The European Union is intensifying its efforts to strengthen its technological position. In the draft of the new multiannual financial framework, the European Commission announced over EUR 400 billion from the European Competitiveness Fund for investments in the area of, among others: digital transformation and space. Under the Horizon Europe program, EUR 175 billion is to be allocated to work on world-class innovations. Further announcements concern strategies related to semiconductor production in Europe, the development of data centers and AI. The goal of these initiatives is to increase technological sovereignty and improve the ability to compete with global leaders.
– The European Union must build its digital and technological competences, because this is the only way to maintain technological sovereignty – emphasizes Krzysztof Gawkowski, Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Minister of Digitization, in an interview with the Newseria agency. – Europe focuses on innovation, technological leap and technological sovereignty. Hence, various programs are intended to strengthen our competences and give EU countries a chance to compete with global giants.
Projects aimed at digital sovereignty are an important element of changing the EU's strategy. One example is the European Chip Act, which aims to increase semiconductor production in Europe, strengthen supply chains and make the EU independent of external suppliers. The European Commission aims for the EU's share in global chip production to be 20% by 2030.
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Last year, the Commission also started the process of supporting the construction of European AI factories – infrastructure designed to enable the training of large models and advanced machine learning systems on European equipment. In total, there are 19 AI factories in 16 Member States, including two in Poland. The InvestAI instrument is intended to strengthen the EU's role in the development of artificial intelligence, which includes a fund of EUR 20 billion for the creation of up to five AI gigafactories.
– I have an increasingly better appreciation of the actions of the European Union in the context of supporting innovation. We stop looking only at regulations. This is forced on us by the current relationship between the European Union and the United States and the Donald Trump administration – says Dr. Maciej Kawecki, president of the Lem Institute, director of the Innovation Center of WSB Merito University in Warsaw. – On the other hand, only 11 European companies in the field of artificial intelligence are worth over a billion dollars – so the question arises where we are in this race and what our role should be.
For now, Europe lags behind in the number of so-called AI unicorns – there are no European entities among the top 10 companies in the world and among the most valuable unicorns.
– The answer to the question whether Europe has a chance to be a leader in the field of large artificial intelligence is: of course it does not – says Dr. Maciej Kawecki. – However, the revolution we are in is more than just language models. This is also artificial intelligence at the application level, integration of quantum computers, quantum algorithms with artificial intelligence mechanisms, the area of unmanned aerial vehicles and the use of artificial intelligence in predictive areas. These are a whole host of areas where, in my opinion, Europe has a chance to be a leader.
– I believe that Europe needs projects that will unite countries in individual regions into strong organisms. The Gigafactory, as one of the projects currently operating on the Old Continent, is an example of how to build strong regional cooperation based on digital technologies. I hope that there will be more such projects, especially in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, which as a region has a very strong sense of common history, common needs and today's position in terms of technology development. Therefore, it is important that we create one strong voice in this region and build a strong digital hub for Europe – says Michał Kanownik, president of the Digital Poland Association.
Experts point out the need to increase funds for scientific research and development. Within the EU, Horizon Europe is used for this purpose and has become the largest research program in history. In December, the European Commission adopted a work plan for the program for the next two years. According to it, in 2026-2027, EUR 14 billion will go to scientific research and innovation for all strategic objectives of the Union. In turn, in the draft of the new EU budget for 2028-2034, EUR 175 billion was allocated for the program. Financing world-class innovations is also to be closely linked to the European Competitiveness Fund, for which the EC has allocated EUR 409 billion. The priority areas under this fund include, among others: defence, space industry and digital transformation. As announced, the Horizon Europe program and the European Competitiveness Fund will offer support for the entire project investment process (from the concept stage to scale-up) and will limit both the costs incurred by potential beneficiaries and the time of disbursement of funds.
According to Dr. Maciej Kawecki, large investments by private entities in data centers in Europe may also be helpful in increasing research and development expenses.
– The development of artificial intelligence is also an area of science and research. One way is to create a situation in which large technology companies will be open to spending billions of dollars in the European Union.. The way to attract them is to open huge data centers, built for billions of dollars – cooled with water from the Baltic Sea or using renewable energy sources, because today this is lacking even in the United States – explains Dr. Maciej Kawecki. – If we led to a situation in which such data centers were built in the European Union, billions of dollars would come to us, and then we would retransfer these funds to science and innovation. Then we would have a chance to reach the point where we not only matter in the world of technology. This can be done within three or four years.
Fewer barriers, more innovation
In addition to investment initiatives, the European Commission also announced the simplification of regulations for technology companies, including: artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. This will also include consolidating EU data rules (through the Data Act) and boosting the growth of European AI businesses by unlocking access to high-quality data sets for AI. It is deregulation that is to become an element of acceleration that the new technologies sector has been waiting for for years. Companies have often indicated that the pace of technology development is faster than the pace of regulation. In response, the European Commission launched a review of regulations that hinder investments in technologies with a fast life cycle.
– Today we have a positive signal from the European Commission demonstrating the understanding that in order to build the competitiveness of the European economy, we need to simplify the law and eliminate excessive barriers to innovation.. Innovation needs regulatory space to develop to create new products and digital services. We'll see how this process ends, says Michał Kanownik.
The industry expects that the combination of deregulation and financing will translate into greater competitiveness of European companies on the global market.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasizes that the ongoing digital revolution is one of the elements of building state security.
– The more we invest in this market, the more we try to extract new talents, the more we help companies, the more cooperation between administration, public institutions and business, the better for countries and their development. This gives us a greater chance that no one will attack us, and if an attack does occur, we will be able to defend ourselves effectively – emphasizes Krzysztof Gawkowski. – In the pre-war times in which we live, in which we need to arm ourselves, both conventionally and in cyberspace, responsibility for science, new technologies and basic research must be at the center of the government's attention. This is how Poland treats this area.
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