Merz urges Europe to accelerate homegrown AI development

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Germany and Europe to develop their own AI technology faster, warning that dependence on outside providers could undermine control over their economies. Speaking at an AI conference in Berlin, he called digital sovereignty “a truly existential question” and said Germany should develop and operate technology across the entire supply chain, from hardware to software.

Merz acknowledged that this ambition would require “an enormous technological and organisational effort.” His government has established a dedicated digital affairs ministry and pledged to accelerate digitalisation, including catching up with the Netherlands and Denmark. Despite adopting its first national AI strategy in 2018, Germany remains poorly positioned to fully benefit from the technology, according to the Ifo economics institute. It identified a relatively small high-tech sector, weak digital public services, skills shortages and continued reliance on paper-based processes.

International partnerships and investment are also central to the government’s plans. Merz named Canada and France as potential partners among like-minded governments. At a summit last month, companies including Amazon and Nvidia joined investment pledges worth more than €225bn, according to the economy ministry. Germany also aims to quadruple its AI computing power by 2030.