On Thursday 28 April, the members of the EU Council’s Telecommunications Working Party examined the French Presidency’s latest compromise text on articles 30-39 and 59-62 of the future legislation on artificial intelligence (AI) (see EUROPE 12937/26).
In concrete terms, the document therefore focuses on the sections on the notifying authorities, responsible for monitoring the procedures for high-risk systems and the reporting process for serious incidents and malfunctions, and on post-marketing surveillance for high-risk AI systems.
The compromise text sets the period during which the documents relevant for the assessment of the qualifications of the subcontractor or subsidiary and the work they have carried out are kept at the disposal of the notifying authority at 5 years from the date of cessation of the subcontracting activity.
In addition, the compromise text proposes that where a notification is not based on an accreditation certificate - as provided for in the text - the notifying authority should provide the Commission and the other Member States with evidence of the competence of the conformity assessment body and the arrangements in place to ensure that the body will be regularly monitored and will continue to meet the requirements.
Furthermore, the conformity assessment body concerned could only carry out the activities of a notified body if no objections are raised by the Commission or the other Member States: - within 2 weeks of a notification by a notifying authority, where it includes an accreditation certificate; - within 2 months of a notification by the notifying authority, where it includes documentary evidence.
On the side of the notified bodies, which are involved in conformity assessment for certain systems, the emphasis is on “avoiding unnecessary burdens on providers” and “taking due account of the size of a company, the sector in which it operates, its structure and the degree of complexity of the high-risk AI system in question”.
This, the text states, should not prevent the notified body from “respecting the degree of rigour and the level of protection required for compliance of the high-risk AI system”.
Furthermore, the text aims to oblige notified bodies to make available and submit on request all relevant documentation - including suppliers’ documentation - to the notifying authority to enable it to carry out its assessment, designation, notification and surveillance activities.
See the compromise: https://aeur.eu/f/1fb (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)