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    AI by country · Southern Europe

    AI in Croatia: the rules, the readiness and where to start

    Last checked: 29 October 2026

    What should a company in Croatia know before starting with AI?

    Croatia applies the EU AI Act and the GDPR, with the GDPR filled in by the 2018 Act on the Implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation. As of 29 October 2026 the European Commission listed no Croatian AI Act market surveillance authority, and we found no national implementing law. A company should follow the AI Act directly, take care with workplace cameras and biometrics, and watch for the national plan and implementing law.

    At a glance

    Croatia at a glance

    Key facts about Croatia
    Data protection lawGDPR (applies since 25 May 2018) plus the Act on the Implementation of the GDPR (Narodne novine 42/2018), in force since 25 May 2018
    RegulatorPersonal Data Protection Agency (AZOP); AI Act market surveillance authority not yet confirmed
    AI policyNational Plan for the Development of AI to 2032 being drafted since May 2025. No national AI law as of 29 October 2026
    Time zoneCET, UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer
    CurrencyEUR (euro)
    Business languageCroatian; English common in business

    Why now

    Why Croatia is worth watching

    Each point links to the document it comes from.

    • Eurostat data show 15.19% of Croatian enterprises with 10 or more staff used at least one AI technology in 2025, up from 11.76% in 2024 and below the EU figure of 19.95%.[6]

    • On 2 May 2025 the Government decided to start drafting a National Plan for the Development of AI to 2032, with an Action Plan for 2026 to 2028, led by the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation.[7]

    • A Government proposal dated 30 July 2026 describes a Croatian AI factory backed by 39 million euros in grants from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.[8]

    • The AI Act's Article 50 transparency duties began on 2 August 2026, and Annex III high-risk rules now start on 2 December 2027.[1]

    • The European Commission's list of AI Act single points of contact showed no entry for Croatia when updated on 7 September 2026.[5]

    The rules

    The rules that matter for AI

    What each law or policy means when you build or buy an AI system.

    General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679

    In force2016People have a right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing with legal or similarly significant effects (Article 22). High-risk processing needs an impact assessment (Article 35), and breaches go to AZOP within 72 hours where feasible (Article 33). Fines can reach 20 million euros or 4% of worldwide turnover.[2]

    Act on the Implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (NN 42/2018)

    In force2018Children resident in Croatia can consent to online services on their own from age 16 (Article 19). Employers must tell staff in advance about video surveillance and may not film rest rooms or changing rooms (Article 30). Biometric data for working time or access needs the employee's explicit consent unless a law requires it (Article 23). Public authorities cannot be fined under this Act (Article 47).[3]

    EU Artificial Intelligence Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, as amended by the Digital Omnibus on AI

    Phased2024Prohibitions and AI literacy have applied since 2 February 2025, and general-purpose AI rules since 2 August 2025. High-risk rules apply from 2 December 2027 (Annex III) and 2 August 2028 (AI in Annex I products). Fines reach 35 million euros or 7% of turnover for prohibited practices, with the lower cap for SMEs.[1]

    Croatia's AI Act fundamental rights authorities (Article 77)

    In force2024In December 2024 Croatia notified the Commission of the bodies that protect fundamental rights for high-risk AI, including the Ombudsperson, the specialised ombudspersons, AZOP, the State Electoral Commission and the Agency for Electronic Media. These bodies can ask for documentation about high-risk AI used in their areas.[4]

    Where AI fits first

    Where AI fits first

    Tourism and hospitality

    Guest messaging in Croatian, English, German and Italian, and booking forecasts.

    Chatbots must tell people they are dealing with AI under Article 50 of the AI Act, from 2 August 2026.[1]

    Retail and logistics

    Stock forecasting and camera-based shelf or loading checks.

    Workplace video surveillance requires advance notice to staff and is barred from rest and changing rooms (Article 30 of NN 42/2018), so keep vision AI away from monitoring workers.[3]

    Banking

    Summarising loan files and answering customer questions in Croatian.

    Credit scoring of individuals is an Annex III high-risk use under the AI Act, applying from 2 December 2027.[1]

    Public administration

    Searching legislation and drafting replies to citizens.

    The national AI plan is led by the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation, which also sets digital policy for the state.[7]

    Your first steps

    Your first steps

    1. List every AI system you use and mark which fall under the AI Act's prohibited, high-risk or Article 50 transparency categories.
    2. Add AI notices to chatbots and label AI-generated content now, since Article 50 already applies.
    3. Review workplace cameras and biometric time clocks against Articles 23 and 30 of NN 42/2018 before adding AI to them.
    4. Run a GDPR impact assessment before using AI for profiling, credit, hiring or health.
    5. Give staff basic AI training so you can show the measures you took on AI literacy.
    6. Put a GDPR transfer mechanism, such as standard contractual clauses, in place before personal data leaves the EU.
    7. Watch the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation and e-Savjetovanja for the national AI Act law and AI plan.

    AI services for Croatia

    AI consulting and development for teams in Croatia

    We work remotely with companies in Croatia, in your time zone, and keep your data under the rules described above.

