Source: OJ L, 2024/1689, 12.7.2024Current language: EN
- Artificial intelligence act
Basic legislative acts
- AI act regulation
Article 81 Union safeguard procedure
Summary What does Article 81 of the AI act regulation say?
This article establishes the Union-level arbitration mechanism that kicks in when Member States disagree over national enforcement measures taken against non-compliant AI systems.
It directly follows from Article 79, which sets out the initial national market surveillance procedure, and Article 81 essentially gives the Commission the final say on whether a national restrictive measure is justified.
The Commission consults with the relevant market surveillance authority and the operators involved, then issues a binding decision that either requires all Member States to adopt equivalent restrictive measures or obliges the originating Member State to withdraw its measure.
A faster track applies where the non-compliance concerns the prohibited AI practices under Article 5.
Important points:
- The Commission is required to evaluate disputed national measures and issue a decision within six months (or 60 days for Article 5 prohibition cases), notifying all market surveillance authorities of the outcome.
- Where the Commission confirms a national measure is justified, all Member States must take equivalent restrictive measures, such as withdrawing the AI system from their market.
- Where non-compliance is traced back to shortcomings in harmonised standards or common specifications, the Commission must follow the procedure under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 to address those standard-level deficiencies.
Springlex's summary of the article, a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
Where, within three months of receipt of the notification referred to in Article 79(5), or within 30 days in the case of non-compliance with the prohibition of the AI practices referred to in Article 5, objections are raised by the market surveillance authority of a Member State to a measure taken by another market surveillance authority, or where the Commission considers the measure to be contrary to Union law, the Commission shall without undue delay enter into consultation with the market surveillance authority of the relevant Member State and the operator or operators, and shall evaluate the national measure. On the basis of the results of that evaluation, the Commission shall, within six months, or within 60 days in the case of non-compliance with the prohibition of the AI practices referred to in Article 5, starting from the notification referred to in Article 79(5), decide whether the national measure is justified and shall notify its decision to the market surveillance authority of the Member State concerned. The Commission shall also inform all other market surveillance authorities of its decision.
Where the Commission considers the measure taken by the relevant Member State to be justified, all Member States shall ensure that they take appropriate restrictive measures in respect of the AI system concerned, such as requiring the withdrawal of the AI system from their market without undue delay, and shall inform the Commission accordingly. Where the Commission considers the national measure to be unjustified, the Member State concerned shall withdraw the measure and shall inform the Commission accordingly.
Where the national measure is considered justified and the non-compliance of the AI system is attributed to shortcomings in the harmonised standards or common specifications referred to in Articles 40 and 41 of this Regulation, the Commission shall apply the procedure provided for in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012.
Relevant recitals
Recital 157 Powers of other relevant authorities and a safeguard procedure
This Regulation is without prejudice to the competences, tasks, powers and independence of relevant national public authorities or bodies which supervise the application of Union law protecting fundamental rights, including equality bodies and data protection authorities. Where necessary for their mandate, those national public authorities or bodies should also have access to any documentation created under this Regulation. A specific safeguard procedure should be set for ensuring adequate and timely enforcement against AI systems presenting a risk to health, safety and fundamental rights. The procedure for such AI systems presenting a risk should be applied to high-risk AI systems presenting a risk, prohibited systems which have been placed on the market, put into service or used in violation of the prohibited practices laid down in this Regulation and AI systems which have been made available in violation of the transparency requirements laid down in this Regulation and present a risk.
Springlex and this text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. No liability is assumed for its content. The authentic version of this act is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
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common specification
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distributor
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provider
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market surveillance authority
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authorised representative
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operator
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deployer
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importer
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AI system
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risk
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general-purpose AI model
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harmonised standard