Researchers urge EU and UK to tie AI market access to stricter rules

A group of 17 researchers is calling on the EU and UK to introduce a joint licence to operate for general-purpose AI, making market access conditional on demonstrated compliance. They want AI added to the 20 November summit agenda in Brussels, alongside coordinated measures covering taxation, environmental protection, workers’ rights, competition and safety.

The proposals would end tax treatment that favours replacing employees with software, introduce a usage-based levy on compute and direct proceeds from data appropriation into a public fund. Environmental requirements would include public disclosure of energy and water use across the AI life cycle. New data centres would need additional renewable generation to cover their demand, with authorities able to withhold consent when environmental impacts cannot be assessed reliably. Data-centre electricity demand rose 17% in 2025, compared with 3% for electricity demand overall, according to the International Energy Agency.

Other measures include human review of algorithmic pay and dismissal decisions, limits on self-preferencing in AI answers, pre-deployment safety evaluations and liability for model providers. The EU and UK together represent roughly a quarter of global AI demand, while European suppliers provide essential chipmaking technology. Researchers see those market and supply-chain positions as leverage to establish standards with global reach.