EU AI Act Digital Omnibus (Proposal November 2025)

1. What happened

On November 19, 2025, the European Commission presented the Digital Omnibus proposal. Part of the EU's "Competitiveness Package," it also adjusts the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, and Cyber Resilience Act. Status as of May 2, 2026: the proposal is in the ordinary legislative procedure (trilogue between Commission, Parliament, and Council); final adoption is still pending. The AI Act portion would — if adopted — postpone high-risk application dates without changing the substantive obligations. Until adoption, Aug 2, 2026 remains the legally binding deadline.

2. What would be postponed (proposal, not adopted)

• Annex III high-risk areas (HR, education, law enforcement, etc.): proposed from Aug 2, 2026 to Dec 2, 2027
• Annex I regulated-product high-risk: proposed from Aug 2, 2027 to Aug 2, 2028
• Conformity assessment, FRIA for private-sector deployers, technical documentation Annex IV: aligned with proposed Annex III date

3. What stays unchanged

• Art. 4 (AI literacy): in force since Feb 2, 2025 — no change
• Art. 5 (prohibited practices): in force since Feb 2, 2025 — fines up to 35M EUR / 7%
• Art. 27 (FRIA for public bodies, credit scoring, life/health insurance): Aug 2, 2026 deadline unchanged
• GPAI obligations (Art. 53-55): in force since Aug 2, 2025 — no change
• Code of Practice for GPAI (final July 10, 2025): unchanged
• Art. 50 transparency, watermarking, deepfake disclosure: Aug 2, 2026 deadline unchanged

4. Practical impact

Aug 2, 2026 remains binding while the trilogue is ongoing. Use the time to finalize technical documentation under Annex IV, the risk-management system, and FRIA templates. The EU AI Act Kit provides 58 templates from the AI inventory through to the declaration of conformity.

5. Criticism and political context

The proposed postponement is controversial. Pro: EU competitiveness against the US and China; industry preparation time; standards maturity. Contra: civil-rights erosion (discrimination in HR and law enforcement would remain under-regulated for 16 months); signaling effect for other EU regulations; unequal treatment between early adopters and laggards. EDRi and other civil-rights organizations have published opposing positions; whether the trilogue will adopt the proposal is open as of May 2, 2026.

Summary

The Digital Omnibus is a Commission proposal as of Nov 19, 2025. If adopted, it would shift deadlines but not the substantive obligations. AI Literacy, Art. 5, GPAI, FRIA for public bodies / credit / life-health insurance, and Art. 50 stay on the original timetables. Build a defensible compliance package on the Aug 2, 2026 timeline — do not bet on a postponement that has not been adopted.

View EU AI Act Kit →