AI regulation in Romania: the EU AI Act (2026)

Yes. As an EU member, Romania 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.

The EU AI Act entered into force on 1 August 2024 and applies directly in Romania without transposition. Prohibited practices (Chapter II) became enforceable on 2 February 2025; GPAI model obligations from 2 August 2025; core high-risk AI obligations from 2 August 2026.

Romania approved Government Decision HG 832/2024, its National AI Strategy for 2024-2027, in July 2024. It prioritises AI adoption in public administration (including ANAF tax authority), healthcare, and agriculture, and calls for a dedicated regulatory authority under ADR.

The Romanian Committee for Artificial Intelligence (CRIA) was established under the Prime Minister as a national consultative body for AI policy, with technical secretariat support from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation (MCID) and operational backing from ADR.

Article 70 of the EU AI Act required Member States to designate a national competent authority by 2 August 2025. As of early 2026, Romania had not formally completed this designation, making it non-compliant with the deadline; the proposed authority would sit within ADR as both notifying and market surveillance entity.

A draft law on the responsible use of AI was registered in the Romanian Senate on 31 March 2025 (PL-x 184/2025). It was rejected by the Senate and referred to the Chamber of Deputies (the decisional chamber); as of early 2026 it remained under parliamentary review and had not been enacted.

An October 2025 OECD country note on Romania's progress under the EU Coordinated Plan on AI found implementation fragmentary, citing the absence of a formally designated NCA and slow uptake of the AI Strategy's action plan measures as key gaps.