Von der Leyen wants to use AI to cut businesses' reporting burden in the EU
At a closed EPP meeting in Sicily, the European Commission's president promised that companies would no longer have to submit the same data multiple times, and that artificial intelligence would ensure the administration puts it to efficient use.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on October 12, 2026 that the EU will introduce an "Only Once" scheme for business reporting, under which companies would submit information a single time and artificial intelligence would help the administration use the data. The announcement came at a closed-door meeting of the European People's Party (EPP) in Taormina, Sicily, according to a copy of the speech seen by POLITICO (POLITICO Europe, 0d6e3332).
What was said
"And this is why we will introduce 'Only Once', to report data only once – and with the help of AI the administration will ensure efficient use," von der Leyen said in the speech, according to POLITICO. Her argument was that European companies must repeatedly report the same information to public authorities, and that this wastes time that business — and Europe — cannot afford to lose.
POLITICO describes the speech as the first time von der Leyen has explicitly pitched AI as a tool to reduce businesses' administrative burden. That is POLITICO's characterization, not a verified statistic — but it positions the announcement as something new in the Commission president's rhetoric.
What's new: an AI layer on an old principle
The once-only principle for data submission is not new. In the Commission's EU Inc proposal, tabled in March 2026, companies would be able to submit information once through an EU-level digital interface, with automatic transmission of relevant data between authorities. But that proposal did not specifically envisage AI carrying out this process. What is concretely new in the Taormina speech, then, is the AI layer — how artificial intelligence would help the administration with the further processing of the data. Von der Leyen did not explain this.
Same day: a letter on a simplification pact
The announcement was followed the same day by a letter to EU leaders, in which von der Leyen proposed a simplification pact on how EU rules are implemented nationally. "A rule agreed at European level cannot become more complex when transposed or implemented nationally," she wrote in the letter, according to POLITICO. Under the proposed pact, capitals would have to identify and justify national additional requirements that go beyond EU law, including assessing their impact on business and the internal market. The two measures point in the same direction: not only simplifying what companies must report to Brussels, but also limiting how much more burden member states pile on top.
What's missing
According to POLITICO, von der Leyen gave no details on how the AI-assisted system would work, whether it would apply to all businesses, or when the Commission plans to introduce it. UA.NEWS has carried the same coverage citing POLITICO, including the unanswered questions (UA.NEWS, fdb6117f) — but that is a reproduction of POLITICO's reporting, not independent confirmation.
Nor is the documentary record final: so far there is no official Commission press release or transcribed speech; what is known rests on POLITICO's copy of the speech and quotations from the letter. And because the meeting was closed, the reactions of member states or Parliament are not known.
What to watch
The speech puts three questions on the agenda that so far exist only as promises. First: will the Commission produce documentation specifying the AI component — what technology, how it integrates with EU Inc's digital interface, and which data actually moves automatically? Second: will the simplification pact win support in the Councils, and will capitals accept the requirement to justify and impact-assess national additional requirements? Third: does this lead to legislative proposals at all — and if so, when? Until any of this is answered, "Only Once" is a principle with an unknown mechanism behind it.