April 21, 2021
Commission proposal
European Commission proposed the AI Act.
Affected: Policy teams, early builders
What to do: Start tracking likely risk categories.
EU AI Act Timeline
A practical milestone view from proposal to full enforcement.
December 1, 2023
Political agreement
EU institutions reached political agreement.
Affected: All AI market participants
What to do: Run preliminary inventory and gap scan.
March 13, 2024
Parliament vote
European Parliament voted to adopt the agreed text.
Affected: Providers and deployers
What to do: Prepare implementation roadmap.
August 1, 2024
Entry into force
Regulation entered into force in the EU legal framework.
Affected: All relevant operators
What to do: Assign ownership and governance cadence.
February 2, 2025
Prohibited practices apply
Article 5 prohibitions begin to apply.
Affected: Teams with rights-sensitive AI use
What to do: Implement prohibited-practice screening gates.
August 2, 2025
GPAI rules + governance bodies
General-purpose AI obligations and governance architecture ramp up.
Affected: GPAI ecosystem participants
What to do: Review supplier and model governance controls.
August 2, 2026
High-risk obligations
Annex III high-risk obligations become central milestone.
Affected: High-impact deployers/providers
What to do: Finalize documentation, oversight, monitoring, and evidence packs.
August 2, 2027
Full enforcement maturity
Broader enforcement expectations across the regime.
Affected: Entire AI value chain
What to do: Operate continuous compliance lifecycle.