    AI agents and automation

    Agents that finish multi-step work across your tools, with people approving what matters.
    Learn more

    Document Q&A (RAG)

    Answers from your own documents, with the source shown for every answer.
    Learn more

    AI governance and data protection

    Policies, review steps and audit trails that fit your local data law.
    Learn more

    Software and cloud engineering

    Web apps, integrations and cloud platforms built around your AI use case.
    Learn more

    How we work with you

    How we work with you

    We work remotely with clients worldwide, in the client's time zone. Croatia is on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer, and India is on UTC+5:30, a gap of 4.5 hours in winter and 3.5 hours in summer. Taking a 9:00 to 18:00 day in Zagreb and 9:30 to 18:30 in India, the overlap is 5 hours in winter (09:00 to 14:00 Zagreb time) and 6 hours in summer (09:00 to 15:00). India has no EU adequacy decision, so personal data we handle from India needs a GDPR transfer mechanism such as standard contractual clauses.

    Questions

    Common questions about AI in Croatia

    Does Croatia have its own AI law?

    Not as of 29 October 2026. The EU AI Act applies directly. We found no published national law naming Croatia's AI Act authorities or setting its sanctions procedure.

    Who supervises AI in Croatia?

    That is not yet confirmed. The Commission's list of single points of contact showed no Croatian entry in September 2026. AZOP supervises personal data, including data used by AI.

    Were the AI Act deadlines delayed?

    Partly. The Digital Omnibus on AI moved high-risk rules to 2 December 2027 and 2 August 2028. Article 50 transparency duties still apply from 2 August 2026.

    Can we use AI on workplace camera footage?

    Be careful. Croatian law allows workplace video surveillance only with advance notice to staff and bars it from rest and changing rooms. AI used to monitor or evaluate workers is also high-risk under the AI Act from 2 December 2027.

    Complimentary tools

    Try these first

    Three complimentary tools from our AI Toolkit that suit a team starting out.

    AI readiness score

    Answer a few questions and see where your team stands, in about five minutes.
    Open the tool

    AI use case triage

    Test an idea against data, risk and effort before you spend on it.
    Open the tool

    AI project cost estimator

    Get a rough build and run cost range for a first AI project.
    Open the tool

    Read next

    Sources

    Sources

    Facts checked on 29 October 2026. Numbers in square brackets above match this list.
    1. [1] European Commission, AI Act Service Desk, 2026-10-29. Timeline for the implementation of the EU AI Act(ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Timeline for the implementation of the EU AI Act. Primary. Accessed on this date; reflects the Digital Omnibus on AI (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744). Fine caps were read on the Service Desk Article 99 page.

    2. [2] Boletín Oficial del Estado (copy of the Official Journal of the EU, L 119), 2016-05-04. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation)(boe.es)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation). Primary GDPR text, read in the Spanish official copy because EUR-Lex could not be opened from our tools. Used for Articles 22, 33, 35 and 83.

    3. [3] Narodne novine, 2018-05-09. Zakon o provedbi Opće uredbe o zaštiti podataka (NN 42/2018)(narodne-novine.nn.hr)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Zakon o provedbi Opće uredbe o zaštiti podataka (NN 42/2018). Primary. Original text as published; later amendments, if any, were not checked. Used for Articles 19, 23, 26 to 30, 47 and 57.

    4. [4] Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije, 2024-12-05. Objavljen popis nadležnih tijela sukladno Uredbi o umjetnoj inteligenci…(mpudt.gov.hr)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Objavljen popis nadležnih tijela sukladno Uredbi o umjetnoj inteligenciji. Primary. Used for the list of Article 77 fundamental rights authorities. The page does not name a market surveillance authority.

    5. [5] European Commission, 2026-09-07. Market surveillance authorities under the AI Act(digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Market surveillance authorities under the AI Act. Primary. Shows a dash for Croatia, meaning no single point of contact listed.

    6. [6] Eurostat, 2026-06-15. Artificial intelligence by size class of enterprise (isoc_eb_ai)(ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Artificial intelligence by size class of enterprise (isoc_eb_ai). Primary dataset, read through the Eurostat API. Indicator E_AI_TANY, enterprises with 10 or more persons employed, excluding the financial sector.

    7. [7] tportal.hr, 2025-05-02. Hrvatska će nadzirati umjetnu inteligenciju: kreće izrada ključnog doku…(tportal.hr)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Hrvatska će nadzirati umjetnu inteligenciju: kreće izrada ključnog dokumenta. Press report of the Government session. Used for the decision to draft the National AI Plan to 2032 and Action Plan 2026 to 2028. We found no confirmation that the plan has been adopted.

    8. [8] Vlada Republike Hrvatske, 2026-07-30. Prijedlog odluke on Croatia's participation in EuroHPC AI factory and g…(vlada.gov.hr)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Prijedlog odluke on Croatia's participation in EuroHPC AI factory and gigafactory initiatives (190th session materials). Primary Government session document (a proposal). Used for the 39 million euro AI factory funding. We did not confirm the final decision text.

    This is general information, not legal advice. Croatia had not named its AI Act authorities or adopted its national AI plan when we checked, so expect changes. Check with a qualified Croatian lawyer before you act. Facts checked on 29 October 2026.

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