Artificial intelligence (AI): Council approves conclusions to strengthen EU’s ambitions
Today, the Council approved conclusions on a European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) report aiming to strengthen EU’s AI ambitions, notably by enhancing governance and ensuring an increased, more focused investment when moving forward in this field.
The Council agrees with the Court’s conclusion that the EU must scale up investments in AI and facilitate access to digital infrastructure to be a globally competitive actor with a global impact, assume leadership in the development and deployment of AI, foster talent and create an ecosystem of excellence and trust.
Moreover, the Council underlines that the environmental impact of AI systems, high-performance computing, and possible solutions to increase energy efficiency, as well as securing a reliable hardware supply chain, are important factors, which should be also taken into account in AI policies.
The Council also agrees with the Court that close cooperation and collaboration with member states and international organisations, with a view to maximising the impact of investments at EU and national levels, while capitalizing on synergies, is a key element to ensure EU’s global leadership in AI and its positioning as a reference point for AI governance. In this regard, the Council invites the Commission to intensify the regular information sharing towards the Council and its relevant preparatory bodies to support the EU’s strategic engagement in international fora and cooperation with partners.
Finally, understanding that AI can boost European competitiveness if the results of R&I projects are commercialised or exploited directly or indirectly, the Council agrees with the Court about the need for measurable performance targets and indicators. The Council adds, however, that such indicators should be designed carefully without hindrance to the overall objective of the projects, in a way that would not add additional burdens to the beneficiaries, the member states, and implementing entities.
Background information
On 29 May 2024, ECA published its special report titled ‘EU artificial intelligence ambition – Stronger governance and increased, more focused investment essential going forward’, which provides an in-depth assessment of the effectiveness of several Commission actions between 2018 and 2023, including AI research and innovation support policies (2018-2022), and regulatory initiatives (2023). ECA underlines that the EU framework for coordinating and regulating EU investment in AI is a work in progress, whereas the Commission’s coordination and evaluation with the member states had limited effects. ECA also notes that the implementation of the envisaged enablers for AI innovation is ongoing and that, even if the Commission boosted the funding of research and innovation (R&I) in AI, such financial support lacks an effective framework for performance monitoring.
