EGMF, alongside 13 stakeholders, signed a joint statement on the Artificial Intelligence Act.
As AI will constitute a key technology for economic development in the European Union, its integration into industrial processes is a priority for the EU and its Member States. The AI Act has the opportunity to set out a first-of-its-kind legislative framework on Artificial Intelligence and will shape how AI is developed and deployed in Europe.
While we welcome this legislation, we remain concerned by the possibility of significantly deviating from the AI Act’s original proposal and goals to establish a risk-based approach to AI that fosters innovation and uptake in Europe.
In particular, we urge the European Parliament to ensure that any possible new requirements and amendments to the Act are introduced taking into account their technical feasibility, impact on legal certainty, and the ability of AI developers, deployers, and users to comply with them.
As the Rapporteurs and Shadow Rapporteurs work to finalise a compromise text to form the European Parliament position, we strongly urge them to consider the following key principles and take more time for deliberation, ensuring that the AI Act:
1. Maintains the risk-based approach of the original proposal while defining “high-risk” in a way that reflects it;
2. Allocates responsibilities properly along the value chain and allows contractual freedom to do so;
3. Includes in Annex III only use-cases that are truly high-risk;
4. Uses a definition of AI that is recognised by industry, is in line with OECD work, and does not include non-AI tools;
5. Establishes legal certainty for the extraterritorial application of the Act’s scope and effect on the EU’s international partners;
6. Ensures that the AI Act does not overlap or create competing obligations with existing legislation; and
7. Avoids uncertainty for further investment, trade, and innovation.
Download the full statement here.