During the plenary debate, Mr Benifei said: "We finally have the world's first binding law on AI, to reduce risks, create opportunities, combat discrimination, and bring transparency. Thanks to Parliament, unacceptable AI practices will be banned in Europe.... We ensured that human beings and European values are at the very centre of AI development,".
The rules will enter into force 20 days after publication in the O.J. and be fully applicable 24 months after, except for bans on prohibited practices (6 months after entry into force); codes of practice (9 months); general-purpose AI rules including governance (12 months); and obligations for high-risk systems (36 months).
In a nutshell, the report provides for:
The Rapporteur said: "We propose a system that is fair to consumers and traders, an ADR mechanism that is more useful. We want better involvement of traders in sectors with more complaints, so we make the participation in ADR compulsory for airlines. We aim to raise awareness of these tools by requiring traders to include information on ADR mechanism on their websites and invoices. In addition, the trader has to respond within 20 days after a complaint is filed. We hope the Council will soon adopt its position, so by the end of the year we will have a new law that improves EU's dispute resolution and mediation system".
The report aims to improve the payment culture among all actors and boost competitiveness, in particular for SMEs. It puts in place stricter maximum payment terms of 30 days in both B2B and G2B transactions, where the public authority is the debtor, thus, standardising timely payments among companies and authorities. MEPs want to ensure companies have the flexibility to negotiate terms of up to 60 calendar days in B2B transactions, as long as it is expressly agreed in the contract. For the retail sector, payment terms of up to 120 days are proposed.
The Rapporteur said "Unreliable cash flows can jeopardize SMEs and micro-enterprises, limiting growth, innovation and EU's competitiveness. With this regulation, we are not only protecting the smaller companies, which are the backbone of our economy, but above all, we introduce predictability and fairness for all European companies. It is a major push towards fostering a better payment culture, beneficial for the entire European economy".
The next IMCO committee meeting will take place on:
In a nutshell, under the agreement:
Both Parliament and Council have to give their formal agreement to the agreed text. The regulation will then be published in the Official Journal and enter into force the following day. Member States will have 3 years to start applying the new rules.
In a nutshell, under the new rules:
After the vote, the Rapporteur said: "After years of a backlog of standards, we have successfully paved the way for the new construction products regulation and taken a significant stride towards the digitalisation of the construction ecosystem. The digital product passport will revolutionise access to critical information on construction products, encompassing safety details, usage instructions, and declarations of performance and conformity. Additionally, the new construction products regulation will streamline procedures, alleviate administrative burden and diminish trade barriers for our companies. Adoption of this regulation is an important milestone for our European internal market!"
