On 29 June 2026, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the Digital Omnibus on AI, a package of targeted amendments to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU AI Act. The European Parliament had voted to approve the text on 16 June 2026, with 423 votes in favour, 57 against, and 174 abstentions. The AI Omnibus will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The AI Omnibus amends specific articles of the EU AI Act. It extends the compliance deadline for high-risk AI systems operated as standalone systems to 2 December 2027, and extends the equivalent deadline for high-risk AI embedded in regulated products to 2 August 2028. Article 50 transparency obligations, which require providers to mark AI-generated audio, image, video, and text outputs in a machine-readable format, become applicable on 2 August 2026; the Omnibus introduces a grace period until 2 December 2026 for systems placed on the market before that date. The Omnibus also explicitly prohibits AI systems designed to generate non-consensual intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material, with compliance required by 2 December 2026.
Providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems in regulated sectors including healthcare, financial services, employment, and law enforcement benefit from the extended deadlines. AI deployers using systems that generate or manipulate content for the purpose of informing the public on matters of public interest must comply with Article 50(4) deepfake labelling requirements from 2 August 2026; the grace period applies only to legacy systems already on the market before that date. Manufacturers embedding AI in products governed by EU machinery, medical device, and general product safety legislation benefit from clarified scope and reduced duplication of obligations between the AI Act and existing sectoral safety rules.
The AI Omnibus streamlines the concept of safety component and removes certain overlapping obligations between the AI Act and existing sectoral safety legislation. Classification questions around general-purpose AI models and the governance scope of the AI Office remain open; the Omnibus does not substantially alter either. National competent authority enforcement against operators of high-risk AI systems is unaffected by the deadline extensions.
Licentium advises on EU AI Act compliance across the full risk classification spectrum. If you need to assess your obligations under the amended deadlines or implement Article 50 transparency requirements, we and our partner network can assist. Work we undertake includes AI system risk classification, conformity assessment preparation, transparency and watermarking compliance, and regulatory strategy for AI deployers and providers in financial services, healthcare, and other regulated sectors.