack.com/p/the-e…; </p>
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<p>Narrated by <a href="type3.audio/?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm…; rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TYPE III AUDIO</a>.</p>
<p>---</p><div style="max-width: 100%";><p><strong>Images from the article:</strong></p><a href="substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ix9T!,w_1456,c…; target="_blank"><img src="substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ix9T!,w_1456,c…; alt="News article screenshot. The headline reads: "Could agents be the next stumbling block for Europe's AI rules?" The subheading reads: "The rise of autonomous AI is raising questions about whether EU rules are already outdated"" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><p><em>Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try <a href="pocketcasts.com/"; target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Pocket Casts</a>, or another podcast app.</em></p></div>