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The rules on European Code of Practice for General Purpose AI, GPAI enter into force on 2 August 2025; however, companies that already have digital tools on the market will have two years to implement the rules, and tools launched after that date must be compliant with immediate effect. The Code, is a voluntary set of rules that touches on transparency, copyright, safety and security issues, etc. is aimed at helping providers of GPAI models comply with the AI Act, which regulates AI systems according to the risk they pose to society and is coming into force in stages beginning from August 2024.
Background
The EU member states formally approved the Code of Practice for General Purpose AI (GPAI) on 22 July, 2025, which paved the way for providers of AI systems to sign up; the whole procedure was just days before the entry into force of the AI Act’s provisions (the second of August) affecting GPAI systems.
The European Commission presented the Code in the beginning of July; it is a voluntary set of rules drafted by experts appointed by the Commission, aiming to help providers of AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini comply with the AI Act. Companies that sign up are expected to be compliant with the AI Act and are would have more legal certainty, others will face more inspections. Besides, the Code requires a sign off by EU member states, which are represented in a subgroup of the AI Board, as well as by the Commission’s own AI Office.
It is vital that the US tech giant Google said it would sign the EU’s AI Code of Practice on GPAI, while still expressing concerns about bloc’s AI rules regarding innovation.
“While the final version of the Code comes closer to supporting Europe’s innovation and economic goals […] we remain concerned that the AI Act and Code risk slowing down Europe’s development and deployment of AI,” the president of global affairs at Google’s parent company Alphabet, Kent Walker, said in a blogpost. “In particular departures from EU copyright law, steps that slow approvals, or requirements that expose trade secrets could chill European model development and deployments, harming Europe’s competitiveness,” Walker added.
Source and citation from: https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/07/14/eus-ai-code-ready-for-companies-to-sign-next-week
Bumpy road to implementation
In the meantime, OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, has said it will sign up to the code once its ready. “The Code of Practice opens the door for Europe to move forward with the EU AI Continent Action Plan that was announced in April—and to build on the impact of AI that is already felt today,” the statement said.
The Code’s publication drew mixed reactions, with consumer group BEUC and Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) hesitant about the final version of the code. BEUC Senior Legal Officer, Cláudio Teixeira called the development a “step in the right direction”, but underlined that voluntary initiatives like the Code of Practice “can be no substitute for binding EU legislation: they must complement and reinforce, not dilute, the law’s core protections for consumers.”
CDT Europe’s Laura Lazaro Cabrera said the final draft “stops short of requiring their in-depth assessment and mitigation in all cases.” “The incentive for providers to robustly identify these risks will only be as strong as the AI Office’s commitment to enforce a comprehensive, good-faith approach,” she said.
Kroet C. EU’s AI Code ready for companies to sign next week (2025). In: EuroNews.com. publication, 14 July, 2025.
US tech giant Meta said in mid-July, that it will not sign, “having slammed the rules for stifling innovation”: besides, the drafting process of the Code has also received criticism from rightsholders, fearing it is a violation of copyright rules. The Commission will make public a list with the signatories on 1 August.
Source: https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/07/30/google-will-sign-up-to-eus-ai-code-despite-concerns?insEmail=1&insNltCmpId=2012&insNltSldt=10080&insPnName=euronewsfr&insUuid=NWY2OGY1NmMtYTM0Ni00MDM1LTgwNDItNzQ2YzI3OTE2MTZm&isIns=1&isInsNltCmp=1
Assisting the digital providers
In mid-July, the Commission prepared the guidelines, which include the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice, the AI Act Service Desk and other tools to assist providers. The new guidelines were developed through a public consultation, during which the Commission gathered input from hundreds of stakeholders; they also reflect input from the experts from the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (advising the AI Office) on the AI classifications, including general-purpose AI models and those with systemic risk, etc.
While not legally binding, these guidelines set out the Commission’s interpretation and application of the AI Act, which will guide its enforcement actions.
The general-purpose AI models play a significant role in encouraging innovation and uptake of AI within the EU, as they can be used for a variety of tasks and integrated into a wide array of AI systems. For this reason, providers of such models have certain obligations under the AI law.
These obligations include giving information to providers of AI systems intending to integrate the model into their AI systems and putting in place a policy to comply with European copyright law.
More in: https://www.integrin.dk/2025/07/19/assisting-general-purpose-ai-models-providers-new-guidelines/