The clock

Every date on the clock

The EU AI Act applies in stages, and the 2026 Digital Omnibus moved some of them. These are the seven dates most businesses need to know. The complete clock, fourteen dates and seventeen events, with what each one means for a builder, a user, a model provider and a public body, is Chapter 13 of the book.

2 February 2025The prohibited practices apply
2 August 2025The rules for general-purpose AI models apply
2 August 2026The transparency duties and the penalties apply
2 December 2026Two further prohibitions apply
2 December 2027The high-risk rules apply to listed uses
2 August 2028The high-risk rules apply to AI in regulated products
2 August 2030Existing high-risk systems used by public authorities comply
Accurate to September 2026. The law and any amendment to it are published in the Official Journal at EUR-Lex; guidance by the European Commission's AI Office. A guide, not legal advice.
The 2026 rule update

What moved, and what did not

The high-risk dates moved. The requirements did not change, and nothing already in force paused. Chapter 13 sets it out in two columns, with the forty-three amending points drawn as squares on a board.

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