European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address in September made one thing clear: Europe’s future depends on growth and competitiveness, and the European Union’s new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Office will be pivotal in achieving this.
It must support businesses while enforcing the AI Act. If it becomes slow and bureaucratic, it will strangle the very entrepreneurship Europe wants to unleash. Done right, the AI Office could be the great facilitator of this technology; done wrong, its chief inhibitor.
AI Act laid the foundations, the AI Office is responsible for innovation
The AI Act sets the principles, but implementation is everything, and that task falls to the AI Office. Its mission should be to make the act’s requirements understandable, actionable and consistently applied for every business within its scope. Predictable compliance will allow innovation to flourish; complexity and delay will drive investment abroad.
This article is part of The Parliament's latest policy report, "Regulating technology without stifling innovation"
Today, only 13% of EU firms use AI, according to the European Commission. The target is 75% by 2030. That will not happen if small and medium-sized enterprises see AI law as a minefield. These firms do not need exemptions – they need a system they can navigate, one that puts competitiveness at its core. A framework that only a global corporation with a compliance department can understand is a framework that has already failed.
Providing clear and consistent requirements
Often, the biggest concern in business regarding AI adoption is not the nature of the rules, but a lack of clear requirements – so, decision-making clarity is needed. The AI Office must prioritise dynamic and consistent application of requirements. If every decision is slow and burdensome, businesses will face paralysis.
Decisions should be driven by a risk-based approach rather than pre-emptive regulation. An incoherent regulator is worse than no regulator at all, as it adds delay without providing certainty. European companies need to know the rules are clear and enforceable, so they can invest with confidence.
Operational agility central to success
Technology moves fast, so the AI Office must too. Lengthy consultations and shifting guidance will drive firms away. We need short timelines for decisions, rapid publication of templates and checklists, and swift correction when problems arise. A slow office will cost Europe competitiveness; an agile one will create clarity and stability.
The European dimension is essential, but delivery should not come from Brussels alone. Several member states are already setting up their own national structures to complement the new regime. Ireland has announced a National AI Office (NAIO) which will act as a hub for guidance, training and co-ordination with businesses.
It will help Irish firms meet EU requirements and foster innovation by making compliance part of their growth journey. The participation of other member states in establishing a dedicated office will determine their prioritisation of the AI industry on a national level.
Foundation models such as ChatGPT will be the first real test. The largest developers must meet the requirements for transparency, safety and risk management, while retaining space for innovation. That is essential for trust.
But trust will only translate into growth if European firms know that enforcement is consistent, timely and predictable. Any sign of fragmentation will hand the advantage to competitors abroad.
The General Data Protection regulation (GDPR) showed that Europe can set global standards, but the AI Act is not about creating rules for their own sake. It is about creating a framework that gives European businesses the confidence to innovate.
If the AI Office delivers clear and uniform enforcement, products built to EU standards will enjoy a trust premium worldwide. If it does not, Europe will once again write rules that others exploit.
The EU has promised to lead on AI, and that promise rests with the AI Office. It must portray itself as a partner to the industry, not its overseer. Success should not be measured by fines and obligations imposed, but by the strength of European innovators and the growth of Europe’s AI’s industry.
Sign up to The Parliament's weekly newsletter
Every Friday our editorial team goes behind the headlines to offer insight and analysis on the key stories driving the EU agenda. Subscribe for free here.