The Digital AI Omnibus: Proposed deferral of high risk AI obligations under the AI Act

At a glance

• The European Commission published the Digital Omnibus on AI (Omnibus) on 19 November 2025, proposing to defer the high-risk compliance deadline from 2 August 2026 to 2 December 2027.
• The second political trilogue between the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission on 28 April 2026 ended without agreement.
• If the Omnibus is not formally adopted before 2 August 2026, the original AI Act's (Act) provisions, including the high-risk obligations and their current timeline, will apply from that date as written.
• Organisations deploying AI in employment contexts should continue preparing for compliance against the current 2 August 2026 deadline.

On 28 April 2026, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission held their second political trilogue on the Omnibus – a proposal to amend the Act by postponing high-risk AI compliance deadlines and introducing other simplification measures.

The Act classifies AI systems used in employment-related decisions as high-risk, including tools used for recruitment, candidate selection, performance evaluation, task allocation, monitoring of workers, and decisions on promotion or termination. These high-risk system obligations are scheduled to apply from 2 August 2026.

The Omnibus is a legislative proposal published by the European Commission on 19 November 2025 that seeks to amend the Act. The most significant change is the deferral of the AI Act's high-risk obligations from the original date of 2 August 2026. If the Omnibus is adopted as currently negotiated, the compliance deadline for these employment-related systems would move from 2 August 2026, to 2 December 2027.

The proposal was prompted by the fact that the Act's timely implementation has faced significant delays, particularly around the designation of national competent authorities and the finalisation of harmonised standards and compliance tools needed for high-risk AI system requirements. 

On 28 April, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission convened their second political trilogue on the Omnibus. The parties were unable to reach agreement, and a further trilogue has been scheduled for 13 May 2026. Should the trilogue negotiations remain incomplete and the Omnibus not be formally adopted prior to 2 August 2026, the provisions of the original Act, including the high-risk obligations and their initially envisaged timeline, will take effect from that date as originally drafted.

Organisations that deploy AI in employment-related contexts, including recruitment, performance evaluation, task allocation, worker monitoring, promotion, and termination decisions, should continue their compliance preparations in line with the existing deadline of 2 August 2026.

For details on obligations for employers using AI systems that are categorised as high-risk under the Act, please see our GENIE news item.