In the shadow of the Nvidia scandal, which has shaken the international economy and markets in recent days, the Informal EU Summit on artificial intelligence took place yesterday. Europe's sluggishness, however, now brings it face to face with the technological dominance of the United States and China. The 27 EU leaders are rushing to shape the pillars of the European strategy for the industrial exploitation of artificial intelligence, investment, security and protection of citizens.
The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, who announced that the leaders would return to the issue in the new year, indicated that "Europe cannot be left behind", indirectly but clearly acknowledging that the Union did not have the reflexes to respond to technological developments, which run at the speed of light. António Costa linked the implementation of the European strategy to the Savings and Investment Union and the new Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034, while announcing the continuation of the discussions on 5 February 2027.
Autonomy with declarations
At the heart of the Summit's discussions was the need to develop European technologies and the Summit advocated reducing dependence on American providers of advanced data storage models and infrastructures. In this nexus, the mobilization of capital and investments for the use of artificial intelligence by European businesses and public services emerged as a priority.
The European strategy is, however, facing serious obstacles. According to Reuters, the plan to build seven giant artificial intelligence facilities remains in limbo due to disagreements over the financing of competitiveness under the new European budget 2028–2034. At the same time, Europe risks failing its goal of securing 20% of the global semiconductor market by 2030. These delays highlight the gap between European ambitions and the real potential for their implementation.
Balances in Imbalance
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, indicated that "Europe must leverage its high-quality industrial data to develop artificial intelligence of European production".
He announced the presentation, within two weeks, of an action plan on artificial intelligence in five strategic areas, while he said that the EU is in a position to mobilise investments of €30 billion. Over time, it highlighted the dangers of its uncontrolled use. The aspect that gathered the greatest concerns was the challenges posed by new technologies for jobs, security, democracy and fundamental rights.
The Irish Prime Minister, host of the Informal Summit, spoke of a balance between regulation and innovation, in a way that ensures Europe's technological autonomy and absorbs the shocks of the impact on employment.
The highlights of the gurus...
At the Summit, the CEO of Mistral AI, Artur Mens, and the Nobel laureate Teffrey Hinton were invited and spoke as keynote speakers. Mens presented Europe's potential to compete with the US and China by creating its own models, infrastructures and technologies.
The Nobel laureate, Geoffrey Hinton, was asked to highlight the dark side of Artificial Intelligence and in particular the risks to employment, safety, child protection, fundamental rights and democracy. Also on the agenda of the discussion were the concentration of technological power in a few large companies and the need for international control rules.
The Summit ended with specific announcements, but without presenting a comprehensive and binding roadmap, as critical questions remain unanswered as to whether Europe can develop its own advanced models that can compete with those of American and Chinese companies.
Free pollutants in industries
In the shadow of high energy costs and the pressures on European competitiveness, the Council and the European Parliament shook hands to alleviate energy-intensive industries by granting around 121 million free carbon allowances for the period 2026-2030.
The new agreement aims to contain the costs of complying with environmental rules and to prevent European production from being relocated to third countries with looser restrictions.
Of the 121 million allowances, around 88 million come from existing mechanisms, another 28 million from previously unallocated allowances and 5 million are intended for targeted protection of particularly exposed industries. The measure concerns sectors such as chemicals, paper, food, ceramics and glass.
