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ARTICLE · 27 MAY 2026

EU Publishes Draft Guidelines On Classification Of High-Risk AI Systems

William Fry LLP
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The European Commission has issued comprehensive interpretive guidelines on high-risk AI system classification under Articles 6(1) and 6(2) of the EU AI Act, while simultaneously postponing key compliance deadlines through the AI Omnibus package.

European UnionTechnology
Barry Scannell
Barry Scannell
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On 19 May 2026 the European Commission opened a five-week consultation on its draft Guidelines for the classification of high-risk AI systems under Article 6 of the AI Act, closing on 23 June.

The same draft confirms that the AI Omnibus has postponed application of Article 6(2) to 2 December 2027 and Article 6(1) to 2 August 2028. Brussels has produced the rigorous interpretive guidance industry has been asking for in the same week that it has moved the deadlines those rules attach to by sixteen and twelve months respectively. The two facts have to be read together to understand the present condition of European AI regulation.

The Guidelines are structured around the two statutory routes to high-risk classification under Article 6.

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