Omnibus VII — What Changed in the EU AI Act

What is Omnibus VII?

Omnibus VII is a legislative package adopted by the European Parliament in March 2026 that amends multiple EU regulations simultaneously, including the EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689). Its official name is the Omnibus Simplification Regulation.

The package is a response to pressure from industry and Member States to simplify regulatory obligations, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to align deadlines with the actual readiness of the market and standardisation bodies (CEN/CENELEC).

Key Changes

1. Deadline Extensions

The most significant change involves new application deadlines:

Obligation	Previous Deadline	New Deadline	Extension
Transparency obligations (Art. 50)	2 August 2026	2 November 2026	+3 months
High-risk AI obligations (Art. 6-49)	2 August 2027	2 November 2027	+3 months
GPAI obligations (Art. 51-55)	2 August 2025	Unchanged	—
Prohibited practices (Art. 5)	2 February 2025	Unchanged	—

Why the extension? Delays in the CEN/CENELEC harmonised standards — without standards, companies cannot know precisely how to comply. The Commission assessed that an additional 3 months were the minimum necessary.

2. Simplification for SMEs

Omnibus VII introduces relief measures for small and medium-sized enterprises:

• Reduced documentation requirements for SMEs using high-risk AI systems as deployers
• Simplified FRIA (Fundamental Rights Impact Assessment) for companies with fewer than 50 employees
• Extended transitional period for SMEs using AI systems placed on the market before entry into force

3. New Prohibition — Nudifier AI (Art. 5(1)(i))

Omnibus VII adds a new prohibited practice to Article 5:

The placing on the market, putting into service or use of AI systems that generate synthetic sexually explicit images or videos of persons without their explicit consent is prohibited.

This prohibition covers:

• Nudifier tools (AI undressing)
• Deepfake pornography without consent
• Generation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM)

For more details, see the dedicated article: Nudifier Ban — New Prohibition in Art. 5

4. AI Literacy — Clarifications

Omnibus VII clarifies the AI literacy obligation under Article 4:

• The obligation applies to all organisations using AI systems, regardless of the risk level
• It is clarified that "sufficient measures" refer to the context of use, not to a formal training programme
• SMEs may use free resources from the AI Office instead of their own programmes

What Remains Unchanged

• Classification of high-risk AI systems (Art. 6 + Annex III) — no changes
• Penalties for non-compliance (up to EUR 35M or 7% of global turnover) — no changes
• Obligations for providers of GPAI models — no changes
• Role and powers of the AI Office — no changes
• RMF requirements (Art. 9) — no changes

Practical Implications

For compliance timelines

If you are planning your compliance journey, the new deadlines mean:

1. By 2 November 2026 — Comply with Art. 50 (transparency): watermarking, labelling AI-generated content
2. By 2 November 2027 — Comply with Art. 6-49 (high-risk): QMS, technical documentation, FRIA, post-market monitoring
3. Already in effect — Art. 5 (prohibitions) and Art. 4 (AI literacy) are in force

For ComplianceForge users

Your compliance score and action plan automatically reflect the new deadlines. Priorities remain the same:

1. Check whether you fall under prohibited practices (Art. 5)
2. Classify your AI systems
3. Start documentation based on your risk profile

Sources

• EU Parliament — Omnibus Simplification Regulation
• AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689)
• European AI Office