On July 12, 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (the “AI Act”) was published in the Official Journal of the EU. The final version of the AI Act closely follows the previous versions of the text, which we reported on earlier this year.

The AI Act will enter into force 20 days following its publication. However, it is subject to a transition period and therefore will become applicable in stages. The length of the transition period will vary depending on the type of AI system:

• Obligations applicable to prohibited AI systems and obligations related to AI literacy will become applicable on February 2, 2025.
• Specific obligations applicable to general-purpose AI models will become applicable on August 2, 2025.
• Most obligations under the AI Act, including the rules applicable to high-risk AI systems under Annex III and systems subject to specific transparency requirements, will become applicable on August 2, 2026.
• Obligations related to high-risk systems included in Annex I of the AI Act will become applicable on August 2, 2027.

Certain AI systems and models already on the market may be exempt or have longer compliance deadlines.

Read the AI Act.