Authors
Li Yaqi, Research Assistant of CGAIG
Yao Xu, Secretary-General of CGAIG and Associate Professor at FDDI
On November 20, 2025, the European Commission introduced the Digital Omnibus, marking a significant shift in European digital governance. The package ties the enforcement timeline for high-risk AI system rules under the EU AI Act to technical standardization, effectively postponing the originally scheduled 2026 regulatory deadline. At the same time, it amends the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ease data access and usage for the AI industry. This recalibration comes in the wake of Mario Draghi’s 2024 competitiveness report and amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration—particularly from Vice President JD Vance—on EU digital policies. It reflects a new direction in EU AI governance, balancing strong regulatory ambitions with the need to foster innovation.
From legal-technical, political-economic, and global governance perspectives, this adjustment is not a simple retreat from regulation but a strategic realignment driven by industrial, technological, and geopolitical pressures. The EU aims to buy time and create space for its domestic digital sector by lowering AI compliance barriers and reshaping data rules. However, this move also puts the EU’s long-cherished normative power under scrutiny, opening a new debate between fundamental rights protection, tech industry deregulation, and the capitalization of data.
Original Link：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/lTQWoexDYmoB6ZZE7XlWBg
