First proposed as part of the digital omnibus package on 19 November 2025, the <a href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/ai-omnibus-enters-force" target="_blank" class="news-text_link">AI Omnibus</a> is presented as a targeted simplification of the EU’s AI framework. It aims to reduce administrative burdens and provide greater clarity for organisations developing and deploying AI, while retaining safeguards for safety and fundamental rights.
The most significant change to the implementation timetable concerns high-risk AI systems. According to the update, the rules for systems listed in Annex III will apply from 2 December 2027, while those for high-risk AI embedded in physical products covered by Annex I, such as machinery, toys and lifts, will apply from 2 August 2028. These later dates would give affected organisations more time to prepare, but also mean that implementation will continue over several years.
The update also describes broader access to regulatory sandboxes, including an EU-level sandbox and an extension of certain measures for small and medium-sized enterprises to small mid-cap companies. Other changes would simplify AI literacy requirements, registration of exempted systems in the EU database and procedures for conformity assessment bodies. The Commission and Member States would take a stronger role in promoting AI literacy.
On safety and fundamental rights, the update describes a prohibition on AI systems that generate non-consensual sexually explicit or intimate content, or child sexual abuse material. It also says that processing special categories of personal data would be permitted for detecting and correcting bias. Proposed governance changes include wider AI Office oversight of certain systems built on general-purpose AI models or embedded in large online platforms and search engines, alongside clarification of how the AI Act interacts with other EU laws.
The practical message is that extra time is not the same as completed implementation. Organisations will need to identify which rules apply to their systems, follow the relevant application dates and use the extended preparation period to develop their compliance arrangements.
