EU links AI growth with trust and sovereignty

The EU is framing its AI policy around excellence and trust, combining support for research, industrial capacity and adoption with safeguards for safety and fundamental rights. The approach aims to build on Europe’s strengths in research, industrial know-how and regulation while giving businesses legal certainty to invest and innovate.

The AI Continent Action Plan focuses on accelerating AI development, deployment and uptake in sectors including healthcare, education, industry and environmental sustainability. Its measures include reinforcing AI Factories and Gigafactories, expanding access to high-quality data, launching the InvestAI Facility, supporting implementation through the AI Act Service Desk and preparing an AI Skills Academy. The Cloud and AI Development Act is intended to reduce strategic dependencies and support more sovereign, resilient and competitive European AI and cloud solutions.

The Apply AI Strategy seeks to increase adoption across key industrial and public sectors, with particular attention to SMEs. The European Commission also launched the Apply AI Alliance as a forum for AI providers, industry, the public sector, academia, social partners and civil society, alongside a planned AI Observatory to track AI trends and sector impacts.

The AI Act uses 4 different levels of risk to clarify obligations for developers, deployers and users. Targeted amendments were proposed in November 2025, adopted in June 2026 and entered into force on 27 July 2026, complementing guidance and support for businesses and national authorities. The 2024 Innovation Package and GenAI4EU initiative are designed to help startups and SMEs access data, computing, algorithms and talent, including supercomputing resources.