The European Commission on Thursday moved to tighten its grip on workplace rules by launching plans to regulate how algorithms and artificial intelligence are used across the EU. The initiative, framed as an effort to “modernise employment” and “protect workers,” adds to growing concerns that Brussels is extending its regulatory reach into nearly every corner of working life.
The consultation with trade unions and employers will feed into a Quality Employment Law, planned for 2026.
Commission Vice-President Roxana Minzatu summarised it in three objectives: “creating and maintaining jobs,” “modernising work,” and “protecting workers,” but the scope of the proposals shows that the EU intends to set detailed controls on how companies use new technologies—from hiring tools to employee monitoring systems.
Officials are considering requirements on algorithm transparency, limits on automated monitoring, “ethical” rules for AI tools, and the degree of human involvement needed in any technology-driven decision about staff. They also want to examine how such systems could shape collective bargaining. All of this is outside the existing AI Act framework, increasing fears among employers and digital-rights groups that European tech regulation is expanding endlessly.
The European Parliament had already pushed in this direction last month, demanding that humans supervise decisions affecting pay, task assignment, or promotion. It also called for strict privacy limits, banning access to psychological data, tracking outside of working hours, and private communications.
Supporters say these steps protect workers. But critics fear that the EU is moving toward total control of the work environment
When every workplace dynamic—from an algorithm to an after-hours email—becomes subject to EU supervision, the balance between freedom and regulation shifts dangerously toward the latter.
From the perspective of many workers and companies, especially SMEs, this accumulation of rules is not accompanied by any real increase in productivity, competitiveness, or economic dynamism. Europe, already facing demographic decline, brain drain, and loss of competitiveness, continues to respond to the challenges of the future with more regulation, not with innovation or flexibility.
Regulating AI in the workplace is widely considered necessary. But doing so on top of existing EU controls on privacy, communications, and data protection has intensified questions about how much further Brussels can extend its authority — and at what cost.
