“The AI ​​war has already begun.” Europe is reacting after the US denied it access to the most powerful artificial intelligence model

Anthropic has announced that it will “suddenly disable” its most advanced AI models for all users, and the announcement sparked a lot of backlash in Europe.

Anthropic received an export control directive from the US government requiring it to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 to all foreign nationals, according to Reuters.

He was not given concrete details about the national security reasons, Anthropic said in a statement.

Even the company's own non-US employees will no longer have access to the two models — considered the company's most advanced AI models.

Rumor in Europe, after the US decision

The Trump administration's decision sparked a wave of reactions across Europe and reignited the debate over its reliance on overseas technology, according to Euronews and Euractiv.

Many politicians said the measure should be a wake-up call to governments and called for increased investment in the domestic technology sector.

A spokesperson for the European Commission told Euractiv that the measure adopted by the Washington administration “underlines even more clearly Europe's need for technological sovereignty”.

The European official also emphasized that the respective models raise serious cyber security issues.

“We continue discussions with our allies”

The EU executive has previously argued that EU legislation on artificial intelligence and cyber security already provides a solid basis for protecting the EU bloc against AI-powered cyber threats.

“We are continuing discussions with our allies about these models. It is in our common interest to manage these risks and strengthen cybersecurity,” the Commission representative said, adding that the institution is preparing an action plan on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

In recent years, technological independence has become one of the strategic priorities of the European Union. At the beginning of June, the European Commission presented a package of measures aimed at accelerating the development of European capabilities in the field of data centers, chips and artificial intelligence.

“The time has come for European technological sovereignty to become a reality”

Finnish MEP Aura Salla wrote on LinkedIn that “the time has come for European technological sovereignty to become a reality”, arguing that the Old Continent has already received “enough alarm signals”.

And German MEP Sergey Lagodinsky said on the X platform that Europe must demand access to these models and called on European leaders to meet urgently to discuss this topic.

The decision of the Trump administration also caused reactions in France, where several politicians entering the race for the presidential elections commented on the situation.

Former French Prime Minister and 2027 election candidate Gabriel Attal said the “artificial intelligence war has already begun” and that the upcoming presidential campaign will not be able to avoid “this issue”.

Calls from France

And Bruno Retailleau, former French interior minister and candidate for the 2027 presidential election, reacted.

“Washington's decision to restrict access to Anthropic's best-performing models should be a wake-up call. In the race for artificial intelligence, a nation that depends on others for technology is a nation that can be disconnected overnight,” Retailleau wrote on X.

He pointed out that France has companies that can compete with US tech giants, “but we have to end our naivety and finally decide to rearm our technological power”.

Independent cyber security expert Lukasz Olejnik had a harsh reaction.

“Europe has seen this risk for years. This is no longer an alarm signal. It is the bill for ignoring it,” said the specialist.

AI, “a matter of national sovereignty”

Al Carns, a British MP and former defense minister, lamented the directive given by the US government, pointing out that British authorities were trying to figure out the powerful AI model when it was stopped.

“This week the most advanced AI model on the planet was shut down by a foreign government. British researchers were studying it. British companies were testing it. British hospitals were using it in pilot projects. Now that's not the case,” said Carns, who resigned as defense minister following a row over defense spending earlier this week.

“This is not an AI story. It's the story of every industry in which we were leaders,” he continued.

Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch far-right Party for Freedom, said that “artificial intelligence is increasingly a matter of national sovereignty”, while calling for the country to accelerate the development of its own models.

Jordan Bardella, the leader of France's far-right National Assembly party and front-runner in the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron in the French presidency, has stressed that his country needs to develop its technology.

“The Trump administration is suspending access to Anthropic's latest AI models for all non-US citizens: this sudden decision comes as a reminder that artificial intelligence is already a major issue of national sovereignty,” he said in a social media post.

“Nations that do not rapidly develop their own model(s) will always depend more and more on the choices of other powers: France must accelerate its support for the Mistral AI gem and the entire AI ecosystem,” he added.