Artificial Intelligence

European Parliament To Hold Final Vote On New EU Foreign Investment Screening Regulation

The European Parliament signalled in a May 2026 pre-session briefing that its plenary is expected to give final approval to a new EU regulation tightening screening of foreign investments in strategic sectors such as defence, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, critical raw materials and financial services. If adopted as proposed, this will make EU-wide foreign investment screening a routine compliance gate for cross-border deals in these sectors, with more harmonised criteria and closer EU-level coordination around security and public-order risks.

15 May 2026, 18:34europarl.europa.euEuropean Union

South Korea Publishes 6th Product Safety Management Comprehensive Plan (2026–2028)

In May 2026 the Korean government adopted a 6th Product Safety Management Comprehensive Plan setting its 2026–2028 roadmap for more data- and AI-driven oversight of consumer products and online platforms. Over the next three years this signals tighter controls on overseas direct-purchase products, new and updated safety standards for batteries, AI/IoT and children’s products, and more intensive market surveillance and enforcement that manufacturers, importers and marketplaces will need to factor into compliance planning.

15 May 2026, 14:29media.licdn.comSouth Korea

EEA Council Drafts Conclusions on Internal Market, Climate and Digital Frameworks (62nd Meeting)

EU and EEA EFTA ministers have circulated draft conclusions for the 62nd EEA Council that set shared priorities on Internal Market resilience, climate and energy transition, and digital regulation including the DSA, DMA, AI Act, CBAM and EU ETS cooperation in the run-up to the 27 May 2026 meeting. While not creating immediate new obligations, this signals that Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are likely to remain closely aligned with EU frameworks on carbon pricing, border adjustment, platforms, AI and health data, so cross-EEA operators should anticipate converging compliance expectations over the coming years.

15 May 2026, 12:44data.consilium.europa.euEuropean UnionEuropean Economic Area

European Parliament Resolution on Reducing Work-Related Fatalities and Emerging OSH Risks

In May 2026 the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution calling for a European day of remembrance for work-related accident victims and urging stronger prevention of emerging occupational safety and health risks, including from artificial intelligence and climate-driven heat stress. The resolution signals political pressure for future EU and national initiatives that tighten expectations on employers, labour inspectorates and policymakers to address psychosocial, technology-related and climate-related risks as part of a “Vision Zero” approach to workplace fatalities.

15 May 2026, 09:36europarl.europa.euEuropean Union

China MEM Solicits Experts for AI and Hazardous Chemicals Safety Standardisation Subcommittee

China’s Ministry of Emergency Management has launched a call for experts to join a new national subcommittee on integrating artificial intelligence into hazardous chemicals work safety standardisation, with nominations due by mid-June 2026. This governance move signals a strategic push to develop AI-focused work safety standards in China’s hazardous chemicals sector, foreshadowing future requirements that could affect plant operations, digitalisation strategies, and technology procurement.

14 May 2026, 09:26mem.gov.cnChina

US EPA Seeks Comment on Draft Fiscal Year 2027 Evidence Plan

In April 2026, US EPA released a draft FY 2027 Evidence Plan outlining priority evaluation questions on major grant programmes, permitting reforms and AI-enabled permitting workflows, and opened the plan for public comment through late May 2026. The plan signals increased scrutiny of how EPA grants and permitting processes deliver environmental and human health outcomes, foreshadowing future changes in how programmes are designed, evaluated and potentially tightened across EPA-regulated sectors.

13 May 2026, 09:19govinfo.govUnited States

China Issues Joint Action Plan on AI–Energy Bidirectional Empowerment

In April 2026, four central Chinese agencies issued a joint national action plan setting out 29 tasks to integrate artificial intelligence with the energy system through 2030. The programme signals tighter expectations on clean power for data centres, greener computing infrastructure, AI-driven energy operations, and future standards and financing tools that could reshape investment and risk for energy and digital infrastructure in China.

11 May 2026, 11:59nea.gov.cnChina

California SB 1248 Would Regulate State Agencies’ Use of Automated Decision Systems

California’s SB 1248, introduced in February 2026 and now set for a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on 14 May 2026, would create a new chapter of the Government Code to regulate how state agencies use automated decision systems in public-benefit and professional licensing decisions. If enacted, it would hard-wire human oversight, bias monitoring, and data-protection safeguards into government AI tools, signalling tighter expectations for public-sector use of algorithmic decision-making and the features agencies will demand from AI vendors.

11 May 2026, 11:39leginfo.legislature.ca.govUnited States

Germany: VCI Launches NIS2 Cybersecurity Webinar Series and Member Guidance

Germany’s NIS2 implementation law is being operationalised through a VCI-led cybersecurity webinar series and member guidance tailored to chemical companies. This provides a practical roadmap for medium-sized operators to meet new governance, reporting, risk-management and lawful AI-use obligations ahead of upcoming compliance deadlines.

11 May 2026, 11:33recht.bund.deGermanyEuropean Union

EMA Workshop To Shape Risk-Based AI Guidance For GMP Annex 22

EMA’s GMP/GDP Inspectors Working Group will hold a two-day multistakeholder workshop on 30 June–1 July 2026 to gather expert evidence for Annex 22 EU guidance on the use of generative AI in medicines manufacturing. The workshop signals that regulators are actively exploring risk-based guardrails that could eventually permit certain AI systems in critical GMP applications, so pharmaceutical manufacturers should track outcomes as they may shape future Annex 22 expectations.

