Article · AI translation
IT Home reported on November 14, citing CCTV News today, that French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would convene a meeting of technology company leaders in Paris on December 2 with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten to strengthen cooperation between European governments and the technology industry and enhance Europe's technological autonomy.
According to The Guardian, Macron made the remarks after attending an informal meeting of EU leaders in Dublin, the capital of Ireland. He also posted on X, stressing that “our independence and autonomy cannot be outsourced; they must be built here in Europe.”
Artificial intelligence was one of the key topics at the informal meeting of EU leaders. EU leaders discussed the development of Europe's AI industry and ways to improve Europe's competitiveness in the global AI field with figures including Arthur Mensch, CEO of French AI company Mistral AI.
Macron's list of requirements for European AI companies was quite specific: the computing power needed to train models, capital to support their growth, and customers to deploy their models.
Macron said Europe has the talent, energy and technological foundations needed to compete in artificial intelligence. What it needs next is more investment, faster decision-making and, in particular, stronger coordinated action among European countries.
He said: “If we want companies to grow here, we should enable them to secure their first major contracts here.” In Macron's view, Europe does not lack the basic conditions for competition—talent, energy and technology are already in place. What it lacks is the scale of investment and speed of decision-making: “We must invest more, make decisions faster and, above all, act together.”
In addition, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the meeting that Europe needs at least €500 billion in investment to advance its broader goals for technological sovereignty (IT Home note: approximately 3.7 trillion yuan at the current exchange rate). She plans to present a financing proposal at the next meeting. Von der Leyen also revealed that the EU plans to build 7 AI gigafactories and expects to mobilize approximately €30 billion to develop the computing infrastructure that supports AI models.
Macron also emphasized that even if European companies develop competitive artificial intelligence models, they must be able to obtain in Europe the computing power needed to train those models, the capital to support their development, and the customers needed to deploy the models. He said that if Europe wants its homegrown technology companies to grow, it should enable them to secure their first major contracts in the European market.
Macron and Jetten's joint effort was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. France and the Netherlands had previously expressed an intention to deepen cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum technology, and both sides regard the investment relationship between ASML and French AI company Mistral AI as one of the pillars of French-Dutch technology cooperation. Mistral AI co-founder and CEO Arthur Mensch addressed EU leaders in Dublin that day; Paris is where Mistral is headquartered.
A meeting summary published by the Council of the EU shows that EU leaders focused that day on how to expand public and private investment, improve AI infrastructure, strengthen Europe's AI capabilities and reduce critical dependence on external technology suppliers.
The meeting also discussed clean energy supply, the use of AI by European businesses and the public sector, and AI's impact on employment, social security and fundamental rights.
The Paris meeting will further promote cooperation between European governments and technology companies. Macron hopes to create conditions for European AI companies to grow through investment, computing infrastructure, capital support and government procurement, while reducing Europe's dependence on external suppliers in key technology fields.
The EU had previously made greater autonomy in artificial intelligence an important strategic issue. The Dublin meeting was the first time EU leaders held in-depth strategic discussions specifically focused on artificial intelligence, with European technological autonomy and the competitiveness of its AI industry among the main topics.