Results of the informal conference of telecom ministers on 14 October 2021

The discussion focused on the Act’s regulatory design and the challenges involved in its effective implementation.

Ministers today voiced their clear support for one comprehensive law on artificial intelligence, which would serve as a model across the globe, in the same vein as the general data protection regulation, GDPR, in the area of protection of personal data. There is still substantial work ahead, as we want to make sure that the Artificial Intelligence Act will achieve its twin aims of ensuring safety and respect for fundamental rights and stimulating the development and uptake of AI-based technology in all sectors. The Slovenian presidency will continue the intense work on this proposal, which it considers a top priority in the digital area.

Boštjan Koritnik, Slovenian Minister for Public Administration and chair of the meeting

During the discussion, ministers stressed the considerable societal and economic benefits that artificial intelligence can bring across a wide range of sectors, but they also highlighted the need to protect privacy and ensure safety and security, in order to build the necessary trust in these new technologies.

Ministers strongly advocated continuing to work towards establishing a horizontal and human-centric regulatory framework for AI, as proposed by the Commission, to ensure legal certainty and consistency for developers and users. Some delegations mentioned the need to ensure consistency with related rules set in other legislation.

While addressing the risks and making sure that AI systems respect EU values, the new law must be future-proof and foster innovation. To achieve this, its provisions should be flexible enough to adapt to the fast-evolving technologies.

Delegations welcomed the risk-based approach of the proposal, but indicated that many issues require further discussion, in particular regarding the scope of the Act, law enforcement aspects and definitions of key terms. Clarity on these was considered essential for legal certainty and smooth implementation of the Act.

Regulatory sandboxes and experimentation facilities were considered useful tools for smarter regulation and implementation. Standardisation and availability of high-quality data should be promoted, and several ministers mentioned the important role of the current and future proposals on data in this respect.

A number of ministers mentioned the importance of effective enforcement and supervision, especially human oversight. The governance structure should be light, and the administrative and financial burden for operators, in particular SMEs and start-ups, should be kept to a minimum. Special support should be offered to SMEs to ensure that they can easily comply with the new rules.

Discussions on the proposal will continue in the Council’s telecommunications working party. The presidency aims to present a compromise proposal in November.

• Watch ministers’ discussion
• Background paper: AI – from Ambition to Action
• Artificial Intelligence Act proposal
• A digital future for Europe (background information)