Did the EU Delay the AI Act? What Changed in 2026
Did the EU Delay the AI Act? What Actually Took Effect on August 2, 2026. Did the EU delay the AI Act? Partly. The Digital Omnibus on AI, given final Council approval on June 29, 2026, deferred high-risk obligations for Annex III systems to December 2, 2027. Article 50 transparency obligations were not deferred and took effect on August 2, 2026, exactly as scheduled. The headline most organizations heard was simpler. "The EU delayed the AI Act." Half true, and imprecise in a way that creates exposure. What the Digital Omnibus Actually Changed For more than a year, August 2, 2026 anchored enterprise AI compliance planning.