Europe moved its hardest rules by sixteen months. What that actually tests — and the one rule that did land.
On 2 August 2026, the EU AI Act's obligations for high-risk systems were finally due to apply. Risk management. Data governance. Record-keeping. Human oversight. The parts with real engineering consequences, after two years of preparation.
Six days before that date, they moved.
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 — the Digital Omnibus on AI — entered into force on 27 July 2026, having been published in the Official Journal on 24 July. Standalone high-risk systems under Annex III, the category that catches AI used in hiring, credit, education and critical infrastructure, now have until 2 December 2027. Systems embedded in already-regulated products — medical devices, machinery — have until 2 August 2028.
Sixteen extra months, arriving six days before the deadline.
