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Artificial intelligence has become a geopolitical weapon, making it urgent for Europe to develop alternatives to U.S. technology and reduce its dependence on unpredictable foreign governments, EU digital chief Henna Virkkunen told the Financial Times during an interview.
Virkkunen warned that governments controlling advanced AI models could restrict other countries’ access and use the technology to advance their own interests.
Brussels fears becoming “dependent on third countries for these very critical technologies,” she said.
The concerns intensified in June when Washington imposed export controls on Anthropic’s leading AI models over security concerns.
The measures were later lifted following opposition from foreign governments and Silicon Valley, but the episode renewed fears that the U.S. could shut off access to technologies supporting the European economy through so-called kill switches.
Countries controlling critical technologies were “not only ruling the economy” but also holding “a big strategic asset” at the geopolitical level, Virkkunen said.
Virkkunen, a Finnish politician responsible for the European Commission’s technology and cybersecurity policies, said the restrictions on Anthropic demonstrated the need to prepare for the possibility of being cut off from advanced AI systems.
The incident “very clearly tells us how important it is now in our cybersecurity environment to be prepared for that kind of reality,” she said.
“We know that there will be more of those kinds of very capable AI models coming to the markets in the coming months and years. So we have to be very well prepared for that.”
Virkkunen compared the situation to export controls introduced by the previous U.S. administration on advanced semiconductors, which divided EU member states into countries granted access and those excluded.
AI capabilities “are really strategic assets nowadays and that’s why it’s so important for us to build our own technological sovereignty,” she said.
Brussels presented a technology sovereignty package last month aimed at reducing its reliance on U.S. technology by supporting European alternatives in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and cloud computing.
The plan includes incentives to accelerate the construction of data centers in Europe and favor homegrown technology companies, including French AI developer Mistral and cloud providers Scaleway and OVHcloud.
“It’s so important also that Europe is building up our own capacities and that we are not dependent on third countries for these very critical technologies,” Virkkunen said.
The EU and the European Investment Bank will establish a new mechanism to finance strategic investments in European technology companies.
The EU is also holding bilateral talks with the U.S. administration to secure continued access to the most advanced AI systems.
EU leaders, along with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy, discussed the possibility of establishing a “trusted partner” arrangement with U.S. President Donald Trump during a Group of Seven summit in June.
The proposed scheme would seek to guarantee continued access to powerful AI models capable of identifying critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
“We continue to work internationally on that proposal,” Virkkunen said.
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