It has taken them until 2026, but Europe’s leaders are finally sitting down to talk about artificial intelligence – and they’re doing it in Dublin.
Today’s informal meeting of the 27 EU heads of state and government, hosted by Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the Convention Centre, is the bloc’s first dedicated discussion on AI. European Council President António Costa has described it as “a first dedicated discussion”, and expects leaders to return to the subject in 2027.
Who’s in the room
Costa invited two outside speakers to shake up the debate:
- Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist often called the “Godfather of AI”, who has become one of the loudest voices warning about its dangers. He was due to speak on AI’s wider impact on society, security and trust, according to Il Foglio.
- Arthur Mensch, chief executive of the French AI company Mistral – Europe’s best-known answer to OpenAI and Google.
The big question: can Europe still compete?
The questions Costa put to leaders centre on how Europe can become “a leading and sovereign player” in key parts of the AI value chain. Critics say the EU’s AI Act focused so heavily on risk that too many rules have slowed European companies down, while the US and China raced ahead.
The European Commission has appointed Siemens chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe as a special envoy for industrial AI, with a focus on bringing AI “from the screen into the real economy”.
Expect to hear a lot about “sovereign” AI. That’s EU-speak for not depending on American or Chinese technology – and it could mean public contracts that favour European providers.
Ukraine crashes the party
The AI agenda has had competition. After a letter from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Costa added a debate on Ukraine so the bloc could speak with one voice, according to EUobserver. Leaders are expected to discuss what an EU envoy to peace talks might look like.
Why it matters for Ireland
Ireland is home to the European headquarters of many of the world’s biggest tech companies, and holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU until the end of the year. Decisions about how Europe regulates, funds and buys AI will land directly on Irish jobs and Irish data centres.
No formal decisions are expected today – informal meetings are for strategy, not law. But the direction set in Dublin could shape Europe’s tech policy for years.
Sources: Il Foglio, EUobserver, The Irish Times.
Main image: Growtika / Unsplash
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