World
France and Germany support simplification push for digital rules
As the European Commission prepares to simplify digital rules with a new omnibus plan due to be presented on Wednesday, Berlin pulled out the red carpet in a glitzy summit dedicated to digital sovereignty.
“I’m very curious about what tomorrow will bring. Hopefully it’s a big bold step in the right direction,” said German Minister for Digital Transformation Karsten Wildberger on a panel at the Berlin gathering.
The European Commission has been working for months on a new proposal to “simplify” rules, reduce administrative burden for companies, in particular SMEs, which struggle to comply with complex EU rules, to keep talent in Europe and stay competitive in a global race.
The Commission, supported by France and Germany, hopes that the digital simplification plan that will be announced on Wednesday, after months of negotiations, will “save billions of euros and boost innovation”.
Still, the push text has been met with scepticism among the progressive forces of the European Parliament and civil society, citing a dismantling of protections.
The text proposes amending the rules on data protection and the recently adopted AI Act.
According to a draft version, the rules for “high-risk AI systems”, AI technologies used for sensitive purposes such as analysing CVs, evaluating school exams or loan applications, which were originally scheduled to take effect in August 2026, are now expected to be delayed until December 2027. The European Commission cites difficulties in establishing the necessary standards as the reason for the postponement.
Under the original text, the classification of the system as “high-risk” would have been evaluated by a national authority. The leaked draft, which is still to be officially approved, suggests that this provision would now be replaced by a simple self-assessment, potentially weakening the safeguards intended to ensure compliance with the rules.
Anne Le Hénanff, French minister for AI and digital affairs, said during the Berlin summit that she supports the postponement.
“The AI Act now comes with too many uncertainties. These uncertainties are slowing our own ability to innovate,” Le Hénanff said. “The United States and China are leading the way in the AI race. We simply cannot afford to hinder our companies’ ability to innovate.”
Germany’s Wildberger said that his country also supports a delay, adding that “it’s important to continue this conversation because the world is moving so fast that we have to continuously rework the rules.”
Wildberger said he prefers a “learn-by-mistakes” approach.
“We do not rule out ex ante all the risks. Let’s first build the products, and then take very seriously how these products work – that they are safe, that we have the right processes in place,” he added.
Resistance from the Parliament to open damaging Pandora’s box
Still, members of the European Parliament fear that the Commission’s proposal will open “pandora’s box”, increase risks for consumers and ultimately benefit US Big Tech.
MEPs consulted by Euronews who did not wish to be named as the Commission’s plan is not yet official and talks are ongoing.
They suggested Big Tech companies have been dragging their feet to avoid complying with the current rules and have paid more than ever in lobbying.
Members of the European Parliament from political groups ranging from the traditional majority, which includes The Left and centrist-liberal Renew, have already signalled their intention to vote against the proposal.
Other provisions include exemptions from reporting obligations for smaller companies, or the delay in the labelling of AI-generated content until 2027. Recently, deep fakes created with AI disturbed the Irish presidential elections with viral AI video depicting a fake version the presidential candidate Catherine Connolly saying she was withdrawing from the race.
Another part of the omnibus focuses on simplifying the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It aims to make it easier to access data for training AI models, reduce the number of cookies displayed to users, and harmonise GDPR implementation across all member states. At present, national authorities interpret data protection obligations differently, which can lead to inconsistencies.
Online rights advocates believe that the omnibus overreaches its mandate to the point of undermining fundamental rights.
A letter signed by three major NGOs and addressed to Commissioner Henna Virkkunen reads, “the legislative changes now contemplated go far beyond mere simplification. They would deregulate core elements of the GDPR, the e-Privacy framework and AI Act, significantly reducing established protections.”
On Wednesday, the Commission will also launch a “digital fitness check” to examine how effective existing digital rules, such as the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, are, and explore areas where overlaps may be happening. This could prompt another wave of simplification from the Commission.
“We are going to have a deeper dive into our regulation also, and after that we will also propose the next simplification effort,” said Commissioner Virkkunen.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Masoud Pezeshkian invoked one of Iran’s strongest wartime symbols on May 24, signaling Tehran’s resolve to hold its ground against the U.S. and Israel across the region, a counterterrorism expert said.
The Iranian leader’s remarks came at a key moment in diplomacy, as President Donald Trump said a deal with Tehran to end the war is “largely negotiated” and warned the U.S. would either sign “a great and meaningful” agreement or walk away entirely.
While Iran signaled broad agreement with Washington on some points, it said a final deal is not imminent and that negotiations over the remaining details are still underway.
IRAN’S TOP DIPLOMAT SAYS NATION’S POWER LIES IN DEFYING PRESSURE: ‘NO TO THE GREAT POWERS’
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks with Fox News Channel’s Martha MacCallum during an interview in New York City on Sept. 25, 2025. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
In an X post marking the anniversary of the 1982 recapture of Khorramshahr from Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq War, Pezeshkian said, “Khorramshahr today is Iran, the Persian Gulf, and the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that “resistance, self-sacrifice, and repelling aggression are rooted in the culture of this land.”
Analysts claimed Pezeshkian was deliberately invoking one of the deepest ideological touchstones of the Islamic Republic — the battle that came to symbolize national resistance, civilian sacrifice and defiance against invasion.
“This is the Iran-Iraq War reference, and the timing is the point,” said Dr. Omar Mohammed, director of the Antisemitism Research Initiative Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
May 24 marks the anniversary of the 1982 liberation of Khorramshahr, the southwestern city Saddam Hussein captured early in the war and Iranian forces retook after months of brutal urban combat.
