On Thursday 14 October, the EU27 ministers responsible for telecommunications will debate the proposal for a regulation on artificial intelligence (AI) presented by the European Commission last 21 April (see EUROPE 12703/3).
The competent ministers will, among other things, try to assess the impact of the proposed legislation and will have to decide whether - or not - a unified approach to AI is necessary.
In addition to the issues of harmonising rules on the use of AI or how to support SMEs, the ministers will also be invited to discuss the balance between innovation and respect for fundamental rights, says an EU Council document.
Part of the discussions is expected to focus on the latter point, as Member States still have diverging positions on the issue.
“There are points of agreement, but others need to be debated. Some Member States think that a separate text should be produced for everything related to the use of AI by police forces“, a source close to the dossier explained to EUROPE, recalling at the same time that the subject was also sensitive in the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12806/18).
“The objective is to have a political framework on this issue. This is a complex subject and the text has not been received in the same way by the private sector and civil society. The issue is not so much that the Member States agree among themselves, but that they agree internally. This is what the EU Council Presidency expects on Thursday 14 October”, the same source said.
For its part, the Slovenian Presidency is maintaining its objectives and still intends to be able to present a first version of the compromise text at the next Telecommunications Council of the EU, which will take place on 3 December. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)