The EU’s flagship AI Act and the equally high-profile EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) are now converging into a different narrative — one of sprawling bureaucracy, political back-pedalling and a Commission that over-promises, under-delivers and then blames 'technical problems' when the politics go bad.
For cocoa, coffee and palm oil exporters who have spent years preparing for EUDR, and for AI developers trying to build products under a moving regulatory target, the pattern is starting to look worryingly familiar.
Brussels’ AI Act: From Showcase to Cautionary Tale
The Financial Times’ Big Read, How the EU botched its attempt to regulate AI, charts how a flagship attempt to define ‘trustworthy AI’ descended into a tangle of rushed amendments, unclear obligations and now, fresh delays.
According to the FT’s account and subsequent reporting, the AI Act started as a relatively contained, risk-based framework in 2021. Then three things happened: