No Pause for the EU AI Act

No pause for the EU AI Act: the obligations are moving full speed ahead.

The “Stop the Clock” initiative, signed by over 150 companies (including some of the world’s largest tech players), argued that high regulatory uncertainty and insufficient practical guidance made it increasingly difficult for companies to prepare in time.

For instance, originally intended for release on May 2, 2025, the General-Purpose Code of Practice has been delayed.

Therefore, they requested at least a one-year pause on enforcement.

But the Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told a press conference “I've seen, indeed, a lot of reporting, a lot of letters and a lot of things being said on the AI Act. Let me be as clear as possible, there is no stop the clock. There is no grace period. There is no pause.” (Reuters)

So what does this mean? General-purpose model obligations start August 2025. High-risk AI rules follow in 2026.

Meanwhile, you should already be deploying a proper governance framework: build internal templates for AI-specific reviews, define how ethical principles (like fairness, accountability, transparency) are put into practice, map your AI systems whether internally developed or purchased, rate their risks, & clarifying ownerhsip.

Remember, AI governance is not a static policy.

🎯 At Dastra, we see this as a clear signal: the time for cautious observation is over. It’s time to embed AI risk management into your compliance DNA, just like we learned to do with the GDPR.