Through the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the European Commission aims to create an ecosystem of trust and excellence to make the EU a vibrant hub for research, development and innovation driven by AI. As European policymakers begin discussions, it is important that they prioritise the creation of safeguards for trustworthy AI systems and foment the increased use of AI across the EU. Among other things, this will require developing a tight ‘high-risk’ definition in order to avoid overlaps with other legislation as well as ensuring that the proposed Act is enforced in a harmonised and predictable manner.