The European Parliament voted for the AI ​​legislation with a clear majority. Now there is a (finally) final step at the European Council before the AI ​​law is officially a fact.

The penultimate hurdle has been overcome. The European Parliament voted on Wednesday in favor of the AI ​​law, the conditional text of which was already adopted and updated in December after member states agreed on it last month. Now the European Parliament has also given its approval with a clear majority of 523 yes votes and 46 no votes. Now the final phase begins, namely approval by the European Council. From this moment on, the law is actually passed and the first rules can come into force.

Finish line in sight

The result of this vote puts the bill on track to become official law, which cannot come into force until final approval from the Council. AI legislation has already come a long way, but after several passes it has now reached the penultimate hurdle with a clear majority. 523 yes votes, 46 no votes and 49 abstentions.

Once approved by the Council, the law will be published in the EU’s Official Journal in the coming months. Twenty days later, the law will officially come into force. Since this is a gradual implementation, full entry into force is not expected until mid-2027.

In this article you will find further information on the content of the AI ​​legislation. Next week, the ITdaily editorial team will organize a round table on AI where experts will present their vision and findings.