European competition chief says she does not support ‘stop-the-clock’ moves on EU laws, defends AI rules
Speaking at an event, Ribera said she would not support rolling back or backtracking on legislative initiatives, stressing that the bloc must build on, rather than undo, its progress.
European competition chief Teresa Ribera said on Tuesday (30 September) that she does not support ‘stopping the clock’ or ‘backtracking’ on European Union legislative initiatives, addressing industry calls to delay the rollout of the bloc’s Artificial Intelligence Act. She cautioned against ‘rolling back on what we have achieved’ and defended the AI framework amid debates over its impact.
Responding to recent criticism from Mario Draghi that the rules go too far, Ribera said the legislation confronts real tensions, citing concerns from publishers, the press and creators that AI-generated summaries can undermine remuneration and reflect ‘the big theft of our data and intellectual creativity’ when sources are not credited. Her remarks came as the European Commission pursues a ‘digital omnibus’ package to simplify parts of EU law, potentially including elements of the AI Act, while she stressed this should not mean abandoning core safeguards.
Ribera’s comments followed meetings in New York with United States regulators on digital competition. She acknowledged that EU–US relations ‘have not been easy’ this year but said the experience underlines the risk of ‘too much reliance’ on American technology. She added that competition authorities on both sides “intend to reach the same goal,” and argued that EU tech rules are not damaging transatlantic ties. Pointing to the Digital Markets Act and recent enforcement actions, including a €2.95 billion fine on Google, she said many beneficiaries of a level playing field are outside Europe, noting that ‘around 75% of the new players benefiting from European regulation come from the United States.’
