European Commission publishes Communication on the AI Continent Action Plan

IRIS 2025-6:1/11

Eric Munch

European Audiovisual Observatory

On 9 April 2025, the European Commission published a Communication on the AI Continent Action Plan.

The Communication outlines a set of actions to achieve the goal of becoming a global leader in AI and a leading AI continent. It highlights the need for ambition, speed and foresight identified at the European Union level to shape the future of AI to enhance the block’s competitiveness, its safeguards and advances of democratic values, as well as protecting its cultural diversity.

To become an AI Continent, the EU has identified a need to accelerate and intensify efforts in five key domains.

First, the EU’s public AI infrastructure needs to be scaled up to allow innovators and researchers to train and fine-tune AI frontier models. This includes strengthening the network of AI factories and establishing resource-efficient Gigafactories. These Gigafactories will foster scientific collaboration around powerful and unique infrastructures, bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs and investors to tackle ambitious and forward-looking projects in areas like healthcare, biotechnology, industry, robotics and scientific discovery. Private-sector investment in cloud capacity and sustainable data centres must be facilitated and scaled up. Second, there is a need for further action to ensure more access to high-quality data for AI innovators. Third, further development of AI algorithms and their adoption in the EU’s strategic sectors need to be stimulated. Fourth, the EU’s already strong AI talent base needs to be reinforced, by closing existing gaps, further developing excellence in AI education, training and research, by attracting more women to AI, by raising awareness of AI among the wider society and public administration and by attracting and retaining talent from outside the EU. Fifth, there is a need to facilitate compliance with the AI Act, particularly for smaller innovators.

The Communication further details the efforts to be made in each of the aforementioned key domains, supported by the InvestAI initiative. The initiative will mobilise EUR 200 billion for investment in AI in line with the political priorities of the Competitiveness Compass.