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The EU’s approach to artificial intelligence centers on excellence and trust, aiming to boost research and industrial capacity while ensuring safety and fundamental rights. The EU’s path to AI deployment is aimed at “defining the way” the European integration proceeds and helping to create a “digital Europe” for the people and businesses able to enjoy the benefits of AI while feeling safe and protected.
Background
The European-wide strategy on the AI implementation is aimed at making the EU member states’ citizens and businesses capable of using all the AI’s advantage. Besides the European integration process is ensured that the AI models are safe, human-centered and trustworthy. Such a strategy is optimally transformed into the European approach to excellence and trust through concrete rules and actions. Thus, in reality, the AI services are considered as a tool, albeit a highly special and a sophisticated one, that is constantly evolving and improving along the general human intelligence development.
More in: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/artificial-intelligence-real-benefits
The EU institutions and the member states have increased their efforts, as well as the states’ national and the EU-wide digital decade roadmaps; the financial part of such measures is presently worth € 288.6 billion. The European “digital report-2025” stressed the need for further public and private intervention and investment to enhance the EU’s technological capacity, ensuring better infrastructure and digital skills development.
Source- the State of the Digital Decade 2025 report in: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/state-digital-decade-2025-report
The member states and the Commission have collaborated closely and meeting regularly to work on the actions under the EU Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence (more on the plan below): the cooperation progressed in all areas of the plan including the digital data strategy, supporting AI for SMEs and creating conditions for excellence in the AI-wide research, development and uptake.
The coordinated plan on AI was published in 2018 as a “joint commitment” among the Commission, the EU-27 member states, Norway and Switzerland to maximize European potentials to compete globally. Initially the plan defined actions and funding instruments for the uptake and development of AI across various socio-economic sectors; accordingly, the member states were developing their own national strategies.
Source: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/plan-ai
Thus, during first last two years of the plan’s implementation (2023-25) it has been confirmed that joint actions and structured cooperation between the states and the Commission provided optimal results for the EU’s global competitiveness and leadership in AI development: i.e. most member states have adopted national AI strategies and started to implement them; besides, the investments in AI have increased and the EU was able to mobilize critical resources to support these processes.
Source and citation from the Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence’s link at : https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/plan-ai
First steps
In May 2018, the Commission set up a group on artificial intelligence inviting experts in the field and rally a broad alliance of diverse stakeholders. The expert group also intended to draw up a proposal for guidelines on AI ethics, building on the then available statement by the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies.
More in the Commission portal at: https://commission.europa.eu/research-and-innovation_en
The Commission efforts stem from the basic idea that AI can bring major benefits to society and economy through a better healthcare, safer transport and more sustainable farming; however, numerous questions remained related to the impact of AI on the future of work and existing legislation tools. These challenges are calling for a wider, open and inclusive discussion on how to use and develop AI models more successfully and ethically sound.
Then, the joint declaration on the EU’s legislative priorities for 2018-2019 called for a high level of data protection, digital rights and ethical standards in artificial intelligence and robotics. The Commission had taken some actions to make optimal use of AI implementation, with the following directions: = investments in research and innovation in the Horizon 2020 Framework Program including a call for an AI-on-demand platform that would gather tools and algorithms for users (such as SMEs, non-tech sector and public administration) to test solutions based on artificial intelligence, investments in digital infrastructure through the high-performance computing, the network of digital innovation hubs and projects across thematic areas using AI for developing new knowledge, products and services; = the creation of a Digital Single Market, including a comprehensive framework for the free flow of personal and non-personal data, first-class connectivity among the EU member states, and stronger cybersecurity rules.
The Commission intended to facilitate further on the achieved progress on AI in line with the conclusions of the EU institutions to assist the process of stimulating investments and accelerating the AI technologies’ development and take-ups.
Reference to: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_18_1381
EU-wide coordinated plan on AI
At the end of 2018, in its strategy on AI for Europe, the Commission proposed to work out with the member states a coordinated plan on AI by the end of 2018, with the aim of maximizing the impact of investments at the European and national levels, encouraging synergies and cooperation among the states, exchanging best practices and collectively defining the ways forward to ensure that EU’s global competitiveness. The proposal for a coordinated plan and the declaration of cooperation on AI that was endorsed by the European Council in June 2018.
The coordinated plan for “AI made in Europe” details actions for 2019-2020 and prepares the ground for activities in the years to come: i.e. the coordination with the member states will continue and the plan will be reviewed and updated annually. Besides, the Commission’s new AI knowledge service (so-called AI Watch), will help monitor the development of AI in Europe and the implementation of the coordinated plan, which will be based on the common regulatory framework concerning proposals on cybersecurity, open data, including funding for research and innovation as well as deployment of AI technologies.
Source and reference to: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_18_6689
The European AI office
The European AI office (created in February 2024) supports the development and use of trustworthy AI, while protecting against AI risks; it was established within the European Commission as the center of AI expertise and forms the foundation for a single European AI governance system.
