EPP stalls AI Omnibus negotiations with far right

After twelve hours of negotiating, the EPP and Vice President Virkkunen found a far right majority in the European Parliament to stall the Artificial Intelligence Omnibus after orders from Merz and Von der Leyen. With this move, right wing lawmakers risk not meeting the deadlines to stop the clock on the entry into force date. Instead of being an honest broker, it was the Commission Vice President who proposed to stall the negotiations for two weeks, after the EPP rapporteur had been delaying for hours.
 
Greens/EFA MEP Kim van Sparrentak, group negotiator in the IMCO Committee, comments:
 
“This is a German EPP coup together with the far right at the highest level. EPP is playing with fire. They are willing to risk plummeting European industry in a total legal vacuum of chaos, jeopardising AI-safety in Europe and the legal certainty for industry. All just for the aggressive Tech lobby and a handful of German companies who are lagging behind. Big Tech is probably popping champagne. While European companies that care about safety and did their homework now face regulatory chaos.”
 
Greens/EFA and Pirate Party MEP Markéta Gregorová, group negotiator in the LIBE Committee, comments:
 
“We came to the negotiations with the intent to close a deal on banning nudifiers. When EPP, teaming up with the far right, has to choose between exempting companies from AI rules or effectively protecting women and children, guess what they choose. We showed openness, as the Council did; but it was clear that the industry interest to be exempt from the AI rules prevailed in EPP and part of Renew over anything else; and now they are endangering the timeline and therefore the whole deal.”