In addition to the Subcommittee on Taxation, the Conference of Presidents agreed, on Thursday 11 June, to set up a series of special committees of the European Parliament and a committee of inquiry on animal transport. It emerged from their negotiations that the structure devoted to artificial intelligence will not be extended to digital business, as Renew Europe had hoped.
The three special committees, each composed of 33 members, are the following: Special Committee on Cancer, Special Committee on Foreign Interference in All democratic Processes in the European Union (including disinformation) and Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the digital age.
No committee on digital affairs
The Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence, which posed so many problems, will be set up for a period of one year.
In particular, it will be responsible for analysing the future impact of artificial intelligence on the economy (on skills, employment, transport or defence, among others), for addressing the issue of deployment or for analysing the approach of non-Member State. However, it should not encroach on the competences of the Parliament's standing committees, which are already working on artificial intelligence (mainly JURI, ITRE and IMCO).
In terms of results, the Special Committee on AI may organise conferences with experts, but its opinions will not be binding. At most, it will be able to adopt a mid-term and a final report for the competent standing committees. According to an anonymous European Parliament official, this should greatly affect the impact of the committee, which is likely to be attended only by “inexperienced and senior Statesman members”. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)