On 10 June 2026, the European Parliament published a set of six amendments tabled by the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group to the proposed AI Act Omnibus regulation. The amendments aim to significantly narrow the regulation's scope and reduce compliance obligations, particularly for corporate groups and smaller companies. Key proposals include exempting intra-group AI systems not affecting end-users, excluding real-world testing from regulatory oversight, and introducing a mandatory proportionality principle for enforcement.
The amendments, all originating from the ECR group, represent a coherent push to limit the regulation's reach. The most contested changes are the exclusion of real-world testing (Amendment 122), which would exempt all pre-market testing from the rules, and the intra-group exemption (Amendment 123), which would carve out AI systems used exclusively within a corporate group, such as internal HR tools or logistics software, provided they are not consumer-facing. These proposals would create significant blind spots for worker oversight and pre-market safety checks.
Amendment 124 inserts a new Article 2a, legally obliging enforcement authorities to apply the regulation in a proportionate and technologically neutral manner. This horizontal clause could be used to challenge the stringency of future implementing measures. Amendment 125 tightens the definition of high-risk AI systems, limiting it to those that are both a safety component of a product and whose functioning is critical to the product's safety compliance, potentially excluding many standalone AI systems currently classified as high-risk.
Amendment 126 expands simplified compliance measures to include Small Mid-Caps (SMCs) alongside SMEs and start-ups, covering obligations under risk management, data governance, technical documentation, record-keeping, and conformity assessment. This significantly lowers the compliance burden for a broader set of companies. Amendment 127 proposes deleting Recital 25, a procedural move to align recitals with the substantive scope reductions.
The amendments are part of the broader AI Act Omnibus procedure (2025/0359(COD)), which aims to simplify implementation of harmonised AI rules. The ECR's proposals are likely to face opposition from groups favouring stronger consumer and worker protections. The next steps include committee consideration and plenary vote, followed by trilogue negotiations with the Council and Commission.