AI Act: Towards a revised implementation timeline
On 26 March 2026, the European Parliament adopted its position in plenary on the “Digital Omnibus”, which notably aims to simplify the implementation of the framework applicable to artificial intelligence systems (“AIS”), thereby opening the interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues) with the Council and the Commission.
Pending a final agreement, the proposed amendments mainly address the timeline and how obligations will apply, depending on the risk level of the AIS. The European Parliament proposes a gradual roll-out as follows:
- 2 November 2026 (instead of 2 August 2026) : transparency and labelling obligations for limited-risk AIS
- 2 December 2027 (instead of 2 August 2026): high-risk AIS under Article 6(2) and Annex III
- 2 August 2028 (instead of 2 August 2027): high-risk AIS under Article 6(1) and Annex I
This revised timeline assumes the adoption of the Digital Omnibus before the entry into application of the first obligations under the AI Act, scheduled for 2 August 2026. Otherwise, the AI Act's original timeline will remain in effect.
In practice, operators should continue their efforts to comply with the AI Act, while factoring in the possibility of a postponement of the deadlines.
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