The EU challenges the US and China over artificial intelligence: the race is all about computing power

Brussels – Europe is attempting to bridge the gap with the United States and China in the global race for computing power—the computational power required to train, run and develop artificial intelligence models. This is a contest that concerns not only technological competitiveness but also the EU’s ability to defend its strategic autonomy and its values. Elizabeth Kuiper, Associate Director and Head of the Health and Social Resilience Programme at the European Policy Centre (EPC), argues that investing in “compute capacity” also means strengthening the resilience of European societies in the face of artificial intelligence. 

This issue is at the heart of the European Commission’s new initiative for the construction of the AI Gigafactories, major infrastructure projects dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence. Brussels has launched a call to select up to seven facilities across Europe, backed by up to €10 billion in public funding, to mobilise at least €20 billion in private investment. The facilities will need to provide computing capacity for start-ups, businesses, universities, and public authorities, and could become operational from 2027. 

According to Kuiper of the EPC, however, the stakes go “beyond the construction of new data centres.” Computing capacity is now “a component of European economic security”: increasing it means “creating the conditions to develop AI technologies and models within Europe, reducing dependence on US and Chinese infrastructure.” Greater access to computing power could also support industrial and technological ecosystems capable of safeguarding jobs, even though data centres, being highly automated, will generate relatively few direct jobs. “Investing in computing power ensures much more than just economic security,” emphasises Kuiper. 

There is also a political dimension. Greater European computing capacity would enable the EU to have a greater say in data management and the development of AI, offering alternatives to US Big Tech platforms and the values that guide their development. The Gigafactories will, in fact, have to operate in compliance with European regulations on data protection, security, and ethics.

However, not all 27 Member States are yet on the same page regarding the project. Eighteen Member States have signed up to the agreement on joint computing procurement, including Italy, France, Germany, and Spain. Nine countries, however, have not yet joined. Among these is the Netherlands, which, according to Kuiper, favours “an approach based on private investment and market dynamics.” 

It is precisely this choice, warns the EPC’s associate director, that overshadows a broader issue: the European technology strategy must “go hand in hand with a strategy for the social resilience of AI.” Because the race for computing power, ultimately, is not just about chips, servers, and data centres, but about Europe’s ability to determine how artificial intelligence will transform its economies and societies, while keeping European rules and values at the heart of the process.