Headlines screamed delay. Fine print smirked. High-risk Annex III duties slid toward December 2027. Article 50 transparency? Still August 2. GPAI oversight? Still live. Counsel are telling U.S. labs: if your outputs kiss an EU user, you are in scope whether you planned for the right calendar or not. CNBC is the Read More, not a niche law blog. It matters because founders who paused for the wrong deadline just bought themselves a surprise. Caveat: national regulators will argue about who swings first.