Artificial Intelligence Β· Croatia
AI regulation in Croatia: the EU AI Act (2026)
Croatia shaded by its artificial intelligence status
AI in Croatia: comprehensive law, anchored by EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), directly applicable; AZOP (Agencija za zaΕ‘titu osobnih podataka / Personal Data Protection Agency) designated as key national competent authority; Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation (MPUDT) leads inter-ministerial AI Act implementation working group.
Croatia is fully subject to the EU AI Act, the world's first comprehensive binding AI regulation, which entered into force on 1 August 2024 and has been phasing in its requirements through 2026. Croatia has no separate national AI law; the EU Regulation applies directly. AZOP has published the list of national competent authorities under the AI Act and is actively issuing guidance, while the Croatian government is concurrently drafting a National Plan for the Development of Artificial Intelligence aligned with the Digital Croatia Strategy 2032.
The EU AI Act in Croatia
In Croatia, 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
- β¬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 Croatia; national market-surveillance authorities handle enforcement.
The EU AI Act in Croatia: FAQ
Yes. As an EU member, Croatia 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 β¬35 million or 7% of global annual turnover for breaching the prohibited-AI rules, with lower tiers for other breaches.
Key points
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (EU AI Act) entered into force on 1 August 2024 and applies directly in all EU member states, including Croatia, without requiring transposition. Prohibitions on unacceptable-risk AI applied from 2 February 2025; rules for high-risk systems and GPAI models fully apply from 2 August 2026.
AZOP (Croatia's data-protection authority) published the list of national competent authorities under the AI Act and declared readiness to serve as supervisory authority for high-risk AI systems affecting fundamental rights. It hosted a workshop on Fundamental Rights Impact Assessments (FRIA, Article 27 AI Act) in Zagreb on 13 June 2025 and published FAQs on AI Act compliance.
Croatia lacks a standalone national AI strategy. The government, led by MPUDT Minister Damir Habijan, announced development of a National Plan for the Development of Artificial Intelligence (2026-2028 action period), covering innovation/research, economic digitalisation, AI governance skills, and citizen data security.
Adopted in 2022, the Digital Croatia Strategy 2032 provides the overarching digital transformation framework and lists AI as a priority technology. It underpins Croatia's Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3 2029 revision), which also designates AI as a key domain for public investment.
Croatia was among approximately 13 EU member states that had not formally published their full national competent authority designation by the 2 August 2025 statutory deadline under Article 70 AI Act, though AZOP had already taken preparatory enforcement and guidance steps.
The OECD's October 2025 country note on Croatia's progress in implementing the EU Coordinated Plan on AI highlights sector-specific AI deployments (health via AI4Health.Cro, environment via ATMOSYS), and notes the AI Center Lipik for education and start-up incubation, but confirms no finalised national AI strategy as of that date.
Timeline - major decisions & events
The Croatian Parliament enacted a new Electronic Media Act transposing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), requiring media providers, electronic publications and video-sharing platforms to clearly label AI-generated content. A new Agency for Media replaces the former Agency for Electronic Media.
Croatian Parliament (Sabor) βThe Croatian government announced that a draft National Plan for the Development of Artificial Intelligence to 2032, prepared by over 150 experts across government, academia and industry, would be opened to public consultation ahead of formal adoption. The plan targets six priority sectors β public administration, healthcare, agriculture, energy, transport and tourism β and includes a companion 2026β2028 Action Plan.
Croatian Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets (mpgi.gov.hr) βChapters I and II of the EU AI Act entered application: eight categories of AI practices were banned (including real-time biometric surveillance of public spaces for law enforcement, social scoring by public authorities, and AI exploiting vulnerability to manipulate behaviour), and all operators were required to ensure adequate AI literacy among staff using or overseeing AI systems.
European Commission β Shaping Europe's Digital Future βThe Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation convened a cross-government working group β including AZOP (data protection authority), ombudsperson offices, academic institutions and industry β to draft primary implementing legislation for the EU AI Act and designate the national AI supervisory and market-surveillance authorities required by the regulation.
OECD β EU Coordinated AI Plan Progress Report Vol. 1, Croatia Country Note βThe Croatian Government adopted the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) to 2029, which for the first time created a 'Digital products and platforms' priority vertical and explicitly recognised machine learning and AI as horizontal enablers across all seven thematic areas; this strategy governs EU Structural Fund (ERDF) allocations for R&D through 2029 and directly funds AI-related research and innovation.
OECD STIP Compass β Croatian S3 2029 βCroatia's Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP) fined debt-collection agency EOS Matrix d.o.o. β¬5.47 million β then the largest GDPR fine in Croatian history β for processing personal data of 181,641 individuals (including minors and health records) without legal basis and with inadequate security measures. The case established AZOP as an active enforcer directly relevant to AI systems that process personal data at scale.
AZOP β Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency βParliament enacted the overarching Digital Croatia Strategy 2032 β the foundational policy framework for Croatia's digital transition, setting binding targets for AI research investment, public-sector digitalisation, broadband and digital skills development. All subsequent AI-specific plans (including the National AI Plan to 2032) are nested within this strategy.
Croatian Ministry of Justice and Public Administration (mpudt.gov.hr) βThe EU General Data Protection Regulation and Croatia's implementing statute (Zakon o provedbi OpΔe uredbe o zaΕ‘titi podataka) entered into force simultaneously, establishing AZOP's enforcement mandate over automated decision-making (Article 22) and profiling β the first binding legal constraints on AI-driven personal-data processing in Croatia and the principal governance instrument until the AI Act.
AZOP β Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency βCroatia - other topics
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