Berlin (AFP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron will join forces Tuesday to push for greater European digital “sovereignty” and less dependence on US tech titans as the AI race gathers pace.
The leaders of Europe’s biggest economies will make the call at a Berlin summit, which will also be attended by CEOs of top regional firms including French AI company Mistral and German software giant SAP.
With artificial intelligence set to play an increasingly important role in many sectors, Europe’s leaders are responding to growing calls for the continent to take greater control of its own digital destiny.
Concerns about American tech dominance have also escalated since the return of US President Donald Trump, who has questioned long-standing ties between the continent and Washington in many areas.
German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger said Monday that the summit’s “core message” would be that “Europe is ready to shape its own digital future, to reduce dependence.”
“We can make better progress by working together,” he added while attending a groundbreaking ceremony for an 11-billion-euro ($12.8 billion) data center outside Berlin.
The European Union in particular has been criticized for moving too slowly in the battle for AI dominance against the United States and China.
The EU will propose a rollback of rules on AI and data protection later this week, a topic that is expected to feature prominently at the summit.