The Horizontal-Vertical Regulation Tension

AI is a horizontal technology, it cuts across every sector, but EU enforcement mechanisms are organized vertically by sector (medical devices, financial services, machinery, etc.), creating coordination challenges.

The EU AI Act attempts to govern AI through the New Legislative Framework (NLF), which was designed for certifying specific product categories. This works when an AI system fits neatly into an existing product class (e.g., AI in a medical device). It becomes unclear when AI systems don’t map to existing sectors (the Annex III “high-risk” categories) or when they enable capabilities across multiple sectors (General Purpose AI).

The result: market surveillance authorities are fragmented across 20+ sectoral bodies, with unclear escalation paths between sector-specific enforcement and EU-level AI governance structures. Information flows and coordination mechanisms between these vertical and horizontal structures remain undefined.

Related: 05-atom—fundamental-rights-direct-effect-problem, 05-molecule—regulatory-learning-space-framework, 05-atom—learning-arenas-governance