Opinion on Amending Regulations (EU) 2024/1689 and (EU) 2018/1139 as regards the simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI)

18.3.2026

Ms Anna Cavazzini

Chair

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

BRUSSELS

Mr Javier Zarzalejos

Chair

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

BRUSSELS

Subject: Opinion on Amending Regulations (EU) 2024/1689 and (EU) 2018/1139 as regards the simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI) (COM(2025)0836 – C10-0304/2025– 2025/0359(COD))

Dear Chairs,

Under the procedure referred to above, the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) has been asked to submit an opinion to the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. At their meeting of 11 February 2026, TRAN Coordinators decided to send the opinion in the form of a letter. TRAN adopted the following opinion at its meeting of 18 March 2026.

General Remarks

1. The Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) welcomes the objective of simplification under the Digital Omnibus on artificial intelligence (AI), hereafter ‘AI Omnibus’, and recognises the need to support a risk-based EU regulatory framework that is operational and innovation-friendly, while maintaining effective safeguards to ensure that AI systems are safe, transparent, accountable and respectful of fundamental rights.

2. Technological innovation in the EU transport sector is essential to strengthen its global competitiveness, to deliver safe, efficient, and sustainable transport systems for citizens and businesses, and to contribute to improved working conditions for the millions of workers who underpin the European mobility system.

3. AI is emerging as an important enabling technology to support EU transport policy objectives. AI is not a new phenomenon in the transport sector as it has been embedded in driver assistance systems, traffic management and operational optimisation tools for many years now. Examples of safety relevant systems already in use or in project phases include predictive maintenance systems in all transport modes, risk prediction and foreign object detection on runways in aviation, on track obstacle detection and train positioning in rail, autonomous vessels and collision detection systems in the maritime sector as well as advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving in road transport. Its role is expected to expand further, where it demonstrably contributes to improvements in safety and efficiency. In tourism, AI is reshaping the interaction between consumers, intermediaries and businesses.

Impact of the AI Omnibus on transport

4. The AI Omnibus introduces amendments to two key pieces of legislation: the AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), which sets the regulatory framework for the use of AI across the EU, and the EASA Basic Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1139) to ensure that AI integration in aviation maintains the highest standards of safety, efficiency, and accountability.

5. The extension of regulatory privileges from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to small-mid cap companies (SMCs) helps smaller and innovative EU companies active in AI-enabled transport systems, to scale up beyond the start-up phase without facing increased compliance burdens.

6. The extension of real-world testing possibilities to AI systems covered by Annex I, Section B, has a direct operational impact on transport. For technologies such as automated vehicles, exposure to complex traffic environments is essential to achieve technological maturity and for validating safety performance under real-world conditions. Facilitating these controlled operational scenarios is a decisive step toward accelerating the innovation cycle and the subsequent deployment of AI across European transport networks. They complement regulatory sandboxes by enabling a progression from controlled testing environments to real-world conditions once safety has been demonstrated. This approach strengthens public and consumer confidence and supports the rapid development and market uptake of innovative AI applications.

7. The Committee welcomes the amendments proposed by the AI Omnibus to the EASA Basic Regulation. These amendments would ensure that the existing safeguards for the use of high-risk AI systems, as set out in Chapter III, Section 2 of Regulation 2024/1689, also apply to delegated or implementing acts provided for in seven additional articles of the EASA Regulation (Articles 27, 31, 32, 36, 39, 50 and 53). Despite the recent adoption of the AI Act , this update is necessary in light of the accelerating evolution of AI technologies and their potential deployment in additional civil aviation domains, including, for example, the medical assessment of air traffic controllers, ground-handling services and training.

8. Considering these points, the Committee stresses that swift adoption of the updated legal framework is essential to ensure legal certainty and a simplified regulatory environment.

9. TRAN notes that, given that most transport systems already fall under sectoral Union harmonization legislation, the effective implementation of AI safeguards will largely depend on how these requirements interact with and are integrated into existing regulatory frameworks and supervisory practices. It underlines that differences in regulatory structures and capacities across transport modes and Member States may result in uneven application of AI-related safeguards.

