Open letter: European Commission must champion the AI Act amidst simplification pressure
52 civil society organisations, experts and academics have written to the European Commission to express their concerns about growing pressure to suspend or delay the implementation and enforcement of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act. Instead of unraveling the EU rulebook, which includes hard-won legal protections for people, the Commission should focus on the full implementation and proper enforcement of its rules, like the AI Act.
Civil society and experts unite to oppose any attempts to delay or re-open the AI Act
On 9 July 2025, 52 experts, academics and organisations, including EDRi, wrote to the European Commission to express our collective concerns about the development of the forthcoming omnibus proposal aiming to simplify the digital rulebook (the ‘Digital Simplification package’),which reportedly will include revisiting the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act.
Following the Commission’s public statements and the recent meetings held at the Council of the EU level, we are especially concerned by the growing pressure regarding a potential “stop the clock” mechanism to suspend or delay the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act.
We firmly oppose any attempt to delay or re-open the AI Act, particularly in light of the growing trend of deregulation of fundamental rights and environmental protection, which risks undermining key accountability mechanisms and hard-won rights enshrined in EU law across a wide range of protections, including for people, the planet, justice and democracy.
The EU “simplification” agenda should not be used to drive deregulation, especially in the absence of credible evidence that this would be necessary or effective. The EU regulatory framework is founded on fundamental values and principles, promoting an open digital environment based on fundamental rights and consumer protection.
We urge the Commission to:
- Prioritise the full implementation and proper enforcement of the AI Act instead of re-opening or delaying its implementation
- Refrain from pursuing a deregulation agenda and instead champion the proper enforcement and implementation of the AI Act and the wider EU digital rulebook.
- Ensure all proposals follow a transparent and inclusive process and that any proposed measures be strictly based on evidence and necessity, including a comprehensive impact assessment and an inclusive public consultation
- The AI Office must prioritise developing and strengthening key governance bodies under the AI Act
