Hard choices: EU technological sovereignty and the geopolitics of AI

13 October 2026 · 13:00–15:00 · European Parliament, Brussels

Registration from 12:30 · Room ASP 5G2

Europe wants greater control over the digital technologies on which it depends, not least AI. Yet much of the AI infrastructure it uses is developed and controlled outside the EU. Can Europe strengthen its technological autonomy while working with international partners? What are the trade-offs? Recent narratives suggest we should invest 800 billion over 3 years into compute and frontier AI model development or we might as well give up, but is that really the only choice we have?

Join MEP Laura Ballarín Cereza and FES Future of Work for a discussion on Europe’s AI dependencies and the choices facing EU policymakers. Prof Francesca Bria will deliver a keynote on EU tech sovereignty and the US-led Pax Silica initiative, followed by a panel debate with Member of European Parliament Alex Agius Saliba, Mistral´s Charlotte Baylac de La Codre, ECFR´s José Ignacio Torreblanca, and Leevi Saari from the University of Amsterdam. FES Future of Work Director Knut Dethlefsen will provide the closing remarks.