The EU is promoting an independent, trustworthy AI while striving to catch up with the USA and China.

Can the EU catch up with the USA and China with its AI agenda? October 20, 2026 If dominance in the field of artificial intelligence were an Olympic discipline, there would only be two serious contenders for the gold medal: the USA and China. The European Union plays little role in the AI debate, as it has in many areas of leading technology recently. The former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, who in his 2024 report demanded that the EU become more innovative to become more competitive, recently said that AI is "perhaps the most promising" way for the EU to stimulate growth today. However, he criticized that the European Union only controls a small part of the value chain. "Being cut off from AI, as the economy is based on it, would be equivalent to decoupling from the US financial system," he wrote in a guest article for the Financial Times. "The consequences would be catastrophic." Draghi's stance was clearly expressed last Wednesday in Dublin at an international AI summit organized by the Irish government as part of its six-month EU Council Presidency. The summit's motto, "Use AI to revolutionize Europe's competitiveness," could just as well have come from the former Italian Prime Minister. Security concerns overshadow the growth agenda The handling of AI has become significantly more complicated. A whole series of controversies surrounding out-of-control AI agents have caused alarm: from the "Hugging Face" attack in June, where 1200 agents hacked an online platform, to an agent developed by Anthropic that sent false information to the US police about an unsolved murder case. Many representatives of the tech industry, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the leading AI research labs themselves, have called for a pause in development so that necessary security measures can be adjusted. Despite this, the mood at the summit was largely positive: Leading figures from the tech and AI industries discussed the economic and social potential of AI together with Irish and EU politicians. They also emphasized the need for strict regulation and security standards. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin made it clear that Ireland is fully committed to AI. He joined the recent statement by EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen, who sees the technology as a "turning point." The Irish Prime Minister repeatedly emphasized how important the security aspect is for the EU in this. "We are determined to use the benefits and at the same time mitigate the risks," Martin explained. "In Europe, we have taken our path by bringing innovation and opportunities in line with a trustworthy, human-centered approach to AI." Were important concerns overlooked? Meanwhile, Henna Virkkunen, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for technological sovereignty, security, and democracy, announced at the event that the EU has initiated its first enforcement measures under its new AI Act and has requested information on security and protection from providers of advanced AI models. Other topics that concern the numerous critics of AI - from massive environmental damage by data centers to job losses due to AI - were hardly mentioned in the discussions. Before the venue, a group of demonstrators led by "People Before Profit," a left-wing Irish party, criticized the summit for not focusing on these issues. "The line is deliberately blurred when it comes to the type of AI being promoted," said Alexandra Day, one of the organizers of the demonstration, to the DW. "Workers are really being forced without their consent. Workers have no right to decide against the use of AI now that they are entering the workplace." The AI gap is growing from a European perspective A sense of urgency was clearly felt among the speakers at the summit. Leaders of some of the world's largest AI and technology companies highlighted the potential of Europe. Nevertheless, the EU still has a lot to catch up on in terms of AI development. Despite the expansion of its data center capacities, it still lags far behind the USA and China. It has five percent of the world's AI computing capacity, compared to around 75 percent in the USA. The EU is conspicuously missing from the lists of leading AI research labs; only the French company Mistral is nearly on par with the top labs. In the production of leading chips, it is far behind the leading manufacturers from the USA or Taiwan. As part of its plan to catch up with the USA and China, the Irish government laid out a policy paper in its role as host of the EU Council Presidency at the event. The so-called "Dublin Declaration" outlines political commitments to strengthen European AI capabilities, including infrastructure investments and financial support for European AI companies. In line with Draghi's demands that Europe should develop its own AI sovereignty with a view to supply chains and infrastructure, the declaration indicates that European companies that depend on cloud and computing services outside the EU may need to meet additional compliance requirements. Can Europe reconcile innovation and regulation? However, not everyone is convinced that the EU is able to either expand its AI capabilities or develop effective regulations. Eddie Wilson, CEO of the European airline Ryanair, expressed doubts about whether Brussels can regulate AI well without hindering innovations. "The last thing we want is for people to regulate an industry that has no idea about it," he said to the DW. "That's what usually happens in Brussels." Ryanair recently signed a contract with Google to use its cloud data system and the AI platform "Gemini Enterprise." Companies from the USA are expected to distance themselves from this type of cooperation with AI supply chains under the interpretation of the EU. "I am worried about Europe because these tech companies need to move fast," said Wilson. He is of the opinion that the environment in the USA is more innovation-friendly. "If they don't do it here, they will do it elsewhere. They will do it in China and they will do it in the USA." The article was adapted from English.