EU Commission announces “AI Continent Action Plan” to become global AI leader

Brussels, 9 April 2025

To become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) is the objective of the AI Continent Action Plan launched today. As set out by President Ursula von der Leyen at the AI Action Summit in February 2025 in Paris, this ambitious initiative is set to transform Europe’s strong traditional industries and its exceptional talent pool into powerful engines of AI innovation and acceleration.

The race for leadership in AI is far from over. From cutting-edge foundation models to specialised AI applications, the AI landscape in the EU is dynamic. It is driven by research, emerging technologies and a thriving ecosystem of startups and scaleups. The AI Continent Action Plan will boost the European Union’s AI innovation capabilities through actions and policies around five key pillars:

1. Building a large-scale AI data and computing infrastructure

The Commission will strengthen Europe’s AI and supercomputing infrastructure with a network of AI Factories. 13 of these factories are already being deployed around Europe’s world-leading supercomputers. They will support EU AI startups, industry and researchers in developing AI models and applications.

As announced in the Competitiveness Compass, the EU will also help set up AI Gigafactories. These will be large-scale facilities equipped with approximately 100,000 state-of-the-art AI chips, four times more than current AI factories. They will integrate massive computing power and data centres to train and develop complex AI models at unprecedented scale. The AI Gigafactories will lead the next wave of frontier AI models and maintain the EU’s strategic autonomy in critical industrial sectors and science, requiring public and private investments. A call for expression of interest for interested consortia is published today.

Private investment in Gigafactories will be further stimulated through the InvestAI, which will mobilise €20 billion investment for up to five AI Gigafactories across the Union.

To stimulate private sector investment in cloud capacity and data centres, the Commission will also propose a Cloud and AI Development Act. The goal is to at least triple the EU’s data centre capacity in the next five to seven years, prioritising highly sustainable data centres.

2. Increasing access to large and high-quality data

Bolstering AI innovation also requires access to large volumes of high-quality data. An important element of the Action Plan is the creation of Data Labs, bringing together and curating large, high-quality data volumes from different sources in AI Factories. A comprehensive Data Union Strategy will be launched in 2025 to create a true internal market for data that can scale up AI solutions.

3. Developing algorithms and fostering AI adoption in strategic EU sectors

Despite the potential of AI, only 13.5% of companies in the EU have adopted AI. To develop tailored AI solutions, boost their industrial use and full adoption in EU strategic public and private sectors, the Commission will launch the Apply AI Strategy in the coming months. European AI innovation infrastructure, including notably the AI Factories and the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), will play an important role in this Strategy.

4. Strengthening AI skills and talents

To meet rising demand for AI talent, the Commission will facilitate international recruitment of highly skilled AI experts and researchers through initiatives such as the Talent Pool, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action ‘MSCA Choose Europe’ and AI fellowships schemes offered by the upcoming AI Skills Academy. These actions will contribute to legal migration pathways for highly skilled non-EU workers in the AI sector and attract the best European AI researchers and experts back to Europe. It will also develop educational and training programmes on AI and Generative AI in key sectors, preparing the next generation of AI specialists and supporting the upskilling and reskilling of workers.

5. Regulatory simplification

The AI Act raises citizens’ trust in technology and provides investors and entrepreneurs with the legal certainty they need to scale up and deploy AI throughout Europe. The Commission will also launch the AI Act Service Desk, to help businesses comply with the AI Act. It will serve as the central point of contact and hub for information and guidance on the AI Act.

Next Steps

With this Action Plan the Commission opens today two public consultations, running until 4 June 2025, to further shape these AI Continent Action Plan initiatives.

A public consultation inviting all interested parties to share their views on the Cloud and AI Development Act
A public consultation on Apply AI to identify stakeholder priorities, challenges to the uptake of AI, and the relevance of proposed solutions and policy approaches—including additional measures to ensure the smooth and simple application of the AI Act.

A third public consultation on Data Union Strategy will be launched in May.

In parallel, the Commission will organise dialogues with industry representatives and the public sector to help shape the Apply AI Strategy. These dialogues, together with the public consultations, will identify relevant examples of untapped potential in adopting AI technologies in specific sectors, their current integration in business and production processes, and opportunities for scaling up within these sectors and the wider economy.

