ECB President Christine Lagarde emphasizes the importance of Europe adopting AI quickly, building domestic capacity, and mobilizing capital to benefit from AI-driven growth while maintaining sovereignty.
In a speech at “Hofburg im Dialog – Economy, Europe, Resilience” in Vienna, ECB President Christine Lagarde discussed the historical context of capital flows and the current importance of artificial intelligence (AI) for Europe.
Lagarde highlighted that Europe is investing in AI, with firms planning to allocate around 10% of total investment to AI by 2026, and over 50% of workers using AI on the job. However, growth in digital investment is slower than in the United States, which could impact Europe’s productivity and fiscal sustainability.
She explained that AI is unique because of data dependence, access risks, and the importance of maintaining technological frontier advantages. Relying on imports for AI technology poses risks to sovereignty and competitiveness, especially as AI models and computing capacity are concentrated mainly outside Europe.
Lagarde proposed that Europe should build more domestic computing capacity, develop open models, and secure access to critical supply chains to stay competitive. She emphasized the need for different types of capital, including equity, to finance AI infrastructure and innovation, and called for policies to channel European savings into homegrown AI projects.
She concluded that AI is Europe’s strategic project, requiring coordinated action and investment to ensure that Europe benefits from AI-driven growth while preserving sovereignty.
