BRUSSELS (Realist English). The European Union is preparing to launch a sweeping plan to accelerate the development and adoption of European-made artificial intelligence systems, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign technology providers and compete more effectively with the United States and China.
According to a draft of the “Apply AI strategy” seen by the Financial Times, the European Commission intends to promote homegrown AI tools to enhance the bloc’s security, resilience and industrial competitiveness. The initiative, expected to be unveiled Tuesday by EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen, highlights AI’s potential in healthcare, defence and manufacturing, and calls for greater use of European-developed generative AI in public administration.
The draft warns that Europe’s dependence on “external components of the AI stack” — the hardware, software and cloud infrastructure underpinning AI systems — creates strategic vulnerabilities that “can be weaponised by state and non-state actors.” Such concerns have intensified since Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, which has revived fears of overdependence on American technology and underscored Europe’s push for digital sovereignty.
While Chinese firms continue to challenge U.S. dominance in AI development, the EU risks being left behind. Despite the rise of promising European companies such as France’s Mistral and Germany’s Helsing, much of the bloc’s AI ecosystem still depends on foreign chips, cloud platforms and critical minerals.
The Commission envisions public institutions playing a key role by driving demand for open-source European AI solutions, helping startups scale up. “We want to speed up AI adoption across the board,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday, adding that Europe must treat AI not merely as a productivity tool but as a strategic asset integrated into its economic and security frameworks.
To support the initiative, Brussels will mobilize €1bn from existing funding programs to accelerate AI deployment in priority sectors, including healthcare and advanced manufacturing. The strategy also calls for the rapid rollout of AI-enabled defence systems, particularly command and control (C2) technologies currently reliant on U.S. infrastructure through NATO.
In addition, the EU plans to back the development of “sovereign frontier models” for space and defence applications — a step aimed at securing Europe’s technological independence in critical domains.
If adopted, the Apply AI strategy would mark the bloc’s most ambitious effort yet to assert digital sovereignty and ensure that the next generation of artificial intelligence reflects European values, standards, and strategic interests.
