Article 81

Union safeguard procedure

1.   Where, within three months of receipt of the notification referred to in Article 79(5), or within 30 days in the case of non-compliance with the prohibition of the AI practices referred to in Article 5, objections are raised by the market surveillance authority of a Member State to a measure taken by another market surveillance authority, or where the Commission considers the measure to be contrary to Union law, the Commission shall without undue delay enter into consultation with the market surveillance authority of the relevant Member State and the operator or operators, and shall evaluate the national measure. On the basis of the results of that evaluation, the Commission shall, within six months, or within 60 days in the case of non-compliance with the prohibition of the AI practices referred to in Article 5, starting from the notification referred to in Article 79(5), decide whether the national measure is justified and shall notify its decision to the market surveillance authority of the Member State concerned. The Commission shall also inform all other market surveillance authorities of its decision.

2.   Where the Commission considers the measure taken by the relevant Member State to be justified, all Member States shall ensure that they take appropriate restrictive measures in respect of the AI system concerned, such as requiring the withdrawal of the AI system from their market without undue delay, and shall inform the Commission accordingly. Where the Commission considers the national measure to be unjustified, the Member State concerned shall withdraw the measure and shall inform the Commission accordingly.

3.   Where the national measure is considered justified and the non-compliance of the AI system is attributed to shortcomings in the harmonised standards or common specifications referred to in Articles 40 and 41 of this Regulation, the Commission shall apply the procedure provided for in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Union safeguard procedure is a process established by the AI Act to handle disagreements if one EU country’s regulatory authority raises concerns about measures taken by another country’s authority regarding AI systems, whereby the European Commission evaluates these measures, determines their justification within a certain timeframe, and ensures a consistent approach across all EU Member States.
The European Commission typically evaluates national measures within six months after notification; however, if the issue involves violations of prohibited AI practices, the evaluation and subsequent decision-making process is expedited and must be completed within 60 days from the receipt of the initial notification, to promptly address serious compliance problems.
If the Commission finds the measure taken by a country’s authority to be justified, all other EU Member States must act quickly to impose similar restrictions on the AI system involved, which may include removing it from the market; this coordinated response ensures consistent safety standards and effective risk management across the European Union.
If the Commission determines that justified concerns about an AI system result from poorly developed or incomplete European harmonised standards or common specifications, it initiates a separate review process according to Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 to correct and improve these technical standards to protect consumer safety and ensure effective oversight.

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