Von der Leyen backs AI to cut EU business reporting

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed using AI to simplify administrative procedures for businesses in the EU, focusing on a “once-only” model in which companies submit information to public authorities a single time. Speaking during a closed European People’s Party meeting in Taormina, Italy, on October 12, she said businesses now repeatedly provide the same information to different authorities, costing them time.

The proposal marks the first time von der Leyen has directly suggested using AI to reduce the administrative burden on companies. The European Commission had already included the data-submission principle in the EU Inc initiative, presented in March 2026, which would create a harmonized corporate system and a digital EU-level interface for transferring company information between authorities. That plan does not separately include AI for data exchange, and von der Leyen did not specify how the system would work, which companies it would cover, or when it might be introduced.

Von der Leyen also urged member state governments to back simpler rules and sign a pact to avoid adding new requirements when implementing EU legislation nationally. Countries would need to identify and justify any extra requirements beyond EU law, including by assessing their effects on businesses and the single market.