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A New Era of AI Regulation in Europe
The EU AI Act, adopted in 2024, is the world's first major law regulating artificial intelligence. It applies across all EU member states, including Bulgaria, and aims to ensure AI is safe, transparent, and respects fundamental rights.
Prohibited AI Practices
The Act bans certain AI practices considered too harmful. These include systems that manipulate human behavior, use biometric data for social scoring, or enable real-time facial recognition in public spaces, except in rare, justified cases like preventing terrorism. These practices are seen as violating privacy and democratic values.
Four Levels of AI Risk
The AI Act divides AI systems into four risk categories: unacceptable, high, limited, and minimal. High-risk AI, used in areas like healthcare, recruitment, law enforcement, or critical infrastructure, must meet strict legal requirements such as transparency, data governance, and human oversight.
What the AI Act Means for Businesses
For businesses, the impact depends on their role in the AI lifecycle. Whether a company is an AI provider, authorised representative, importer, distributor, deployer, or operator, different compliance obligations apply. Failing to comply can result in hefty fines (up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover). While this increases regulatory pressure, it also creates a clear framework for ethical innovation and builds consumer trust.
How the Act Protects Citizens & Bulgaria's Next Steps
For citizens, the Act brings stronger protection from discrimination, surveillance, and opaque decision-making. It guarantees the right to be informed when interacting with AI and to contest harmful outcomes.
The AI Act emerged from rising concerns about AI misuse. Though it regulates businesses and authorities, its main purpose is to protect people. For Bulgaria, this law is a key step toward safe, ethical AI integration into daily life and business.
What Eurofast Can Do
As technology reshapes business operations, regulatory compliance becomes increasingly complex. Eurofast helps companies adapt to new EU frameworks, including the AI Act, by ensuring that their HR, payroll, and data management processes remain fully compliant and transparent.
By combining cross-border experience with local legal insight, Eurofast enables organizations to adopt innovation responsibly.
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