Edith Hancock

Chief executives from top European companies including Mistral and Airbus have asked the European Commission to delay fully wielding its landmark artificial intelligence act.

In a letter sent to commission president Ursula von der Leyen, executive vice presidents Stephane Sejourne and Henna Virkkunen and economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, executives asked officials to hold off on enforcing its new AI rulebook--which is due to come into force next month--for two years.

The AI Act entered into force last year but certain obligations for companies will become fully enforceable over the coming years. Some rules around governance and obligations for general-purpose AI models are due to come in next month.

The letter said the EU's ability to become a leader in nascent AI is being disrupted by overlapping and complicated regulations in the bloc. "This puts Europe's AI ambitions at risk, as it jeopardises not only the development of European champions, but also the ability of all industries to deploy AI at the scale required by global competition," it said. It asked Brussels' top brass for a two-year "clock-stop" on key obligations in the act, and to postpone enforcement until practical standards and guidance are in place.

"This postponement, coupled with a commitment to prioritise regulatory quality over speed, would send innovators and investors around the world a strong signal that Europe is serious about its simplification and competitiveness agenda," the letter, which was also signed by ASML's Christophe Fouquet and Mercedez-Benz chief Ola Kaellenius, said.

The EU has faced calls in recent weeks to reconsider its AI rulebook, seeking clarity on a code of practice for AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT. This was due to come out last May but has been delayed. The commission said experts are now discussing when to implement the code of practice and considering doing so toward the end of this year. "We will provide everything our [member states] and industry need to make the EU a true AI continent: infrastructure, data, computing power, talent and, of course, clarity and legal certainty," spokesperson Thomas Regnier said.

More broadly, the commission is under mounting pressure to streamline and water down a stack of EU laws governing everything from carbon emissions reporting to data protection as policymakers grapple with European industry's ability to compete with counterparts in the U.S. and China.

Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 03, 2025 07:34 ET (11:34 GMT)

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