The EU has reached a provisional agreement to simplify the AI Act and push back deadlines for its most demanding regulatory requirements. The European Parliament approved the changes in June 2026, citing primarily that the technical harmonisation standards needed for implementation have taken longer to develop than anticipated.

Deadlines Pushed Back Significantly

The most significant change is that standalone high-risk AI systems — covering biometrics, critical infrastructure, education, employment, migration, and law enforcement — now have a new compliance deadline of 2 December 2027. That is 16 months after the original deadline of 2 August 2026, according to source materials.

For high-risk AI systems embedded in physical products, such as lifts or toys, the deadline has been pushed back even further — to 2 August 2028.

The delay provides genuine breathing room for many early-stage startups, but it does not eliminate compliance costs.
EU Delays AI Act: High-Risk Deadlines Pushed Back 16 Months - Bilde 1

Support Measures for Startups and SMEs

Alongside the postponements, the revised Act includes a number of concrete concessions aimed at smaller companies.

Spain already has a national AI sandbox programme in operation, and an EU-wide pilot programme, EUSAiR, ran from October 2025 to April 2026.

The Costs Are Real, Even After the Delay

Despite the postponements and concessions, the actual compliance costs are substantial. According to 2026 estimates, the initial setup of a quality management system for a mid-sized company (100–250 employees) can cost between €193,000 and €330,000. Ongoing monitoring and certification can add a further €71,400 to €150,000 per year. For individual products, the average initial compliance cost is estimated at over €50,000 per high-risk system.

€193,000–330,000
Initial setup costs for mid-sized companies
€50,000+
Average compliance cost per high-risk system

Warning on Operational Risk

Credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings notes that the changes, despite their intentions, may create operational risk and unintended consequences — particularly for smaller companies deploying high-risk AI systems without robust risk management processes in place. The delay may tempt companies to postpone necessary preparation, potentially making the transition to compliance even more demanding.

Startups operating in employment, credit, healthcare, or legal AI are encouraged to begin compliance work now, rather than waiting until the deadlines draw near.

The Road Ahead

The provisional agreement must be formally approved before it enters into force. Source materials indicate that the overarching objective is to make the EU AI Act more workable — particularly for innovation-driven businesses — without abandoning the core principles of responsible AI development.

For Norwegian and European players in the AI industry, the postponements mean there is time to prepare thoroughly — but that the cost picture and the requirements will not ultimately disappear.

Sources: Cyprus Inform / EU AI Act News, S&P Global Ratings analysis, European Commission official documentation on the AI Act (via source material dated 2026).