(1) The purpose of this Regulation is to improve the functioning of the internal market and promoting the uptake of human centric and trustworthy artificial intelligence, while ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety, fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter, including democracy, rule of law and environmental protection against harmful effects of artificial intelligence systems in the Union and supporting innovation. This Regulation lays down:
(a) harmonised rules for the placing on the market, the putting into service and the use of artificial intelligence systems (‘AI systems’) in the Union;
(b) prohibitions of certain artificial intelligence practices;
(c) specific requirements for high-risk AI systems and obligations for operators of such systems;
(d) harmonised transparency rules for certain AI systems;
(da) harmonised rules for the placing on the market of general-purpose AI models;
(e) rules on market monitoring, market surveillance governance and enforcement;
(ea) measures to support innovation, with a particular focus on SMEs, including start-ups.