Artificial Intelligence · Belgium
AI regulation in Belgium: the EU AI Act (2026)
Belgium shaded by its artificial intelligence status
AI in Belgium: comprehensive law, anchored by EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), directly applicable in Belgium, with national implementation led by BIPT/IBPT (designated lead market surveillance authority) and the FPS Economy coordinating; complemented by the National Convergence Plan for AI and GDPR enforcement via the Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD/GBA)..
As an EU member state, Belgium is governed by the directly-applicable EU AI Act, the world's first comprehensive horizontal AI law, which is being phased in (prohibited practices since Feb 2025, GPAI rules since Aug 2025, high-risk obligations by Aug 2026). At national level, Belgium's January 2025 federal government agreement designated the telecoms/digital regulator BIPT as the principal AI Act market surveillance authority with the FPS Economy coordinating, though Belgium missed the 2 August 2025 deadline to fully formalise its governance structure in law. Belgium also maintains a non-binding National Convergence Plan for AI (2022) and the AI4Belgium coalition as its strategy layer.
The EU AI Act in Belgium
In Belgium, artificial intelligence is governed by the EU AI Act, the first comprehensive AI law, which applies directly as an EU regulation.
- Framework
- the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689)
- Approach
- risk-based: unacceptable-risk AI is banned, high-risk AI faces strict duties, limited-risk AI has transparency rules
- General-purpose AI
- transparency duties for all GPAI models; systemic-risk models add safety and evaluation obligations
- Timeline
- phased: prohibitions from Feb 2025, GPAI rules from Aug 2025, most high-risk obligations from Aug 2026
- Maximum fine
- €35 million or 7% of global annual turnover for prohibited-AI breaches
- Oversight
- national market-surveillance authorities, coordinated by the EU AI Office
The AI Act is an EU regulation applied directly in Belgium; national market-surveillance authorities handle enforcement.
The EU AI Act in Belgium: FAQ
Yes. As an EU member, Belgium is covered by the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), which applies directly.
It uses a risk-based approach: unacceptable-risk AI is banned, high-risk AI faces strict obligations, and general-purpose AI models carry transparency duties.
It is phased: prohibitions applied from February 2025, general-purpose-AI rules from August 2025, and most high-risk obligations from August 2026.
Up to €35 million or 7% of global annual turnover for breaching the prohibited-AI rules, with lower tiers for other breaches.
Key points
The EU AI Act (Reg. (EU) 2024/1689) applies directly in Belgium as a risk-based horizontal law. Prohibited 'unacceptable risk' practices (e.g. social scoring, manipulative systems, untargeted facial-recognition scraping) have been banned since 2 February 2025, with general-purpose AI obligations applying from 2 August 2025 and most high-risk-system rules from 2 August 2026.
Belgium's federal government agreement (declaration of 31 January 2025) named the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT/IBPT) as the principal AI Act market surveillance authority, with the FPS Economy coordinating overall implementation.
Belgium did not meet the AI Act's 2 August 2025 deadline to formally designate and notify its complete national competent authority structure in law; the institutional framework around BIPT and the FPS Economy is still being finalised.
Under Article 77 of the AI Act, Belgium has identified a list of public bodies (reported as around 21 authorities) empowered to oversee high-risk AI systems affecting fundamental rights, reflecting Belgium's federal/sectoral structure rather than a single regulator.
The Belgian Data Protection Authority (Autorité de protection des données / Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit) enforces GDPR over AI systems processing personal data and has issued guidance on AI and the GDPR, creating a dual-compliance regime alongside the AI Act.
Belgium's non-binding National Convergence Plan for the Development of AI (approved by the Council of Ministers on 28 October 2022) sets ~70 actions across 9 objectives, building on the 2019 AI4Belgium coalition; BOSA (FPS Policy & Support) coordinates this strategy and an AI Observatory, complementing regional plans in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.
Timeline - major decisions & events
The Data Protection Authority published a 15-page citizen-facing brochure on AI's impact on privacy, the first in a new series explaining data rights when interacting with chatbots, apps and connected devices. It signals the DPA positioning itself as a key AI supervisor alongside GDPR enforcement.
Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD/GBA) ↗EU AI Act rules on general-purpose AI models and the 2 August 2025 deadline for member states to fully designate and empower national competent authorities took effect, but Belgium had not completed its full institutional designation by that date.
European Commission ↗The federal Government Declaration named the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) as the principal market-surveillance authority for the AI Act, with the FPS Economy coordinating overall national implementation.
BIPT ↗The Data Protection Authority published a brochure explaining how GDPR principles apply to AI systems and how the AI Act builds on them, the first substantive Belgian regulatory guidance bridging data protection and AI compliance.
Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD/GBA) ↗A multi-stakeholder steering committee was set up to coordinate implementation of the National Convergence Plan across federal, regional and community levels, reflecting Belgium's fragmented multi-level AI governance.
FPS BOSA ↗Belgium's federal roadmap to become a '#SmartAINation', structured around nine pillars including ethical and responsible AI, was adopted to align disparate federal, regional and community AI initiatives.
FPS BOSA ↗The coalition's report set out recommendations on skills, responsible data sharing, innovation sandboxes and public-sector adoption, recommending at least €1 billion of AI investment by 2030 and shaping subsequent federal policy.
AI4Belgium ↗The government-initiated AI4Belgium coalition was launched to connect academia, business and the public sector around trustworthy, human-centric AI, becoming the central ecosystem manager that has since grown past 500 members.
AI4Belgium ↗Belgium - other topics
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