Europe’s top CEOs ask EU to pause AI Act

A group of 46 leaders of Europe’s largest companies are calling on Brussels to pause the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence Act, in an open letter on Thursday.

“We urge the Commission to propose a two-year ‘clock-stop’ on the AI Act before key obligations enter into force,” the group of C-suite leaders wrote.

The letter was signed by companies including Airbus, TotalEnergies, Lufthansa, ASML, Mistral and other giants across a wide range of industries.

The landmark tech regulation has come under scrutiny in Brussels as part of an effort by European Union officials to cut red tape to boost its economy. The AI Act in particular has faced intense lobbying pressure from American tech giants in past months.

European Commission tech chief Henna Virkkunen told POLITICO this week she would make a call on whether to pause the implementation by end August if standards and guidelines to implement the law are not ready in time.

The chief officials lamented that “unclear, overlapping and increasingly complex EU regulations” is disrupting their abilities to do business in Europe. A pause would signal that the EU is serious about simplification and competitiveness to innovators and investors, they added.

The pause should apply both to provisions on general-purpose AI that take affect on August 2, as well as systems classified as high-risk, that have to apply the rules in August 2026, the letter said.