ARTICLE5 June 2025

Put AI to work

EU must strengthen its productivity growth – a key message in former ECB President Mario Draghi’s report on Europe’s future competitiveness. In short: more needs to be produced with fewer working hours.

AI has the potential to increase productivity, support innovation, strengthen competitiveness, and improve working conditions – while also enabling the green and digital transitions. But to unlock this potential, the EU must avoid regulatory overreach and ensure that businesses can adopt and scale AI solutions. This is not the time for new burdensome rules – especially as companies already face a heavy administrative load and skill shortages.

Read the position paper
Put AI to work

Between 2019 and 2024, over 100 digital-related legislative proposals were adopted at EU level. While well-intended, this volume of new regulation has led to increased compliance costs and reduced innovation capacity – particularly for smaller firms. The Draghi report highlights the harmful impact of overregulation in key sectors like healthcare and energy. New EU initiatives should aim to create opportunities – not obstacles – for European companies to leverage AI and maintain global relevance.

As work becomes increasingly digital and decentralised, it is essential to make the most of the opportunities this transformation offers – for both employers and employees

Ongoing policy discussions on quality jobs increasingly recognise the role of digital tools, particularly ICT, in enabling more flexible work arrangements and enhancing workforce productivity. As work becomes increasingly digital and decentralised, it is essential to make the most of the opportunities this transformation offers – for both employers and employees – while ensuring that rights are protected and risks are managed. When properly implemented, AI and algorithmic management systems can support smarter task distribution and improve overall workplace efficiency. Still, a one-size-fits-all regulatory approach would be counterproductive. Algorithmic management systems vary widely across sectors and firms, and their use is already covered by existing frameworks such as GDPR, occupational health and safety laws, and collective agreements in many Member States. Social dialogue – not new legislation – is the key to managing these changes effectively.

Key messages

  • AI is a critical driver of competitiveness: The EU must empower companies to adopt AI in ways that enhance productivity and enable smarter decision-making. Legal uncertainty, overregulation, and administrative burdens are major obstacles that need to be addressed.
  • Don’t regulate innovation away: Calls for detailed, top-down regulation of algorithmic management risk undermining job creation, business growth, and innovation. Sector-specific and national differences require flexible approaches, not rigid rules.
  • Most jobs will be reshaped – not replaced: According to studies, only 6% of Swedish jobs are at high risk of full replacement by AI. In contrast, 25% will likely be complemented by it. AI is more about transformation than substitution.
  • Skills are the real bottleneck: AI deployment will fail without the right competences. Digital skills gaps must be urgently addressed, with employers involved in updating curricula and shaping practical training opportunities.
  • AI is a productivity tool – not a threat: Productivity in Europe is stagnating, and the EU is facing a severe demographic decline in coming years. At the same time, the use of AI has enormous potential for public services, healthcare, innovation, growth, productivity, and job preservation throughout the EU. The use of AI also creates opportunities for workers, including by providing support in their work tasks, improving job adaptation, simplifying communication processes, and ensuring a balanced workload.
  • Trust and dialogue matter more than new laws: The impact of AI varies across companies and roles. Social dialogue offers the best way to manage its introduction and use. Trust, transparency, and cooperation must be prioritised over centralised rule-making.

AI Act
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Contact our EU Office

Address

Rue du Luxembourg 3
BE-1000 Bruxelles
Subscribe to Business Policy Brief
Contact our EU Office

Address

Rue du Luxembourg 3
BE-1000 Bruxelles
Subscribe to Business Policy Brief
Contact our EU Office

Address

Rue du Luxembourg 3
BE-1000 Bruxelles
Subscribe to Business Policy Brief
Publisher and editor-in-chief Anna Dalqvist