As soon as the EU aims to ensure that AI is safe and trustworthy, the European AI Act (partially entered into force in August 2024) is the first-ever comprehensive legal framework on AI worldwide, guaranteeing the health, safety and fundamental rights of people, and providing legal certainty to businesses among EU-27 states. Structurally, the AI Office consists of 5 units and 2 advisors; they include: – the “Excellence in AI and Robotics” unit; = the “Regulation and Compliance” unit; = the “AI Safety” unit; = the “AI Innovation and Policy Coordination” unit; and = the “AI for Societal Good” unit; besides, there are two advisory “bodies”: = the Lead Scientific Advisor, and = the Advisor for International Affairs.
Source: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/ai-office
Present situation in various AI components
Strengthening previous initiatives, the April 2025 AI Continent Action Plan is aimed at making Europe a global leader in AI; besides, the action plan’s new version focuses on developing trustworthy AI technologies to enhance European competitiveness while safeguarding and advancing democratic values. It also aims at bringing the benefits of AI to various sectors such as healthcare, education, industry, environmental sustainability and economic growth.
The plan includes actions to build large-scale AI data and computing infrastructures, increase access to high-quality data, foster AI adoption in strategic sectors, strengthen AI skills and talent, and facilitate the implementation of the AI Act. Key components include the establishment of AI Factories and Gigafactories, the InvestAI Facility to stimulate private investment, and the launch of the AI Skills Academy.
In January 2024, the Commission launched the AI innovation package to support Artificial Intelligence startups and SMEs; the package included several measures to support European startups and SMEs in the development of trustworthy AI that respects EU values and rules.
A vital key element of the package was the communication on boosting startups and innovation in trustworthy artificial intelligence that had set out a EU-27 strategic investment framework in trustworthy AI to capitalize on e.g. the EU world-leading super-computing infrastructure and on innovative European AI system.
Presently, the main landmark initiative of the Communication is the “GenAI4EU” plan to stimulate the uptake of generative AI across the EU states’ key strategic industrial systems that would encourage the development of large open digital innovation systems that would foster collaboration between AI startups and deployers of AI in industry and the public sectors.
However, all these initiatives are built on the April 2021 AI package which included: – Communication on fostering a European approach to AI; – Review of the Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence (with EU-27 states); – Regulatory framework proposal on artificial intelligence and relevant impact assessment.
European approach to excellence in AI
This approach is aimed at fostering excellence in AI and strengthening European potential to compete globally. Thus, in this regard, the EU will achieve the following goals: – enabling the development and uptake of AI in the EU; – becoming the place where AI thrives from the lab to the market; – ensuring that AI works for people and is a force for good in society; and – building strategic leadership in high-impact sectors.
The Commission and the member states agreed to boost excellence in AI by joining forces on policy and investments: e.g. the 2021 review of the Coordinated Plan on AI outlined a vision to accelerate actions and align priorities with the current European and global AI landscape and bring AI strategy into action.
Thus, maximizing resources and coordinating investments is a critical component of AI excellence: e.g. the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programs will invest €1 billion per year in AI. The Commission will also mobilize additional investments from the private sector and the member states sources in order to reach an annual investment volume of €20 billion over the course of the digital decade.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility, RRF makes €134 billion available for digital, which would allow the EU states to amplify their ambitious plans and become global leaders in developing cutting-edge and trustworthy AI. As soon as the access to high-quality data is an essential factor in building high-performance and robust AI systems, the EU initiatives (including the EU Cybersecurity Strategy, the Data Act and the Data Governance Act) provide the right infrastructure for building such systems.
On RRF in: https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/economic-recovery/recovery-and-resilience-facility_en
The European approach to trust in AI
Building trustworthy AI will create a safe and innovation-friendly environment for users, developers and deployers: the Commission has proposed recently 3 inter-related legal initiatives that will contribute to building trustworthy AI: a) European legal framework for AI that upholds fundamental rights and addresses safety risks specific to the AI systems; b) civil liability framework in adapting liability rules to the digital age and AI; and c) revision of sectoral digital safety legislation, such as Machinery Regulation and General Product Safety Directive, GPSD.
More on GPSD in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0346
European legal framework on AI
The Commission aims to address the risks generated by specific uses of AI through a set of complementary, proportionate and flexible rules. These rules also provide Europe with a leading role in setting the global gold standard.
More on the AI legislation in: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/regulatory-framework-ai
This legal framework concentrated in the AI act that gives AI developers, deployers and users the clarity they need by intervening only in those cases/spheres that the existing national and EU legislations do not cover. The AI Act has a clear, easy-to-understand approach, based on four different levels of risk: – minimal risk, – high risk, – unacceptable risk, and -the specific transparency risk; the act also introduces dedicated rules for general-purpose AI models.
General source: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/european-approach-artificial-intelligence