As the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) approaches implementation, we discuss how this landmark legislation will be effectively upheld in practice and through enforcement. This panel will explore the practices for compliance and critical steps needed to ensure that the AI Act goes from a legislative framework into a practical tool for governing AI use across Europe. We will focus on practical solutions and key mechanisms for ensuring compliance: practices for compliances, the role of oversight bodies and supervisory authorities in monitoring AI systems, to the contributions of NGOs and civil society in holding organizations accountable, and the challenges policymakers face in translating regulation into actionable enforcement on the ground. Arguing against the notion of trickle-down policy, the panel will highlight the collective efforts necessary to transform the AI Act into an impactful and enforceable reality.