Thread by @BertuzLuca

Here’s how the AI Act omnibus negotiations unraveled overnight. Talks broke down around 2 am, with the expected fault line: the European Parliament’s push to move sectoral legislation from Annex I Section A to B. 🧵 1/6
mlex.com/mlex/articles/…

The Cypriot presidency pushed back against any change to Annex I, citing last week’s COREPER mandate, which left no flexibility. Instead, it tried to shift discussions to the legal text, narrowing Article 6(1) on risk classification and safety component definition. 2/6

Other issues were discussed but left open. On the nudifier ban, debate focused on whether partial nudity should be covered and how to define intimate content. On governance, Commission is set to keep exclusive powers with national authorities capable of requesting actions. 3/6

After a wall-against-wall on Annex I, negotiators paused the talks. No new date yet, but another trilogue is expected in around two weeks. The Cypriot presidency must seek a new COREPER mandate. That creates uncertainty for the proposed delay of the high-risk regime. 4/6

Critics say the pause is clearly intended to get more flexibility from the Council on Annex I. Widespread rumours circulated of high-level lobbying from the German government ahead of the trilogue, toward both member states and the Commission. 5/6

Political tensions are rising, especially in the European Parliament. Center-left MEPs accuse the EPP of aligning with the far right to stall the process, and say the Commission failed to act as an honest broker. The risk of an alternative majority is becoming more concrete. 6/6