EU AI Act faces industry pushback as deadlines near

Europe’s AI Act is moving from rulemaking to enforcement, prompting warnings from major technology companies that the bloc risks undermining its own competitiveness. Although the law entered into force in mid-2024, its most consequential obligations are scheduled for 2025, with bans on “unacceptable” AI beginning in February 2025 and General-Purpose AI rules arriving in August 2025.

SAP CEO Christian Klein has criticized the framework as “legal chaos” and said Europe “stands in its own way.” A coalition of over 45 top executives from companies including Siemens, Airbus, and Mistral has called for a “regulatory pause” or “stop-the-clock” mechanism, arguing that transparency, copyright, and safety obligations could be especially difficult for smaller companies to absorb.

Mario Draghi’s competitiveness analysis adds economic weight to those concerns, noting that US firms invested roughly $109 billion in AI in 2024 alone while Europe continues to lag in productivity, innovation, and private investment. The European Commission is reportedly considering a “Digital Omnibus” bill that could delay some high-risk system rules until late 2027, but the possibility of shifting deadlines is adding uncertainty for companies planning products across 27 countries.