The European Parliament Voted on the AI Act. What Now?

On 26 March 2026, the European Parliament voted in plenary session on the Digital Omnibus amendments to the EU AI Act. For many SME managers, the news went unnoticed - or was read as a reason to wait a little longer. That is exactly the wrong conclusion to draw.

What Happened on 26 March

On 18 March, the Parliament's IMCO and LIBE committees adopted their joint position. On 26 March, Parliament approved that position in plenary. This vote officially opens the trilogue phase : negotiations between Parliament, the EU Council (which adopted its position on 13 March) and the European Commission.

The trilogue must produce a common final text. Only at that stage - formal adoption and publication in the EU Official Journal - will the Digital Omnibus amendments have the force of law.

What the Trilogue Will Negotiate (and Why It Matters to You)

Parliament and Council converge on the essentials but diverge on several points that will directly affect SMEs.

Postponement Dates for High-Risk Systems

Both institutions agree on a delay, but with fixed dates rather than the conditional mechanism proposed by the Commission:

• Annex III (biometrics, HR, credit scoring, education): postponed to 2 December 2027
• Annex I (AI embedded in regulated products: medical devices, machinery): postponed to 2 August 2028

Transparency for AI-Generated Content (Article 50)

This is the most sensitive point for SMEs using generative AI. The Commission proposed a 6-month grace period (until 2 February 2027) for systems already on the market before August 2026. Parliament cut this grace period to 3 months only (until 2 November 2026). The Council has not yet decided.

What the Co-legislators Removed

The Commission proposed removing the EU database registration requirement for systems self-assessed as non-high-risk. Both Parliament and the Council rejected this simplification - the registration requirement remains, with lighter content requirements.

What Happens if the Trilogue Fails?

This is the question few media outlets ask - and the most important one for your planning.

If the three institutions fail to reach a final agreement before 2 August 2026, the EU AI Act applies in its original version, with none of the Digital Omnibus delays. Obligations for high-risk systems would enter into force on that date, with no extra time.

This scenario is unlikely but not impossible. Trilogues can drag on, especially when several points remain contentious.

The Realistic Trilogue Timeline

For the Digital Omnibus to be in force before 2 August 2026, the schedule is very tight:

The margin is very narrow. Every additional week of negotiation reduces the probability that the text will be in force before the deadline.

What You Should Do Now - Whatever the Outcome

The conclusion is simple: the potential delays mainly concern high-risk obligations. For SMEs, two obligations remain firm on 2 August 2026, agreement or not.

1. Transparency obligations (Article 50)

If you use a chatbot, a content generation tool, or any system interacting with users: you must inform those users that they are interacting with AI. This obligation is not subject to any major delay.

2. Classification of your AI systems

Delay or not, knowing which systems you use and which category they fall into is the unavoidable first step. It is what will tell you whether the delays benefit you - and to what extent.