The big picture. The Council of the EU and the European Parliament on May 7 reached political agreement on the “AI omnibus” — a package of amendments to the AI Act intended to simplify and streamline implementation, the Council said in a statement.
What changes.
- New prohibitions. The prohibited-practices list extends to AI systems generating potentially harmful intimate content (“nudifier” apps), effective December 2, 2026.
- Extended deadlines. The deadline for member states to establish national AI regulatory sandboxes is postponed to August 2, 2027.
- Transparency. The grace period for providers to comply with transparency obligations on artificially generated content is cut from six months to three months, with the new deadline set at December 2, 2026.
Why it matters. The omnibus is the first significant adjustment to the AI Act since GPAI obligations took effect on August 2, 2025. The transparency-grace-period cut accelerates the labelling requirement on synthetic content — affecting every provider distributing AI-generated images, audio, or video into the European market.
Companion guidance. The Commission opened two consultations during the month:
- May 8 — draft guidelines for AI transparency obligations.
- May 19 — draft guidelines for classifying high-risk AI systems.
What is unchanged.
- Core obligations applicable to providers of general-purpose AI models (Chapter V), in force since August 2, 2025.
- Penalties applicable to GPAI providers remain postponed until August 2, 2026.
What’s next. The omnibus must still be formally adopted by both institutions, a step the Council described as a technical follow-up. Industry attention turns to which providers are still in negotiation with the AI Office on the timing of their first compliance disclosures.