Europe admits it is falling behind in AI, €500 billion needed to compete with US and China

EU leaders held their first dedicated AI discussion in Dublin, with Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton joining the meeting. One figure stood out: only 20% of European digital services run on European infrastructure. Mensch says €260 billion a year is going to foreign providers instead of companies and infrastructure Europe controls. Ursula von der Leyen estimates Europe needs at least €500 billion to develop and adopt AI. Plans for seven AI mega-factories backed by €30 billion have stalled. Europe wants technological independence, but it is still paying foreign companies to run much of its digital economy.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/11/14/ai-europeans-face-challenge-to-stay-competitive-and-improve-regulation_6780458_4.html

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2026/11/13/remarks-by-president-antonio-costa-at-the-press-conference-following-the-informal-meeting-of-heads-of-state-or-government-of-13-november-2026/