Daniel Gros
Director of the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University, Milan, Italy
The deep-seated dilemma facing European AI development lies in the fact that, despite considerable academic research contributions, Europe’s industrial base remains weak, lacking major technology companies to support the translation of research into applications. The dominance of the United States in R&D and software investment continues to expand, while China’s share has also surpassed that of the EU. High energy costs further compound Europe’s difficulty in catching up. The lengthy legislative cycle of the EU AI Act struggles to keep pace with the rapid evolution from generative AI to agentic AI, and global-level governance decision-making mechanisms are even slower. European AI governance can essentially regulate only the “use” of technology rather than its “development,” and has adopted a relatively inward-looking, protective perspective. Meanwhile, the Ukraine crisis has created an ethical tension for Europe regarding the military application of AI. The scale of EU public funding is far insufficient to bridge the investment gap with US technology giants, and the viable path forward is to enhance the EU’s internal flexibility and create a more open institutional environment for the adoption of disruptive technologies.
