Europe’s €307 million AI funding call

When the European Commission announced on 15th of January a €307.3 million funding call for AI and related tech under Horizon Europe earlier this year, the press materials presented it as a strategic push toward trustworthy AI and European digital autonomy. The funding targets trustworthy AI, data services, robotics, quantum, photonics, and what Brussels calls “open strategic autonomy.”

Viewed in isolation, the number itself isn’t eye-popping. By global standards, where the private sector alone pours hundreds of billions into AI, €307 million is barely a rounding error. Yet this sum matters less for its scale and more for what it reveals about Europe’s longstanding dilemma: how to balance ambitious tech leadership with a cautious, value-driven regulatory culture.

A Strategy rooted in principles, not power

What the EU has done here is consistent with a long-running pattern. Brussels has been building an AI ecosystem that explicitly prioritises ethics ...