AI Law Framework

Overseas law

EU AI Act timeline

When each part of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 applies, after the Digital Omnibus on AI moved the high-risk rules to December 2027 and August 2028.

Checked against the sources below on 1 November 2026.

Dates of application

2 February 2025: General provisions and prohibited practices

Chapters I and II apply: the scope, the definitions, the AI literacy duty in Article 4 and the prohibited practices in Article 5. The Omnibus has since replaced Article 4 so that providers and deployers must take measures to support AI literacy, with no duty to guarantee a specific level for any individual.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act), EUR-Lex.

2 August 2025: General-purpose AI models, governance and penalties

Chapter III Section 4 (notified bodies), Chapter V (general-purpose AI models), Chapter VII (governance), Chapter XII (penalties) and Article 78 apply, except Article 101.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act), EUR-Lex.

2 August 2026: General date of application

The Regulation applies generally from this date, including the transparency duties in Article 50. The high-risk rules for Annex III systems were due on this date and have been deferred to 2 December 2027. The rules for Annex I products were due on 2 August 2027 and are now 2 August 2028.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act), EUR-Lex.

2 December 2026: New prohibitions and the marking transition ends

The new prohibitions in Article 5(1)(ba) and (bb) apply: AI systems that generate or manipulate intimate images of an identifiable person without that person’s consent, and AI systems that generate or manipulate child sexual abuse material (subject to a "without right" defence under national law). Providers of generative AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 must also comply with the Article 50(2) marking duty by this date.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (the Digital Omnibus on AI), Official Journal, 24 July 2026. Date set or changed by the Omnibus.

2 December 2027: High-risk AI systems listed in Annex III

Chapter III Sections 1, 2 and 3 apply to AI systems that are high-risk under Article 6(2) and Annex III (for example employment, education, essential services and law enforcement uses). The Omnibus moved this from 2 August 2026 and fixed a calendar date instead of linking it to the completion of standards.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (the Digital Omnibus on AI), Official Journal, 24 July 2026. Date set or changed by the Omnibus.

2 August 2028: High-risk AI systems that are safety components of regulated products

Chapter III Sections 1, 2 and 3 apply to AI systems that are high-risk under Article 6(1) and Annex I. The original date was 2 August 2027.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (the Digital Omnibus on AI), Official Journal, 24 July 2026. Date set or changed by the Omnibus.

What the Digital Omnibus changed

  • The Commission proposed the Digital Omnibus on AI on 19 November 2025 and a political agreement was reached on 7 May 2026.
  • Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 is dated 8 July 2026, was published in the Official Journal on 24 July 2026 and entered into force on 27 July 2026, before the original 2 August 2026 high-risk date.
  • It does not reopen the risk framework. It moves the high-risk dates, adds the two prohibitions in Article 5(1)(ba) and (bb), replaces the AI literacy duty in Article 4, and gives a transition to 2 December 2026 for the Article 50(2) marking duty for generative systems already on the market.
  • Providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems intended for use by public authorities must take the necessary steps to comply by 2 August 2030 where the systems were placed on the market before the date of application of Chapter III.

Sources and limits

This is general information, not legal advice. The dates are those in the text of the two Regulations as published. Check the current consolidated text on EUR-Lex before you rely on a date.