# Current law and official sources

**Last verified:** 2026-08-09
**Purpose:** operational research aid, not legal advice. Re-check every source on each use. Official legislation and binding decisions control over this summary.

## Source hierarchy

1. [Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — Artificial Intelligence Act, Official Journal text (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj?locale=en)
2. [Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 — Digital Omnibus on AI amendment, Official Journal text (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=oj%3AL_202601744)
3. Any later consolidated text, corrigendum, amendment, delegated act, implementing act, or binding court decision on EUR-Lex.
4. [Official EU AI Act implementation timeline (AI Act Service Desk)](https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/eu-ai-act-implementation-timeline)
5. [European Commission AI Act policy and implementation page](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/regulatory-framework-ai)
6. Issue-specific Commission guidelines, codes, templates, and national competent-authority material.

The [AI Act Explorer](https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act-explorer) is useful for navigation, but individual article pages may display the original 2024 text and warn that Digital Omnibus amendments are not yet incorporated. Read the base act together with the operative amendment or current consolidated text.

## Application milestones as verified on 2026-08-09

Confirm these against current legislation before relying on them:

| Date | Operational milestone |
|---|---|
| 1 August 2024 | Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 entered into force. |
| 2 February 2025 | General provisions including AI literacy and the original prohibited-practice rules began applying, subject to later-amended exceptions. |
| 2 August 2025 | Governance provisions and GPAI-model obligations began applying. |
| 2 August 2026 | The general application date arrived; Article 50 transparency duties and enforcement for applicable duties began, subject to transitions and later amendments. |
| 2 December 2026 | New prohibited-practice provisions introduced by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 apply; the Article 50(2) transition for certain systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 ends. |
| 2 August 2027 | Providers of GPAI models placed on the market before 2 August 2025 must comply, subject to any later amendment. |
| 2 December 2027 | Chapter III Sections 1–3 apply to high-risk systems classified under Article 6(2) and Annex III, except as specified in the amended text. |
| 2 August 2028 | Chapter III Sections 1–3 apply to high-risk systems classified under Article 6(1) and Annex I, except as specified in the amended text. |

Do not collapse “application,” “transition,” “enforcement power,” and an organization's own product deadline into one date. Legacy systems, public-authority use, substantial modifications, GPAI placement dates, and sector rules can change the result.

## Issue-specific official sources

- [Commission guidelines for GPAI providers](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/guidelines-gpai-providers) — scope and Commission interpretation; the page states the guidelines are not legally binding.
- [Official GPAI obligations overview](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/general-purpose-ai-obligations-under-ai-act) — operational overview; verify against Chapter V.
- [Commission FAQ on Article 50 transparency obligations](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/faqs/transparency-obligations-under-article-50-ai-act) — application and transition details; verify against the operative text and final guidance.
- [AI Act Service Desk FAQ](https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/faq) — current implementation explanations; use legislation for the legal conclusion.
- [Commission AI system definition guidance (official PDF)](https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2025-08/commission_guidelines_on_the_definition_of_an_artificial_intelligence_system_established_by_regulation_eu_20241689_ai_actenglish_nf2skcqfrtjdfggjavcodopcwz4_112455.PDF) — interpretive guidance, not a replacement for Article 3.

## Per-assessment legal update record

Record:

- Access date/time and language.
- Base regulation and amendment/consolidation identifier.
- Provisions relied on and whether later measures affect them.
- Relevant Member State authority and national measures.
- Guidance/standard status: final, draft, harmonised, common specification, voluntary code, or other.
- Qualified counsel reviewer, questions, and decision date.

If official sources cannot be reached or conflict, mark the relevant conclusion `pending current-law verification`.

## Staleness and reassessment

Do not treat a fixed age threshold as a legal safe harbor. The inventory checker uses 365 days by default only as an administrative backstop and allows a different documented threshold. Reassess immediately when the intended use, system/model version, vendor, geography, operator role, material modification, incident history, or governing law/guidance changes. A current date does not cure an event-triggered stale assessment.