FROM HOSTAGE CRISIS TO ASSASSINATION PLOTS: IRAN’S NEAR HALF-CENTURY WAR ON AMERICANS
An Iranian flag is placed amid rubble next to a destroyed residential building near Ferdowsi Square in Tehran on March 3, 2026. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
“This is one of the Islamic Republic’s foundational mythological moments — civilian resistance, mass sacrifice, repelling an ‘aggressor army.’ Roughly what the Great Patriotic War is to Russia. The rhetorical move is the extension,” Mohammed told Fox News Digital.
“He’s mapping the 1980-82 defensive-war frame onto the current confrontation: Iran attacked by an aggressor, ordinary citizens (‘battle-untested but brave’) expected to stand and fight, with ‘resistance, sacrifice, repelling aggression’ cast as the cultural default mode.”
Some of the phrasing, Mohammed said, also evokes volunteer and Basij fighters versus a professional invading army. The analyst noted that Pezeshkian’s “Hormuz line” comment reflects a standard Iranian escalation tactic.
IRAN TO HOLD LIVE-FIRE DRILLS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ WITH US ARMADA IN MIDDLE EAST
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and President Donald Trump stand together in an official setting. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
“Invoking the strait inside a wartime-mobilization frame — even rhetorically — is a deliberate signal, not throat-clearing,” he added.
“The Khorramshahr frame is the deepest register the regime has. It’s what they reach for to signal existential war, not a managed crisis.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Mohammed explained that Pezeshkian’s X post is framing the current confrontation from the presidential account to send a “high-stakes message.”
“It’s also a tell on internal posture: Khorramshahr, in short, means ‘we are being invaded and we will not negotiate,’” he added.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced that her country will host the Iranian national football team during the upcoming FIFA World Cup, due to tensions with the United States.
On Monday, Sheinbaum said that FIFA, the global football governing body, had approached Mexico about hosting Iran, after the US said it did not wish to do so.
list of 3 itemsend of listRecommended Stories
“We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said during her daily media conference.
Previously, Iran had been scheduled to play all three of its group matches in the US.
But the administration of US President Donald Trump has previously said it is not “appropriate” for Iranian team members to be in the country, “for their own life and safety”.
It has yet to grant the Iranian team the necessary visas to travel to the US, despite Trump’s assertion that players and staff would be “welcome”.
Since February 28, the US and Israel have been at war with Iran, and peace negotiations are tense but ongoing.
The head of Iran’s football federation, Mehdi Taj, confirmed on Sunday that the team planned to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to the Mexican border city of Tijuana.
Taj explained that team leaders got approval for the move after meeting with FIFA officials in Istanbul, as well as holding an online conference with FIFA’s Secretary General, Mattias Grafstrom.
Switching the team’s base to Mexico, Taj said, would help avoid visa complications, with the team able to travel directly to Mexico aboard Iran Air flights.
But the US-Israeli war against Iran has cast a pall over the World Cup, making the Iranian team’s participation uncertain.
Roughly 3,468 people have been killed in Iran since February’s war began, and more than 26,500 have been injured. Further fatalities have been reported across the region.
The war has also thrown the global economy into turmoil, driving up the costs of fuel and agricultural fertiliser, among other goods.
Iran’s football team has long been a top squad in its region: It currently ranks near the top of the Asian Football Confederation. Its participation in the 2026 tournament marks its fourth straight World Cup qualification.
Trump, however, has sent mixed messages about Iran’s presence at the World Cup, suggesting at times that Iran should sit out the tournament. At other moments, he has expressed ambivalence.
In March, for instance, Politico asked Trump about Iran’s presence at the World Cup. Trump reportedly responded, “I really don’t care”, before calling Iran a “badly defeated country”.
The US, Mexico and Canada are co-hosting the games, with 78 matches in the US alone, including the final. Kick off is on June 11.
Iran is set to play its first two Group G matches in Los Angeles against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, before facing off against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
The Trump administration’s hardline approach to immigration has raised additional concerns about whether the US will be a welcoming host for fans from around the world.
Already, Trump has moved to suspend visa processing for applicants from nearly 75 countries, including Iran, Brazil, Colombia, Ivory Coast and Senegal, which have teams at the World Cup.
Residents from some of those countries, however, are not required to receive visas to enter the US for short-term visits.
On Monday, Sheinbaum explained that she had been approached by the Iranian team and FIFA officials for help hosting players and staff.
“The United States doesn’t want the Iranian team to spend the night,” Sheinbaum said. “So they asked us, ‘Can we stay the night in Mexico?’ We said sure, no problem.’”
-
Augusta, GA3 minutes agoAugusta honors fallen service members during Memorial Day ceremony
-
Washington, D.C9 minutes agoCompany that turns light posts into EV chargers among 3 to win energy grant from DC
-
Cleveland, OH15 minutes ago2 hospitalized after Cleveland house fire, 6 displaced
-
Austin, TX21 minutes agoTransfer Receiver DeAndre Moore Jr.’s Keys to Raising NFL Draft Stock
-
Alabama27 minutes agoAlabama Baseball Earns #7 National Seed
-
Alaska33 minutes agoCrash closes Seward Highway near Portage, police say
-
Arizona39 minutes agoWhat to Expect When Ole Miss Baseball Takes On Arizona State
-
Arkansas45 minutes agoState gobbler harvest highest in 20 years | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