Background

On 1 August 2024 the AI Act entered into force and guidelines on prohibited AI practices were published on 4 February 2025. On 24 January 2024, the Commission launched a package of measures to support European startups and SMEs in the development of trustworthy AI. On 9 July 2024 the amended EuroHPC JU Regulation entered into force, allowing the set-up of AI Factories. On 10 December 2024, seven consortia were selected to establish AI Factories, followed by six additional consortia on 12 March 2025. At the AI Action Summit in Paris on 11 February 2025, President von der Leyen announced InvestAI, an initiative to mobilise a €200 billion investment in AI across Europe.

More Information

Quote

Artificial intelligence is at the heart of making Europe more competitive, secure and technological sovereign. The global race for AI is far from over. Time to act is now. This Action Plan outlines key areas where efforts need to intensify to make Europe a leading AI Continent. We are working towards a future where tech innovation drives industry and public services forward, bringing concrete benefits to our citizens and businesses through trustworthy AI. This means a stronger economy, breakthroughs in healthcare, new jobs, increased productivity, better transport and education, stronger protection against cyber threats, and support in tackling climate change.

^{Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy}

Source – EU Commission

AI Continent Action Plan – EU Commission Q&A

The AI Continent Action Plan outlines a set of bold actions to make the EU a global leader in Artificial Intelligence. This Q&A clarifies some topics.

You can download and read the AI Continent Action Plan.

What are AI Factories?

AI Factories are open and dynamic AI ecosystems formed around the public network of Europe’s world-leading EuroHPC supercomputers. They support the EU AI industrial and research ecosystem by bringing together the necessary ingredients – computer power, data, and talent – to create cutting-edge, trustworthy AI models and applications. They foster collaboration across Europe, unlocking the potential of AI companies, in particular SMEs and start-ups, universities, and industry. AI Factories serve as one-stop shops driving advancements in AI applications across various sectors, such as health, manufacturing, climate, finance, and more.

In February 2025, at the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, President von der Leyen launched InvestAI, an initiative to mobilise €200 billion for investment in AI. This includes the InvestAI facility, to be developed with the European Investment Bank Group with a view to mobilise €20 billion investments to establish AI Gigafactories.

Will AI Factories and Gigafactories be very energy-consuming? How will this initiative comply with climate goals?

The European Union is committed to the twin digital and green transition – which should mutually support each other. The initiatives of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, such as AI Factories, select hosting sites based on specific criteria that prioritise energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Green computing will continue to be pursued through energy-efficient supercomputers optimised for AI, using techniques such as dynamic power saving and re-use techniques like advanced cooling and recycling of the heat produced. The JUPITER exascale supercomputer under installation in Jülich is a prime example of European excellence in addressing energy efficiency. It is expected to be one of the world’s top three most powerful supercomputers and has been assessed as the greenest supercomputer in the world.

The Commission will continue to work on initiatives to ensure that data centres are climate neutral, highly energy efficient and sustainable by 2030.

In particular, the Cloud and AI Development Act and the Strategic roadmap for digitalisation and AI in the energy sector will address measures to facilitate the sustainable integration of data centres into the energy system and other energy-related issues. In the same vein, the Water Resilience Strategy to be adopted in Q2 2025 will look into increasing circularity, water reuse and efficiency.

How will the Apply AI Strategy support the development and deployment of AI models and systems in EU strategic sectors?

The Apply AI Strategy will launch concrete actions to accelerate AI adoption and drive innovation across strategic EU sectors, including the public sector. It will encourage AI solutions ‘made in Europe’, focusing on industrial sectors where EU know-how could contribute to further increasing competitiveness gains.

What role will European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) play in promoting AI innovation and adoption?

EDIHs are one-stop shops supporting companies and public sector organisations to adopt digital solutions – particularly AI – and become more competitive. They provide access to technical expertise and testing, as well as the possibility to test before investing in AI solutions. EDIHs offer innovation services such as financing advice, training and skills development, central to successful AI adoption. EDIHs are collaborating closely with the EU AI Innovation infrastructures, including AI factories, Testing and Experimentation Facilities and AI regulatory sandboxes. Each EDIH serves as an access point to the entire EDIH Network, providing local companies and public actors with access to support from other EDIHs with necessary expertise. This ensures that all stakeholders support they need, wherever it is available in Europe.