9 May 2026, 19:12ema.europa.euEuropean UnionNetherlands

European Commission Conference On Animal-Free Chemical Safety Assessment Roadmap Implementation

In June 2026 the European Commission and EPAA will host a three-day conference in Brussels to advance implementation of the EU roadmap to phase out animal testing in chemical safety assessments. The event will influence how regulators and industry use safe-space dialogues, AI tools and EPAA collaboration to accelerate regulatory acceptance of non-animal methods over the next five years.

9 May 2026, 18:56single-market-economy.ec.europa.euEuropean Union

EU Council Cluster 3 Discussion on MDR/IVDR Simplification Proposal (ST 7253/2026 INIT)

In May 2026 the Council Presidency scheduled a Working Party discussion on a non-public cluster 3 document (ST 7253/2026 INIT) for the proposal to amend the EU medical devices and in vitro diagnostic regulations, the EMA’s expert-panel provisions and the AI Act. This signals that Council negotiations on the MDR/IVDR simplification package are advancing into detailed text for EMA support and Annex I alignment, so manufacturers and notified bodies should expect further drafting developments but no immediate change in legal obligations yet.

9 May 2026, 13:17consilium.europa.euEuropean Union

EU Co-Legislators Reach Provisional Deal on AI Act Simplification and Ban on “Nudifier” Apps

EU legislators reached a provisional political deal in May 2026 on a digital omnibus regulation amending the AI Act, postponing key high-risk obligations, setting new application dates and tightening controls on harmful generative AI systems, including a ban on nudifier and CSAM-related tools. This package is intended to reduce compliance friction while preserving the AI Act’s risk-based framework, so AI developers, deployers and high-risk users in the EU should reassess implementation plans, investment priorities and safeguards ahead of the new 2026–2028 application timeline.

9 May 2026, 07:14europarl.europa.euEuropean Union

UN Environment Assembly Reports Seventh Session Outcomes Including Chemicals And Waste Resolution 7/8

In December 2025 the UN Environment Assembly adopted a package of global environmental resolutions and decisions, including on sound management of chemicals and waste, antimicrobial resistance, wildfires, climate resilience and UNEP’s 2026–2029 strategy, and reported these outcomes to the UN General Assembly in March 2026. These non-binding outcomes set the direction for future chemicals, waste and pollution governance, signalling where UN-led workstreams and national regulators are likely to focus attention and resources over the coming years.

9 May 2026, 07:13docs.un.orgGlobal

SAMR Approves National Standardization Working Group for Intelligent Medical Devices

In May 2026, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation approved the creation of a national standardization working group for intelligent medical devices, to be managed by the National Medical Products Administration. This signals a concerted push to shape future AI-enabled device, robotics and brain–computer interface standards in China, raising future expectations for design, testing and market access.

9 May 2026, 07:09samr.gov.cnChina

European Parliament IMCO Committee Holds Hearing On AI Safety And Cybersecurity Act Changes

In May 2026, the European Parliament's IMCO committee held a high-profile hearing on the safety of advanced AI systems and how the EU AI Act and forthcoming changes to the EU Cybersecurity Act will operate in practice. This signals growing political scrutiny of AI safety and cybersecurity obligations ahead of formal amendments, indicating that organisations deploying powerful AI in the EU should expect tighter oversight and potentially more prescriptive compliance expectations.

8 May 2026, 18:01europarl.europa.euEuropean Union

European Parliament Committee Backs Motion on Work-Related Deaths, AI and Heat Risks

In May 2026, the European Parliament’s employment committee adopted a non-binding motion urging EU action to reduce work-related deaths, including new recognition of AI-driven and climate-related risks to occupational health and safety. While it creates no immediate legal obligations, it signals pressure for future EU initiatives on worker protection, stronger labour inspectorates, and cross-sector risk assessments, especially in high-risk sectors like construction, transport and agriculture.

8 May 2026, 08:53europarl.europa.euEuropean Union

EU Official Journal Publishes European Parliament Resolution on AI and Algorithmic Management in the Workplace

In May 2026 the EU Official Journal published the European Parliament’s detailed resolution on digitalisation, AI and algorithmic management in the workplace, setting out a blueprint for future EU rules on workplace AI systems. If followed, the recommendations would drive new obligations on transparency, human oversight, data protection and occupational health and safety for employers using algorithmic management tools across the EU, reshaping HR, compliance and technology strategies over the next few years.

8 May 2026, 07:28eur-lex.europa.euEuropean Union

New Jersey Senate Bill S4075 Proposes Rules for AI-Based Electronic Monitoring in Employment and Public Services

New Jersey has introduced Senate Bill S4075 to impose comprehensive safeguards and worker protections on employers and public entities using AI-based electronic monitoring and automated decision systems, with the bill introduced in May 2026 and now before the Senate Labor Committee. If enacted, it would significantly constrain intrusive surveillance, mandate impact assessments and human oversight, and create new liability and bargaining obligations, making AI governance and worker privacy a core compliance and HR risk area for organisations operating in the state.

8 May 2026, 06:01pub.njleg.govUnited States

EU–Armenia Summit Joint Declaration on Partnership, Energy, Climate and Digital Cooperation

At the first EU–Armenia Summit on 5 May 2026, leaders issued a joint declaration signalling deeper political, economic and security integration, including closer alignment with EU energy, climate, nuclear safety, digital and sanctions frameworks. For companies active in Armenia or the wider region, this increases the likelihood that EU-style rules such as the AI Act, stricter energy and climate policies, and tighter dual-use and sanctions controls will progressively shape future regulatory requirements and market access.

7 May 2026, 19:39data.consilium.europa.euEuropean UnionArmenia