Article 97 — Exercise of the delegation (EU AI Act)

Article 97 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — Exercise of the delegation. Official text, practical interpretation, key obligations and compliance implications.

Official Text Summary

Article 97 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the EU AI Act) falls within Title XI, which governs delegation of legislative power and committee procedures. It establishes the conditions governing the exercise of delegated powers conferred on the European Commission throughout the Regulation.

The article specifies that the Commission's power to adopt delegated acts is granted for a five-year period from 1 August 2024 and is automatically renewable for identical periods unless either the European Parliament or the Council objects no later than three months before the end of each period.

Either the European Parliament or the Council may revoke the delegation at any time. A revocation decision terminates the delegation identified therein and takes effect the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, or on a later date specified in the decision. It does not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

Before adopting any delegated act, the Commission is required to consult experts designated by each Member State, consistent with the principles of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. The delegated act is notified simultaneously to the European Parliament and the Council, and enters into force only if neither institution raises an objection within three months of notification — a period that may be extended by three months at either institution's initiative. If both institutions inform the Commission they will not object, the act may enter into force earlier.

What This Means in Practice

Article 97 is primarily an institutional and procedural provision rather than one that creates direct compliance obligations for AI system providers, deployers, or operators. However, it is essential for practitioners and legal teams to understand because it determines the mechanism by which the Commission may update, supplement, or refine key aspects of the EU AI Act through delegated legislation — without requiring the full legislative process.

In concrete terms, this means that certain technical or detailed provisions of the Regulation — such as updates to Annexes defining high-risk AI system categories, or changes to the conformity assessment procedures — may be modified by the Commission through delegated acts. These acts are legally binding and directly applicable across all EU Member States once they enter into force.

For compliance teams, the practical implication is that the regulatory landscape under the EU AI Act is not static. Organisations that have mapped their AI systems against current Annex definitions or conformity requirements must maintain ongoing monitoring processes to detect when delegated acts are adopted that alter those requirements.

Legal and compliance officers should subscribe to the Official Journal of the European Union and track European Parliament and Council scrutiny periods. The three-month objection window — potentially extended to six months — defines the earliest possible date on which new obligations derived from delegated acts could take effect. Building this lead time into internal compliance calendars is good practice.

For Member State-designated experts participating in Commission consultations, Article 97 formally anchors their role in the pre-adoption phase of delegated acts.

Key Obligations

• Five-year renewable delegation: The Commission holds delegated powers from 1 August 2024 for five years, renewable automatically unless opposed by the European Parliament or Council within three months of period end.
• Revocation at any time: The European Parliament or the Council may revoke the delegation of power at any point; revocation takes effect the day after publication in the Official Journal or on a specified later date.
• Member State expert consultation: Prior to adopting any delegated act, the Commission must consult Member State-designated experts in accordance with the 2016 Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making.
• Simultaneous notification: Each delegated act must be notified simultaneously to the European Parliament and the Council as soon as it is adopted.
• Three-month scrutiny and objection period: A delegated act enters into force only after a three-month period (extendable by a further three months) during which neither institution raises an objection — or earlier if both institutions confirm they will not object.
• Preservation of existing delegated acts: A decision to revoke the delegation does not affect the validity of delegated acts that have already entered into force under the Regulation.

Relationship to Other Articles

Article 97 must be read in conjunction with all provisions of the EU AI Act that expressly confer delegated power on the Commission. These include, in particular, Article 6 (classification rules for high-risk AI systems and amendments to Annexes I and III), Article 96 (guidelines on the application of the Regulation), and Article 98 (committee procedure for implementing acts). Together, Articles 97 and 98 form the procedural backbone of Title XI, delineating the boundary between delegated acts — which allow the Commission to supplement or amend non-essential elements of the Regulation — and implementing acts, which govern execution of specific uniform conditions.

Article 97 also interacts with the transparency and governance framework established in Title IX (Articles 64–70) insofar as the composition and functioning of the AI Office and European Artificial Intelligence Board may inform the expert consultations required before delegated acts are adopted. Practitioners should read Article 97 alongside the specific substantive articles that trigger delegated act procedures to understand the full scope of potential regulatory change.

Compliance Timeline

Article 97 entered into force on 1 August 2024, the date of the EU AI Act's entry into force, and the five-year delegation period runs from that date.

The broader EU AI Act applies in phases:

• 2 February 2025 — Prohibitions on unacceptable-risk AI practices (Title II) became applicable.
• 2 August 2025 — Rules on general-purpose AI (GPAI) models (Title III, Chapter V) and governance provisions became applicable.
• 2 August 2026 — Obligations for high-risk AI systems listed in Annex III (excluding those in Annex I) become applicable, along with most remaining provisions.
• 2 August 2027 — High-risk AI systems governed by existing sectoral Union harmonisation legislation (Annex I) must comply.

Because Article 97 enables the Commission to amend Annexes and other non-essential elements via delegated acts, any delegated act adopted and entering into force before these milestones could alter the scope of obligations that apply at each phase. Compliance teams should treat the delegated act scrutiny calendar as a live variable within their phased compliance programmes, particularly with respect to Annex I and Annex III classifications.