Major Amendments Agreed

A political agreement on amendments to the EU AI Act was reached on 7 May 2026, following the proposal’s adoption on 19 November 2025. The amendments introduce significant new protections and governance clarifications across the bloc.

New Prohibited Practices

The amendments include a prohibition of AI systems that generate non-consensual sexually explicit and intimate content or child sexual abuse material, such as AI ‘nudification’ apps.

This adds to the eight practices already prohibited under the AI Act: harmful AI-based manipulation and deception, harmful AI-based exploitation of vulnerabilities, social scoring, individual criminal offence risk assessment or prediction, untargeted scraping of the internet or CCTV material to create or expand facial recognition databases, emotion recognition in workplaces and education institutions, biometric categorisation to deduce certain protected characteristics, and real-time remote biometric identification for law enforcement purposes in publicly accessible spaces.

Strengthened Governance

The AI Office’s powers have been reinforced and oversight of AI systems built on general-purpose AI models has been centralised to reduce governance fragmentation.

Extended SME Relief

Simplified requirements previously granted to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been extended to small mid-cap companies (SMCs), including simplified technical documentation requirements.

Expanded Sandbox Access

More innovators will gain access to regulatory sandboxes, including an EU-level sandbox, to test AI solutions in real-world conditions.

Regulatory Clarity

The interplay between the AI Act and EU product safety laws, in particular the Machinery Regulation, has been clarified to avoid duplication between sectoral and AI rules.

Timeline of Implementation

The AI Act entered into force on 1 August 2024 and will be fully applicable on 2 August 2026. Key milestones include:

  • 2 February 2025: Prohibited AI practices and AI literacy obligations entered into application
  • 2 August 2025: Governance rules and obligations for GPAI models became applicable
  • 2 December 2027: Rules for high-risk AI systems used in biometrics, critical infrastructure, education, employment, migration, asylum and border control will apply
  • 2 August 2028: Rules for high-risk AI systems embedded into regulated products and integrated into products such as lifts or toys will apply

Ireland’s Implementation Path

The General Scheme of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 was published on 4 February 2026 and last updated on 9 February 2026. This gives further effect to Government Decisions of 4 March 2025 and 22 July 2025 approving that Ireland will adopt a distributed model of competent authorities for the AI Act.

The General Scheme proposes to establish a new statutory independent body – Oifig Intleachta Shaorga na hÉireann, the AI Office of Ireland, under the remit of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, to act as the Single Point of Contact and central coordinating authority for the implementation and enforcement of the EU AI Act in Ireland.

Source: European Commission - Digital Strategy