Commission welcomes first major joint European AI project

The European Commission welcomes the initiative of 19 member states to create and pre-notify, in line with state aid rules, the first Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in artificial intelligence (AI). The project aims to develop a range of decentralised and widely accessible AI services. The AI IPCEI covers the whole AI technology stack and aims to develop advanced, highly innovative AI services, industrial products, technologies and applications, as well as computing management, that go beyond the current state of the art in the sector. It will also aim to drive technological progress while contributing to European digital sovereignty, positioning Europe as a leader in AI innovation and strengthening Europe's AI value chain, from technology development to adoption. The goal is to contribute to the EU's ambition of becoming a global leader in AI, as set out in the Commission's AI Continent Action Plan, the Apply AI Strategy and the proposed legislation on developing cloud and AI technology. The AI IPCEI was jointly designed by 19 member states (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) and is coordinated by Germany. The Commission supported this effort through the IPCEI Support Hub, set up in April 2025, where Commission services help member states prepare the state aid notification for their projects to ensure compliance with EU rules from the outset. This should allow the state aid notification to be processed faster. Within the AI IPCEI, 11 of the member states involved that will grant state aid to direct participants have announced they will start pre-notifying their projects to the Commission in September 2026. The Commission will then assess the projects' compliance with the eligibility and compatibility criteria set out in the IPCEI Communication.