On Thursday 4 September, MEP Arba Kokalari (EPP, Swedish) presented her draft report on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the European Union’s financial services sector. Some 174 proposed amendments to the text have already been submitted by MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs (ECON).
“Artificial intelligence in finance should be encouraged as much as possible. Finance sector in Europe is already the largest spender on IT and ICT services [information and communication technology - editor’s note], which means that they are really playing a key role in mobilising private investments on AI and the usage of AI. This will be crucial to keep Europe competitive in the global AI race we're currently in”, Ms Kokalari told the ECON Committee on Thursday morning.
With regard to the amendments, the rapporteur considers it necessary for the political groups to align themselves on three key issues: - the current state of use of AI; - the current regulatory environment; - the European Parliament’s recommendations.
“Many amendments from the left [of the Chamber] are highlighting the risks rather than the opportunities”, she lamented. “We already have existing rules that govern AI deployment. Many of these sectorial rules are overlapping with AI Act”, she added, calling for European legislation to be “clarified”.
Eero Heinäluoma (S&D, Finnish), Socialist negotiator for the Parliament’s second largest political group, advocated adopting “a balanced and constructive approach, not a cheerleading or deregulating approach”.
“We should not be blind for the risks, because we know what happens if the risks are not taken into account”, he said. “While we have to abort regulatory overlap, we certainly have to avoid regulatory gaps, and regulatory gaps exists as most of the financial legislation was adapted before the AI boom. These need to be filled effectively”, he added.
An initial meeting between negotiators from the European Parliament’s political groups is scheduled for the second week of September. The ECON Committee is due to vote on a final text on 25 November.
See the draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/i9r ; and the submitted amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/i9s (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)