AI15708 = Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — the EU AI Act.

During the ordinary legislative procedure that produced the EU AI Act, the European Parliament tracked the dossier under the procedural file reference AI 1/5708 (often written without spacing as AI15708). After political agreement was reached in December 2023, the text was formally adopted by Parliament and Council in May–June 2024 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 July 2024 as Regulation (EU) 2024/1689.

Both identifiers — the legacy procedural code AI15708 and the OJ citation 2024/1689 — refer to the same binding instrument. Searches in legal databases and the EUR-Lex portal sometimes surface the procedural code, which is why this query continues to appear in Google Search Console months after adoption.

The EU AI Act is the world's first comprehensive horizontal regulation of artificial intelligence. It establishes harmonised rules across the EU single market covering the development, placing on the market, deployment, and use of AI systems. The Act applies a risk-based approach: the higher the potential impact of an AI system on health, safety, or fundamental rights, the stricter the obligations.

Four risk categories structure the regime: prohibited practices (Article 5), high-risk AI (Article 6 + Annex III), limited-risk AI with transparency duties (Article 50), and minimal-risk AI covered only by voluntary codes of conduct. A separate regime applies to general-purpose AI models (Chapter V).

Article 2 sets territorial and personal scope. The Act binds providers placing AI systems on the EU market regardless of where they are established, deployers using AI within the EU, importers and distributors, and — critically for non-EU SaaS — providers and deployers located outside the EU where the output of their AI is used in the EU. A US AI startup serving EU customers is in scope even with no EU establishment.

Most SMEs are deployers rather than providers. Deployer obligations under Article 26 include ensuring appropriate human oversight, monitoring system operation, keeping automatically generated logs, and informing affected workers before deploying high-risk AI in the workplace. Article 4 — AI literacy training — applies to all providers and deployers, regardless of risk tier, since 2 February 2025.

• 1 August 2024 — regulation enters into force.
• 2 February 2025 — Article 4 (AI literacy) and Article 5 (prohibited practices) apply.
• 2 August 2025 — obligations for general-purpose AI models apply.
• 2 August 2026 — bulk of high-risk AI obligations apply.
• 2 August 2027 — high-risk AI embedded in regulated products (Annex I) apply.

See the live EU AI Act deadline tracker for the current countdown.

Article 99 establishes three tiers of administrative fines, with national market surveillance authorities responsible for enforcement (the European AI Office handles general-purpose AI model providers directly).

• Prohibited practices (Article 5): up to €35 million or 7% of worldwide annual turnover.
• Other non-compliance: up to €15 million or 3% of turnover.
• Incorrect or misleading information to authorities: up to €7.5 million or 1.5% of turnover.

Lower caps apply to SMEs and start-ups where the higher figure would be disproportionate. The EuroComply EU regulatory fines tracker publishes enforcement actions as they are announced.

1. Inventory every AI system used in the business — including third-party features in tools you already pay for.
2. Classify each system against Article 5 (prohibited) and Annex III (high-risk). Most SaaS productivity features are minimal-risk; HR, credit, biometric, and education AI are typically high-risk.
3. Complete AI literacy training under Article 4 (already required since 2 February 2025).
4. Collect documentation from providers of high-risk AI you deploy — Annex IV technical files, instructions for use, conformity declarations.
5. Set up human oversight procedures and logging for any high-risk AI before 2 August 2026.

The EuroComply free AI Act compliance checker runs steps 1 and 2 in your browser in under two minutes.

What is AI15708?

AI15708 is the EU Parliament document reference number used during the legislative procedure that produced the EU AI Act. The Act was formally adopted as Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on harmonised rules on artificial intelligence. The two identifiers refer to the same instrument — AI15708 is the procedural file reference, 2024/1689 is the Official Journal citation.

Is AI15708 the same as the EU AI Act?

Yes. AI15708 is the internal document reference used by EU institutions during negotiation of the AI Act. After adoption it became Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — the binding text published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 July 2024. Searches for AI15708, EU AI Act, and Regulation 2024/1689 all return the same legal instrument.

When does the EU AI Act apply?

The Act entered into force on 1 August 2024. Its provisions phase in: Article 5 prohibited practices and Article 4 AI literacy obligations applied from 2 February 2025; obligations for general-purpose AI models from 2 August 2025; the bulk of provisions for high-risk AI systems apply from 2 August 2026; and obligations for high-risk AI embedded in regulated products covered by Annex I apply from 2 August 2027.

What are the four risk categories under AI15708 / Regulation 2024/1689?

The Act classifies AI systems into four tiers. Prohibited practices (Article 5) — social scoring, untargeted scraping of facial images, real-time biometric identification in public spaces by law enforcement (with narrow exceptions), emotion recognition in workplaces or education, and others. High-risk (Article 6 + Annex III) — AI used in critical infrastructure, education, employment, essential services, law enforcement, migration, and administration of justice. Limited-risk — transparency obligations for chatbots, deepfakes, and emotion recognition. Minimal-risk — most AI systems, no obligations beyond voluntary codes of conduct.

Who must comply with the EU AI Act?

The Act applies to providers placing AI systems on the EU market, deployers using AI systems within the EU, importers and distributors of AI systems, and to providers and deployers established outside the EU where the output of their AI is used in the EU. SMEs are most often deployers — they use third-party AI tools — and have obligations under Articles 4 (AI literacy) and 26 (deployer duties for high-risk AI).

What are the penalties under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689?

Three tiers of fines apply. Prohibited practices under Article 5: up to €35 million or 7% of worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. Non-compliance with other obligations: up to €15 million or 3% of turnover. Supplying incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information to authorities: up to €7.5 million or 1.5% of turnover. SMEs and start-ups are subject to lower caps where proportionate.

Does AI15708 apply to my SaaS product?

It depends on what the product does. If your SaaS uses AI for hiring, credit scoring, employee performance evaluation, education, biometric categorisation, critical infrastructure, or any Annex III use case, it is likely high-risk and subject to the full conformity assessment regime from 2 August 2026. If your SaaS uses AI only as a productivity feature (drafting, summarisation, search) without affecting decisions about individuals, it is typically minimal-risk with only transparency obligations. Run the EuroComply free classifier to get a written determination.

Where can I read the full text of AI15708 / Regulation 2024/1689?

The official consolidated text is available on EUR-Lex at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024R1689. The Official Journal citation is OJ L, 2024/1689, 12.7.2024. The European Commission publishes implementation guidance on the AI Office portal at https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/european-ai-office.

• EUR-Lex consolidated text of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 eur-lex.europa.eu
• European AI Office implementation portal digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu
• Official Journal of the European Union — OJ L, 2024/1689, 12.7.2024