The Advisory Forum (the Forum) is a general advisory body to the European Commission and the AI Board, established to provide technical expertise, advise them, and to contribute to their tasks under the EU AI Act. It sits within the Act’s broader governance architecture, as one of the two advisory bodies, in addition to the Scientific Panel of independent experts (established under Article 68). In this overview, we summarise the Forum’s legal basis, functions, membership, and working methods, and note the Commission’s appointment of the Forum on 1 June 2026.
Summary
- The Forum is intended to represent a balanced selection of stakeholders drawn from different groups, including industry, start-ups, SMEs, civil society, and academia.
- Five bodies serve as permanent members: the Fundamental Rights Agency, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, the European Committee for Standardisation, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute.
- On 1 June 2026, the Commission announced the composition of the Forum, consisting of 174 members selected from more than 700 applications.
Coming up in this post:
- Summary
- Key functions
- Membership
- Permanent members
- Term of office
- Working methods
- The Forum announcement
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Key functions
The Forum is established under Article 67 of the AI Act to provide technical expertise and to advise the AI Board and the Commission, contributing to their tasks under the Act. Its role is to contribute stakeholder input on the implementation and application of the Act.
At the request of the AI Board or the Commission, it may prepare opinions, recommendations, and written contributions. It may also establish standing or temporary sub-groups to examine specific questions related to the Act’s objectives. The Forum also has a consultative role in standardisation: under Articles 40 and 41 of the AI Act, the Commission must consult the Forum, among other stakeholders, when preparing standardisation requests and when drafting common specifications.
Membership
An important feature of the Forum is its emphasis on balanced selection. As set out in Article 67(2), its membership must represent a balanced selection of stakeholders, including industry, start-ups, SMEs, civil society, and academia. The composition must be balanced between commercial and non-commercial interests and, within the commercial category, between SMEs and other (typically larger) undertakings. This design seeks to ensure that no single category of interest dominates the advice given to the Board and the Commission.
The Commission appoints Forum members from among stakeholders with recognised expertise in the field of AI, applying the balance criteria above.
Permanent members
Five bodies serve as permanent members of the Forum:
- the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA),
- the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA),
- the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN),
- the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC), and
- the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
The FRA and ENISA bring fundamental rights and cybersecurity expertise respectively. The inclusion of the three European standardisation organisations (CEN, CENELEC, and ETSI) reflects the central role of harmonised standards in operationalising the AI Act and the intention for the Forum to support the Commission in its work on standardisation requests and common specifications.
Term of office
Appointed members serve a term of two years, which can be renewed once up to a maximum of four years. The Forum elects two co-chairs from among its members, again in accordance with the balance criteria. Co-chairs serve a two-year term, renewable once.
Working methods
The Forum draws up its own rules of procedure. It must meet at least twice a year and may invite additional experts and stakeholders to its meetings.
The Forum must prepare an annual report on its activities, which will be made publicly available. This supports transparency on the Forum’s activities.
The Forum announcement
On 1 June 2026, the Commission announced the membership of the Forum. It consists of 174 members, selected from more than 700 applications across civil society, academia, and industry, including SMEs and start-ups. Further information, including the Terms of Reference, list of members and details of meetings, is available through the Register of Commission Expert Groups.