The implementation of the AI Act legislation, which was due to be approved and applied on August 2, 2026, has been postponed to August 2, 2028.
This update was given today to the House Human Rights Committee by the Law Office of the Republic, according to committee chair and AKEL MP Christos Christofides, speaking at today’s session, which continued discussion on Digital Human Rights, an initiative aiming to form the basis for modernising the Cypriot state in the face of the major challenges of the digital age.
According to the Law Office’s note, “given that the provisions concerning high-risk artificial intelligence (AI) systems were due to enter into force on August 2, 2026, the co-legislators gave the utmost priority to examining this part of the package and agreed on a specific timetable for the delayed implementation of the high-risk rules. The new implementation dates set are December 2, 2027 for standalone high-risk AI systems and August 2, 2028 for high-risk AI systems embedded in products.”
The note added: “Despite the direct applicability of EU regulations, it is necessary to introduce implementing laws into the national legal order for the purposes of applying certain provisions of the regulations. In any case, it should be noted that the process of introducing an implementing framework for this regulation must closely and simultaneously follow whatever decisions, implementing measures and guidelines are adopted at European Union level.”
It is noted that the AI Act aims to safeguard the safety, ethical character and reliability of artificial intelligence systems. The rules impose obligations on providers and deployers of AI technologies and regulate the licensing of artificial intelligence systems within the EU single market. The regulation addresses risks linked to AI, such as bias, discrimination and gaps in accountability, while promoting innovation and encouraging AI adoption.
How the Deputy Ministry is progressing
Asked whether there is a strategic plan for which laws need to change and when, in order to secure digital human rights protections by 2028, Diamantis Zafeiriadis, Head of the Digital Security Authority, said that at this stage the identification of the relevant laws has not yet begun. However, he explained, “we are at the stage of preparing a techno-economic study, aimed at determining the organisational, technical, operational and human resources required for the effective implementation of the regulation.”
In the end, he added, “there will also be a mapping of digital rights and what involvement we will have, whether direct or indirect.” “We are informing and guiding the market, developing cooperation with other competent national and European authorities, including the EU AI Board. We are also preparing the procedures for market oversight, to ensure the effective implementation of the regulation’s obligations,” he clarified.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nikodimos Damianou, was quick to clarify that the techno-economic study is at an advanced stage, that there is a consultant who has assessed the legislative framework and is in the process of preparing the national implementing law. As he disclosed, a draft has already been circulated among the competent authorities and “we are at the stage where we will move to public consultation on the legislation concerning the implementation of the AI Act.”
The goal, he stressed, is for the process to be completed by the end of the year, to pass through the Law Office and then go to the House. “We know the timelines and we are trying to speed up the process as much as we can, in order to be consistent with our obligations,” he noted.
Towards the appointment of an informal ad hoc working group
With the conclusion of the Human Rights Committee’s series of sessions on the matter, the intention, however, is to proceed with the appointment of an informal ad hoc working group, whose task will be to prepare a first draft of a Declaration of Digital Human Rights. The goal, Christofides explained, is for this draft to be presented to the Committee in the autumn, so that the discussion can take on concrete content, be completed through dialogue with all involved bodies, and subsequently be brought before the House Plenary for adoption.
On another point, Christofides called on the Law Office to participate in the informal group, whose representative reserved the right to respond in writing at a later stage, though she said she agreed with the initiative. He noted that an indicative list of 10 laws that may need amendment has already been prepared, while changes to individual pieces of legislation may also be required.
The Law Office representative, meanwhile, referred to a “nice example” — as she described it — of how the Republic of Cyprus can contribute to the development of European legislation. “When we proceeded at national level with the addition of the offence of sexual abuse using artificial intelligence systems, the Cyprus Presidency, as part of the revision of the EU directive on combating the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, raised the issue of adding this specific offence to the European directive itself, which is currently under consideration.”
AI in education from September
It is worth noting that the session was also attended by the Minister of Education, Sport and Youth, Athina Michaelidou, who presented her Ministry’s policies, actions and planning in areas touching on digital rights. As she announced, from this coming September a separate course on artificial intelligence will be introduced in primary and secondary schools.
She clarified that the Ministry is working at the level of mindset and culture through programmes and training seminars. At the same time, it is working on content and curricula aimed at cultivating digital skills from pre-school age. European funds are being used, she added, for schools’ technological equipment, new IT labs are being created, and the IDEA project for digital school administration is also being promoted. At the same time, experts from across Europe have been drawn on, and “we have in our hands a text on artificial intelligence which is already being used in schools.”