AI: France, Germany and Italy want to strengthen EU’s strategic autonomy

Economy ministers from three member States want to promote growth of most innovative European companies.

Bruno Le Maire, Robert Habeck and Adolfo Urso, economy ministers of their respective countries, laid the groundwork for a common technological strategy on October 30, 2023. Their goal is to strengthen the European Union’s strategic autonomy in vital and strategic tech, like AI.

In a joint address, they called for drawing up European legislation “minus the useless bureaucracy” for innovative projects. The three ministers mean to facilitate their growth by reducing “superfluous administrative procedures,” particularly when the projects involve several States.

The statement also calls for creating a European venture capital ecosystem “that would allow innovative businesses to get the funding they need”. Lack of investment is indeed one of European startups’ weaknesses, compared to their US counterparts.

The three ministers insist on the need to guarantee the “free and secure flow, access and use of data” in the EU. They are therefore campaigning for “a transparent and reliable cybersecurity certification system for cloud providers.” The three member States should deliver a joint roadmap on these issues to Brussels.