Lawmakers to scrutinise AI influence on finance, copyright
The reports come as the financial sector and publishers have been calling for clarity on how the AI Act applies to their industries.
ADVERTISEMENT
The European Parliament will begin work on two own-initiative reports on the impact of artificial intelligence on the financial sector and on copyright, after they were approved by chairs of political groups last week, sources have told Euronews.
The first, to consider the 'Impact of artificial intelligence on the financial sector' will be drafted by lawmaker Arba Kokalari (Sweden/EPP) and was requested by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) with input from the Internal Market Committee (IMCO), Parliament sources confirmed.
Work on the AI Act – the framework that regulates AI via a risk-based approach – last year was mainly carried out by the IMCO and the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE). The rules started gradually applying last year and will be fully in force in 2027.
Last June, the European Commission launched a consultation and a workshop series to seek input from stakeholders on the use of AI in finance to help assess risks related to the implementation of the AI Act, but it has not proposed any concrete action for the sector.
Earlier this month, NGO Finance Watch warned about the possible conflict between AI functions and the principles of financial regulation.
Without clear rules and accountability mechanisms, the use of AI in financial services 'introduces risks that are difficult to detect and control, threatening consumer protection and market stability while undermining trust in the wider financial system,' Finance Watch said.
Copyright
The second report – both will not be legally binding – 'Copyright and Generative AI: opportunities and challenges', was requested by the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI), and will be drafted by Axel Voss (Germany/EPP).
'During the AI Act negotiations, nobody wanted to talk about copyright. Now, writers, musicians and creatives are left exposed by an irresponsible legal gap. What I do not understand is that we are supporting big tech instead of protecting European creative ideas and content,' Voss said in a post on LinkedIn earlier last month.
Complications surrounding AI and copyright arose during the drafting of a proposed set of rules for providers of General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) - a process still ongoing.
The Code of Practice on GPAI should help providers of AI models – tools that can perform many tasks such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and picture application Midjourney – comply with the EU's AI Act, but industry, including rightsholders expressed concerns about contradictions with copyright law.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
EU member Bulgaria faces protests over adopting the euro
"If Bulgaria joins the eurozone, it will be like boarding the Titanic," Nikolai Ivanov, a retired senior official, told AFP at a recent protest calling for the country's currency -- the lev -- to be maintained. Since January, opponents of Bulgaria adopting the common European currency have launched demonstrations and demanded a referendum on the issue, amid a torrent of disinformation. Memories of a 1996-1997 economic crisis that saw 14 banks go bankrupt and hyperinflation of more than 300 percent also resurfaced, fuelling the opposition. Several recent surveys showed nearly half of those questioned said they were opposed to Bulgaria joining the eurozone. The debate has reignited anti-EU propaganda, and many of those opposed to adoption of the euro have taken to waving Russian flags. Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007, is the poorest nation in the bloc. And "the poor are afraid of becoming even poorer", said Boriana Dimitrova, director of the Alpha Research institute. That, coupled with a mistrust of institutions after years of instability, has created fertile conditions for the population of 6.4 million to fear economic change. That fear has been stoked by some political groups, including the far-right Vazrazhdane party, which called for a new anti-euro rally on Saturday in the capital. The country's pro-Russian president, Rumen Radev, made a surprise announcement in early May also calling for a referendum on the matter. This week, he accused the government of not implementing needed measures to allow the "most vulnerable" to withstand the shock of euro adoption. Pro-EU voices struggling A third of Bulgarians faced the threat of poverty or social exclusion last year, according to Eurostat figures. People particularly in small towns and rural areas are reluctant to adopt the single currency, with some of them having never travelled abroad and not used to international transactions. Disinformation widely shared on social networks claims, falsely, that with the introduction of the euro, "Brussels will confiscate your savings to finance Ukraine". Dimitrova told AFP that Radev was making "a well-calculated political move", appealing to a disillusioned segment of the electorate. But his referendum proposal, deemed "unconstitutional", sparked an outcry from legal experts, and from Assembly Speaker Natalia Kiselova, who refused to put it to a vote. Meanwhile, pro-European voices are struggling to be heard. "In Sofia and the larger cities, the population -- wealthier, better educated and younger -- sees it as a logical next step in the European integration process," Dimitrova said. Institutions and banks are already prepared, and the coins' design has been chosen, with the local two-euro coin showing off the inscription "God protect Bulgaria". But in a sign of the lack of information and a feeling of inferiority that is still widespread in the country, "some people still ask me if the Bulgarian euro will even be valid in France or Germany", Dimitrova said.
Euronews
12 hours ago
- Euronews
Georgia arrests second opposition figure as pro-EU protests continue
Police in Georgia have detained a second opposition leader within days as protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party and its perceived Russia-friendly stance continue in the South Caucasus country. Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday. Soon after, he was bundled away by a large group of people in civilian clothing. According to the interior ministry, Melia has been detained on charges of verbally insulting a law enforcement officer. A court placed Melia in pre-trial detention but the length of that period of imprisonment has not been made clear. The arrest comes a week after that of Zurab Japaridze, another leader of the pro-Western, liberal coalition of parties that support European Union integration and want a restoration of democratic norms. Japaridze, who heads the New Political Centre (Girchi) party, was detained on 22 May after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Melia, of the Ahali party and former chairman of Saakashvili's United National Movement party, was detained on the eve of a scheduled court hearing for failing to testify. Japaridze and seven other opposition politicians who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failing to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year in prison. Meanwhile, demonstrators have continued to gather in the capital Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Nightly protests began on 28 November, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election in October, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding.
LeMonde
12 hours ago
- LeMonde
Sweden takes notice of French report on Muslim Brotherhood infiltration
A French Interior Ministry report on the Muslim Brotherhood organization's influence in the country has continued to make waves – this time, however, in Sweden, where its publication attracted particular attention. The report repeatedly mentioned the Scandinavian country, and this was widely covered by local media outlets. Sweden's right-wing government and its far-right allies immediately seized on it and accused the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Published on May 21, the report, entitled "Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism in France," names Sweden – alongside the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria – as a country where "the need for an assessment of the [Muslim] Brotherhood movement is being felt." According to its authors, "evidence gathered attests to [the organization's] active presence" in Sweden, as well as in the Netherlands and Denmark. The report asserts that the Swedish branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, "though small in size, is characterized by its influence over the movement's European structures." This influence, the report states, "is explained by the supply of funding from Qatar, the great tolerance of Sweden's multiculturalist policies, and the good relations between the movement and local political parties, particularly the Swedish Social Democratic Party."
