Roberta Metsola warns MEPs that AI cannot replace debate in EU lawmaking

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has warned MEPs against relying on AI to write laws, telling them that responsibility for every decision stays with elected members.

She spoke on Wednesday at an event in the Parliament on how AI is used in its work, Politico Europe reported.

According to Politico, Metsola said that drafting an amendment with AI cannot replace a real debate with colleagues. In the same way, she added, legal research done with AI cannot replace the judgement that hard decisions need.

She also said that people should be told when AI has been used, because voters must be able to hold lawmakers to account.

Her warning comes as officials worry about a sharp rise in amendments written with AI, and some of them refer to laws that do not exist.

Alessandro Chiocchetti, the Parliament’s secretary-general, gave one example at the event. An MEP had received wrong legal advice from an AI tool, and the Parliament’s lawyers then needed two days to prove it was wrong.

For that reason, Chiocchetti said, drafting and reviewing laws must remain the job of MEPs, even though AI can help staff sort through thousands of amendments. He added that the administration will soon present new guidelines to the Parliament’s leadership.

The new rules will rest on three ideas: be open about using AI, never put sensitive files into a public tool, and check all work before it goes out.

For now, MEPs do not have to say when AI helped them write an amendment, a question or a speech. Staff, by contrast, must already label such work under rules set in 2024.

To make the new rules binding on MEPs, however, the Parliament may need to change its own rules of procedure. That change would go through its constitutional affairs committee.

Meanwhile, the Parliament is building its own AI platform, the EPGenAI Hub. It runs on the Parliament’s own systems and is meant for sensitive work. Commercial tools such as ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Meta’s Llama will stay available for less sensitive tasks.

The Parliament has already limited AI on its own devices, as earlier this year it switched off built-in AI features on MEPs’ tablets over data protection concerns.

I am the Editor in Chief for TNW, covering technology not as a parade of launches and valuations, but as a system of influence, persuasion, (show all) I am the Editor in Chief for TNW, covering technology not as a parade of launches and valuations, but as a system of influence, persuasion, and change. I write about startups, venture capital, digital policy, and Europe ecosystem, with an eye on the larger story beneath them: who gets to build the future, who profits from it, and how Europe is learning to speak in a louder voice of its own. Before moving into senior editorial leadership, I've built my career for over +10 years across journalism, storytelling, content strategy, SEO, and digital publishing, with experience in SaaS, hospitality, art, and culture.

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Thanks! Check your inbox to confirm your subscription.

By subscribing you agree to our Privacy Statement.