An 'omnibus' is a single legislative package used to execute simultaneous changes across multiple existing pieces of law.
When the European Commission published the AI Omnibus proposal in November 2025, it was at its crux driven by a stark, practical crisis: the technical standards underpinning compliance with requirements of high-risk systems were simply not going to be ready before the original application deadline of August 2026.
Member states were not prepared, standardization bodies — the European Committee for Standardization and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization — needed more time to develop the necessary standards, and industry could not reasonably comply with rules when the harmonized standards to demonstrate compliance did not yet exist.
As a legislator, I view omnibus files with skepticism. Often framed in the benign language of "simplification" or "cutting red tape," these fast-track legislative vehicles can be used to quietly erode hard-won protections under intense lobbying pressure and, as was the case here, without an impact assessment.
The result is not always simpler — sometimes it is just weaker.
The EU institutions have reached agreement on key amendments to the AI Act, part of a broader Digital Omnibus package that Ireland will help advance during its presidency of the Council of the EU.
Dublin's relationship with major U.S. technology companies gives it both an opportunity and an obligation to ensure the package serves European citizens, not just the tech companies.
This article is part of The Parliament's "Guide to Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the EU."
How the AI Act was amended
As co-rapporteur for the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, I worked alongside MEP Arba Kokalari (EPP, SE), co-rapporteur for the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
The trilogue negotiations were both fast and fierce, with political sessions in Strasbourg stretching late into the night as positions appeared irreconcilable.
When the dust settled, the agreement reached extended compliance deadlines for high-risk systems, streamlined governance through a reinforced AI Office and delivered genuine relief for small- and medium-sized enterprises and small mid-caps through simplified documentation requirements and broader access to regulatory sandboxes.
It also introduced a safeguarded compromise that exempted products covered by the EU Machinery Regulation from the horizontal effect of the AI Act.
The part I am most proud of is the ban on nudification tools — AI systems designed to remove clothing from images of real, identifiable people, whose victims are overwhelmingly women and girls.
Why the Irish presidency matters
The question of what comes next falls, in significant part, on Ireland.
A broader Digital Omnibus seeks to roll back provisions on a wide range of EU digital rules, including the General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Act, the NIS2 Directive, the Digital Operational Resilience Act and ePrivacy.
It aims to eliminate compliance overlap, overhaul cookie rules and create a single reporting channel for cybersecurity incidents. Some of those changes amount to genuine simplification. Others deserve far more scrutiny than a fast-track process allows.
Ireland occupies a unique position in that debate. It hosts the European headquarters of most of the world's largest technology companies, while its Data Protection Commission carries supervisory responsibility for a disproportionate share of EU digital enforcement.
That proximity to industry is an asset, providing valuable insight into how regulation works in practice. But it also creates an obligation to demonstrate that presidency stewardship serves the common European interest, not the preferences of whichever Big Tech executive happened to visit Dublin most recently.
Ireland will host an International AI Summit in Dublin in October 2026, positioning itself as both a digital regulatory hub and a centre for applied AI innovation. That is the right ambition.
During its presidency, Ireland is uniquely positioned to lead in this area. But leadership requires political courage — in this context, the courage to distinguish between measures that serve citizens and those that serve shareholders.
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