EU AI Act: the 2027-2028 delay is official — a reprieve, not an exemption

On 29 June, the Council of the EU gave its final green light to the 'Digital Omnibus' package: obligations for stand-alone high-risk AI systems are pushed to 2 December 2027, and to 2 August 2028 for AI embedded in regulated products. Brussels answers industry pressure — without removing anything from the regulation's substance.

The mistake to avoid: reading this delay as a reason to slow down. Companies that lived through GDPR know it — those that started six months before the deadline paid two to three times more for their compliance than those who spread it over two years, and often botched it.

This delay is a concrete opportunity: map your AI systems, qualify risk levels, document design choices as you go rather than in a rush. The marginal cost of compliance-by-design is low; the cost of retroactive compliance is high.

Cardan-AI recommendation: use the reprieve to turn compliance into a commercial advantage. A clean AI register and documented governance are already differentiating arguments in tenders — public and private alike.