What is the goal of the Cloud and AI Development Act, and how will it impact the EU’s data centre capacity?

The primary goal of the Cloud and AI Development Act is to support a European cloud offer, in terms of capacity and services, to match the needs of the AI Continent and to reinforce EU competitiveness. The Act aims to at least triple the EU’s data centre capacity in the next 5-7 years and bring it to a level where it fully meets the needs of businesses and public administrations by 2035. The Act will also tackle the barriers to the expansion of data centre capacity and incentivise private investment. It will ensure that operators of sustainable data centres benefit from faster permit-granting procedures and find access to land, finance, and energy in the EU. In addition, the Act will improve the choice of cloud service providers in the EU single market, particularly for highly secure EU-based cloud services for highly critical use cases.

How will the EU address the need to access large and high-quality data?

Building on the increased data availability from the Data Act and Data Governance Act, the Commission will shift its focus to harnessing the potential of data for innovation and development of generative AI, among other things, to boost our competitiveness and become an AI continent. To achieve this, the Commission will put forward a European Data Union Strategy in the second half of 2025, with a focus on making more data available for AI and ensuring a simplified, clear and coherent legal framework for businesses and administrations to share data seamlessly and at scale, while respecting high privacy and security standards.

The Data Union Strategy will focus on strengthening Europe’s data ecosystem by:

Enhancing interoperability and data availability
Improving data sharing across sectors and borders
Ensuring governance structures are efficient and effective

It will also reduce the complexity and administrative burden of current legislation.

In this context, Data Labs will play an important role, bringing together and organising data from different sources. They will seek out data that participants in Europe’s Common Data Spaces make available, for example, against payment or other reward.

AI Factories may be used by companies or research entities that already have the relevant data. The exact service offering will be defined at a later stage and may vary from AI Factory to AI Factory. It could include one or several of the following: cleaning and enriching datasets (e.g. augmentation with synthetic data), data normalisation, anonymisation, production of synthetic data. They might also offer regulatory compliance, including competition-law-compliant data pooling services, helping companies to share data while adhering to antitrust rules.

How will the Commission address the increasing demand for AI talent in the EU?

To enlarge the EU’s pool of AI talent in Europe, the Commission will train the next generation of AI specialists based in the EU and promote the attraction and retention of international and European AI experts currently living in non-EU countries, in line with the workstreams of the Union of Skills and the STEM Education Strategic Plan.

To prepare a pipeline of AI specialists ‘trained in Europe’, the Commission will significantly increase the overall offer of European Bachelors’ degrees, Masters’ degrees, and PhDs in AI, including via the AI Skills Academy, for which a call for proposal will open on 15 April 2025.

The AI Skills Academy offers education and training programmes on AI and in particular generative AI. It skill, upskill or reskill students and professionals in key sectors and develop a pilot generative AI-focused degree. This will enable top-level experts in generative AI to educate and train the AI Skills Academy’s students, while advancing their own research in the field. The Academy will also offer an AI apprenticeship programme and ‘returnship’ schemes for female AI professionals.

In line with the Union of Skills, the Commission will also facilitate legal migration pathways for highly skilled non-EU nationals via the EU Talent Pool, Multiple Purpose Legal Gateway Offices, and Talent Partnerships. Moreover, the Commission will pilot a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action – ‘MSCA Choose Europe’ – that will be open to all research fields, allowing research institutions such as universities and research infrastructures to attract, develop and retain excellent international AI researchers. The pilot co-funds recruitment programmes, enabling them to link their MSCA grants to long-term prospects within the institution including, for example, competitions for permanent positions.
A similar aim will be pursued by AI fellowships, which will also incentivise the return of European AI researchers and young professionals living abroad.

What other actions are planned for skills?

Supporting the 2030 Roadmap on the future of digital education and skills and its AI in Education initiative, as well as in line with the Union of Skills, the AI Continent Action Plan recognises the importance of upskilling and reskilling workers and the wider EU population in the use of AI. In this context, the Commission will rely on the network of the European Digital Innovation Hubs to increase their skills and training services. Moreover, it will raise awareness on AI literacy and foster dialogue on AI for all, notably by promoting dissemination activities and by maintaining a repository of AI literacy initiatives.