AI’s potential for the transport and tourism sectors

10. AI’s success as a key technology for the future of the transport and tourism sectors, contributing to important safety and efficiency gains must also go hand in hand with careful consideration of its social and environmental impacts. In particular, the use of natural resources and the outsourcing of skills and jobs outside Europe are important factors that should be taken into account when evaluating the overall cost–benefit of AI deployment in the sector.

Risks and safeguards

11. The contribution of AI to safety and sustainability will depend on responsible deployment, effective oversight and alignment with broader transport and tourism policy objectives. While AI can support efficiency gains in transport operations, its overall environmental impact must be carefully assessed.

12. The increasing integration of AI systems into transport and tourism operations represents not only technological innovation but also changes in the organisation of work, including the potential to optimise workflows and reduce routine or repetitive tasks. Automated driving systems and remote supervision models may significantly reshape the roles of drivers, dispatchers and operational staff, including through the emergence of remote monitoring, operation or control functions that can be performed from anywhere in the world.

13. As AI deployment progresses, it is important to consider its implications for work organisation, workforce skills and job profiles. Any organisational changes, including new operational and outsourcing models involving third countries, should ensure that the development of AI in the sector does not lead to the relocation of skills and jobs outside the Union and should contribute to upholding high working conditions and standards. Maintaining and developing a strong EU-based jobs and skills ecosystem within the EU is essential to supporting the Union’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness.

Access to funding, capital and scale-up capabilities to support EU AI innovation

14. While the Committee notes that several initiatives exist at EU level that aim to stimulate and accelerate AI innovation in key industrial sectors, particularly in terms of autonomous driving, such as the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance and the Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities initiative announced in the Apply AI strategy to accelerate autonomous vehicle deployment, important barriers in accessing capital may hinder European companies from scaling up their businesses to compete on a par with other global companies.

15. While Europe has strong industrial players and innovative technology firms, many companies in AI and transport automation remain in the start-up, early scale-up phase or leave the EU at an early stage. TRAN therefore calls on the Commission and the Member States to examine instruments and mechanisms allowing public-private partnerships and incentivising venture capital to bridge the gap between the start-up and SME phase, while ensuring that public and private investment promotes energy-efficient, safe, interoperable and open AI solutions that strengthen sustainability, resilience and Europe’s technological sovereignty.

Strategic autonomy

16. Given that the AI Act, notably its rules on high-risk systems, affects transport, TRAN calls for coherence with EU transport objectives and digital sovereignty. As AI increasingly becomes integral to critical transport infrastructure, safeguards are needed to protect data sovereignty, avoid strategic dependencies and ensure enforceability of EU law.

17. In procurement for critical infrastructure, authorities should be able to require interoperable solutions, effective cyber security and operational control within the Union to ensure strategic security of supply and resilience.

National fragmentation

18. The Committee emphasises that the EU type-approval framework (Regulation (EU) 2018/858) and the General Safety Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/2144) provide a strong harmonised safety regime for the deployment of automated driving and other AI-enabled transport systems.

19. The extension of real-world testing in the AI Omnibus is a welcome step that creates greater opportunities for innovation. Well-designed safeguards help uphold safety standards while reinforcing trust in new AI technologies. Divergent national or regional testing and operational regimes may continue to hinder large-scale testing and deployment. Further harmonisation and convergence would strengthen legal certainty and the functioning of the internal market. Supporting the EU transport sector in fully benefiting from Europe’s increasing digital competitiveness and more integrated data ecosystems is a priority.

Yours sincerely,

Elissavet VozembergVrionidi

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur for opinion declares that she included in her opinion input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that she received, in the preparation of the opinion, prior to the adoption thereof in committee, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:

1. Interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register

Bitkom e.V.

Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs

Einride AB

European Transport Safety Council

Robert Bosch GmbH

TUI AG

2. Representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies

None

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur for opinion.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur for opinion declares that she has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament's Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.