EU AI Act timing is now an operating calendar for legal teams
The European Commission’s AI Act page confirms that prohibited-practices and AI-literacy obligations applied from February 2025, GPAI obligations applied from August 2025, and the Act becomes fully applicable in August 2026 with high-risk rules continuing into 2027.
BY TRANSATLANTIC DESK · MAY 6, 2026 · 1 MIN READ
The European Commission’s AI Act page confirms that prohibited-practices and AI-literacy obligations applied from February 2025, GPAI obligations applied from August 2025, and the Act becomes fully applicable in August 2026 with high-risk rules continuing into 2027. For legal teams, the next year is implementation time: inventories, literacy programs, vendor diligence and deployer controls need to be operational before enforcement expectations harden.