How are you planning to reduce the administrative burden for companies and foster regulatory compliance and simplification?

It is a priority of the Commission to ensure a smooth implementation of the AI Act and provide clarity about the applicable rules to stakeholders. The Commission will launch the AI Act Service Desk, a central information hub on the AI Act that will allow stakeholders to ask for help and receive tailor-made answers.

The AI Act Service Desk will complete the EU’s ecosystem of support for stakeholders on the AI Act, which includes EDIHs, forthcoming AI regulatory sandboxes, the AI Pact and the guidance on the AI Act.

The Apply AI Consultation will gather feedback from stakeholders on their challenges in navigating the AI Act. This feedback will inform the development of further support measures, such as guidance documents, self-assessment tools and templates for obligations. It will also inform the preparations of our broader evaluation on the need to simplify digital legislation.

Read the Action Plan

Read the Annex

Downloads

AI Continent Action Plan COM(2025)165: Download
Annex to the AI Continent Action Plan COM(2025)165: Download

Remarks by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on the AI Continent Action Plan

Brussels, 9 April 2025

“Check against delivery”

Good morning,

Today the College adopted the AI Continent Action Plan. I firmly believe that the EU is uniquely positioned to become an AI Continent.

First and foremost, we have an unparalleled pool of top talents: our universities and research institutions are among the best in the world.

It is not said enough, but we have today 30% more AI researchers than in the US!

Second, we have a vibrant ecosystem of dynamic startups that are driving key innovations in the development of AI frontier models and in applications across various sectors, from healthcare to robotics to manufacturing.

However, we need to do more and we need to do it now, because the pace of change is accelerating, and we cannot afford to fall behind.

In today’s fast moving, interconnected world, AI is no longer “just” a competitive advantage; it’s a necessity to be competitive and to close the innovation gap.

To achieve this goal, the AI Continent Action Plan focuses on 5 main key areas where policy action needs to be boosted:

First, it will concentrate on enhancing AI infrastructure in the EU, building on the 13 AI Factories we are establishing throughout Europe and setting up AI Gigafactories.

Given the magnitude of the necessary investments, AI Gigafactories will be implemented through public-private partnerships and other funding mechanisms.

This is why together with this Action plan we are launching a Call for Interest to set up Gigafactories to test the interest both from Member States and the Private Investors to invest in these projects.

In this regard, our President announced the launch of the InvestAI Facility, with a view to mobilising EUR 20 billion investment in AI infrastructure, targeting up to 5 AI Gigafactories across the Union.

Second, we will present actions to improve access to high-quality data. As key initiatives, it will establish Data Labs that will be an integral component of AI Factories, enabling provision, pooling and secure sharing of data.

Third, we want to boost AI adoption in strategic EU sectors. Today only 13% of EU companies use AI. We need to accelerate its adoption to increase productivity and create new products and services. We will also address the public sector, where in area like healthcare, AI can bring transformative benefits.

Fourth, we will focus on strengthening AI skills and talent across Europe by further developing excellence in AI education and the research ecosystem, raising awareness of AI across European society and facilitating legal immigration pathways for non-EU highly skilled workers and to attract EU skilled researchers. We will launch a pilot project for them to join the AI Academy, in connection with the AI Factories.

Last but not least, this Action Plan focuses on measures minimising regulatory burden and guaranteeing a simple and innovation friendly implementation of the AI Act.

For that, my teams are working, for example, on guidance documents, standards and a code of practice.

The Action Plan also announces the opening of an AI Service Desk, as of July this year, to answer questions that stakeholders might have on the AI Act. It will be an essential tool, saving companies from having to pay for legal advice.

We should never forget that under the risk-based AI Act around 85% of all AI systems remain unregulated. We want these companies to know that they are not subject to any rules under the AI Act. And for the remaining 15% we want to achieve a maximum of simplicity.

To conclude, I would like to inform you that we are hitting the ground running and that this afternoon I have invited in Brussels representatives of all the 13 AI Factories as well as of AI SMEs to discuss together the implementation of this Action Plan.

In this context, I will also announce the start of an AI Factory Tour, starting with the one in Luxembourg, Luxprovide in April, followed by Jupiter in Julich/Germany and Cineca/Bologna in Italy.

As we say underline in the document, time for action is now!

Thank you.