Brussels, 7 October 2021
Chair: Boštjan Koritnik, Slovenian Minister for Public Administration The meeting will start at 10.00.
Ministers will hold a policy debate on the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act, focusing on its regulatory design and the challenges of its effective implementation. The discussion will be livestreamed on the Council website.
Online background press briefing ahead of the informal video conference: 7 October at 11.00
Press conference: at the end of the video conference, +/- 14.15
Informal videoconference of telecommunications ministers – meeting
Press conferences and public events by video streaming
/1 This note has been drawn up under the responsibility of the Press Office.
Artificial Intelligence Act
Telecommunications ministers will hold their first in-depth policy debate on the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act, focusing on its regulatory design and the challenges of its effective implementation.
Commission proposal
The Commission presented the draft regulation (8115/21) in April 2021. It is a key element in the EU’s policy to foster the development and uptake across the single market of safe and lawful artificial intelligence (AI) that respects fundamental rights.
The proposal lays down a uniform, horizontal legal framework for AI which aims to:
- ensure that AI systems placed on the EU market (including by non-EU providers) and used in the EU are safe and respect EU values and existing laws on fundamental rights
- ensure legal certainty to facilitate investment and innovation in AI
- enhance governance and effective enforcement of existing laws on fundamental rights and safety requirements applicable to AI systems
- facilitate the development of a single market for lawful, safe and trustworthy AI applications and prevent market fragmentation.
The proposal follows a risk-based approach, differentiating between uses of AI that create (i) an unacceptable risk, (ii) a high risk and (iii) low or minimal risk. Some AI practices would be prohibited. Some AI systems would be permitted on the European market subject to compliance with certain mandatory requirements and an ex-ante conformity assessment.
The proposed rules also include transparency obligations for certain AI systems, as well as codes of conduct aimed at encouraging providers of non-high-risk AI systems to apply voluntarily the requirements mandatory for high-risk AI systems.
The draft provisions set up governance systems at EU and national level, including a European Artificial Intelligence Board. Monitoring would be facilitated by an EU-wide database, to be operated by the Commission, for stand-alone high-risk AI systems with mainly fundamental rights implications.
Ministers’ debate
The presidency has prepared a background paper with the following questions to structure ministers’ discussion:
Regulatory design of the proposed AI Act:
-
Do you agree that there is a need to set out a unified and systematic approach to trustworthy AI in the EU in order to protect health, safety and fundamental rights? Does the horizontal regulatory design of the proposed AI Act appropriately address this need for all the different AI systems covered by the Act?
-
Do you agree that the proposed framework provides for legal certainty, effective governance and enforcement, and would ensure proper functioning of the internal market?
Challenges of effective implementation of the AI Act:
-
Does the AI Act provide for efficient implementation, balancing innovation, supervision and enforcement, governance and civil society oversight?
-
How do you evaluate the proposed measures of the AI Act to support innovation in SMEs, in particular regarding regulatory sandboxes, better access to personal data for the development of AI systems in the public interest and promoting standardisation?
-
Is there a need for harmonisation of actions supporting research, innovation and uptake related to AI at EU level (e.g. digital innovation hubs, testing and experimentation facilities, data spaces, skills) under the Horizon Europe programme and Digital Europe programme? Are additional measures still required?
Ministers’ debate will provide political guidance for further work on this complex proposal in the Council’s telecommunications working party.
A European approach to artificial intelligence (Commission information)