The European artificial intelligence regulation enters into force.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 becomes law. Nothing applies yet: the timetable below spreads the obligations over six years.
NEWS & DEADLINES
The dates that change your decisions.
A readable timeline, linked to the official sources. Always check the text that applies to your own situation.
The essential timeline
Certain AI practices are prohibited, and there is an obligation to develop AI literacy within teams.
Since 27 July 2026, this training duty has been a best-efforts obligation: you must ‘take measures to promote the development’ of AI literacy, without having to guarantee any particular level.
Governance, general-purpose AI models — and the penalties become applicable.
From that day on, the fines set out in the regulation can be imposed.
Entry into force of the Digital Omnibus, which simplifies the regulation and postpones the heaviest obligations.
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. This is what makes most of the timetables published elsewhere out of date.
General application of the regulation and, above all, the transparency obligations in Article 50.
Saying that someone is talking to an AI, marking generated content, flagging deepfakes. This applies today.
The next deadline: marking for generative systems already in service, and two new prohibitions.
Systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 must be in order on machine-readable marking. Two things become prohibited: non-consensual intimate content of identifiable people, and AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
National regulatory sandboxes, and compliance for the oldest general-purpose models.
Careful: this date no longer concerns high-risk systems, contrary to what many sites still say.
‘High-risk’ obligations for recruitment, credit, education and access to essential services.
Annex III to the regulation. This is the deadline that affects the largest number of SMEs: it has been pushed back by sixteen months.
‘High-risk’ obligations for AI built into products that are already regulated.
Annex I to the regulation: machinery, medical devices, toys, lifts and other products subject to CE marking.
High-risk systems intended to be used by public authorities.
The last major deadline in the timetable.
Timeline drawn from Article 113 of the regulation in its consolidated version of 27 July 2026. Checked on 26 August 2026.