European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen at the International AI Summit in Dublin Dublin, 14 October 2026 Prime Minister Martin, Minister Smyth, Minister Burke, thank you for inviting me. I would like to begin with a remarkable story from Ireland's past. In 1858, on Valentia Island, off the coast of Kerry, a cable was brought ashore, opening one of the first t...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen at the International AI Summit in Dublin Dublin, 14 October 2026 Prime Minister Martin, Minister Smyth, Minister Burke, thank you for inviting me. I would like to begin with a remarkable story from Ireland's past. In 1858, on Valentia Island, off the coast of Kerry, a cable was brought ashore, opening one of the first telegraphic links between Europe and North America. Until then, a message crossing the Atlantic had to travel at the speed of a ship. Suddenly, information could cross an ocean in minutes rather than weeks. In many ways, it was the internet of its time. More than 160 years later, Ireland continues to play a distinctive role in connecting Europe with the wider world. And this Summit is itself a powerful illustration: bringing together policymakers, technology companies and industry leaders to discuss one of the most consequential technologies of our time — Artificial Intelligence. I welcome also the effort of European Ministers yesterday, who committed, with a joint declaration, to a Europe that advances AI safety and sovereignty, builds trust in applied AI capabilities - including for the public sector- and invests in AI infrastructures and skills, while collaborating with like-minded third countries. Ladies and Gentlemen, Over the summer, we have seen AI agents escaping their environment; inserting malicious code; using social deception on humans. Such incidents undermine trust in AI and threaten our public safety. The good news is that in the EU we have already a legal framework to tackle these challenges: the AI Act, which regulates high-risk AI systems and requires that providers in the EU assess and mitigate systemic risks from the most advanced AI. This applies to all the advanced models placed on the European market. No matter whether the provider is based in Münich, Shanghai or San Francisco. Mind you, there were no modern AI agents when the AI Act was adopted. Yet, our regulation is well equipped to deal with these developments. This includes risks from losing control of models, biological weapons, mass manipulation that could affect elections, and cyberattacks. The AI Act prevents overlapping regulation across Member States, keeping the European space predictable and simple for our startups and industry. Since 2 August enforcement powers have applied, and the Commission has already taken our first enforcement actions under the AI Act. In particular, the EU Code of Practice on General-Purpose AI – which most AI providers already signed - sets out measures for providers to put in place to comply with the AI Act obligations. These measures include for example the use of external evaluators. Our AI Office has started enforcing these rules, and sent Requests for Information addressing issues such as security, external evaluation and monitoring how models are used. In addition, last Friday I called for a meeting with the Scientific Panel created under the AI Act to seek its advice and help on how to investigate recent incidents. The Commission has been loud and clear: AI must remain under human direction, oversight and control and we stand ready to take all necessary steps to ensure that companies follow the AI Act rules, so that European people and companies can trust AI models and systems. Yet, no country or continent can do this alone. Europe will keep working with like-minded partners on model evaluation, early warning and AI security. We will accelerate our work towards international rules for responsible development. The EU Code of Practice already exists and is a great basis for this discussion. Every day, we see how the most capable models develop further. Last week, Mistral launched a public preview of Mistral Large 4. With this model Mistral has moved close to the frontier. This is an important progress for Europe, but more needs to be done to ‘stay in the race'. As President Von der Leyen underlined in her 2026 State of the Union speech, Europe needs its own AI capabilities, particularly to protect its independence and national security. Because national security, defence and sovereignty is increasingly shaped based on the control of these crucial technologies. This starts with owning the computing infrastructure needed to develop frontier AI models. This is why we have launched 19 AI Factories and 13 national Antennas and we are mobilising more than 30 billion euros for up to seven AI Gigafactories. The Cloud and AI Development Act, once adopted, will complement this, tripling Europe's computing capacity over the next 5-7 years and streamlining the conditions for the deployment of sustainable data centres. In addition, we are working with France, Germany and other Member States to build capabilities to develop advanced models and frontier AI approaches. And we are making sure more equity for our excellent startups is available. The 5 billion euro Scaleup Europe Fund, combined with other existing tools such as the Strategic Technologies for Europe platform (STEP), is a great start in this regard. But we need to go a step further. This is precisely what was announced by the Commission President in the State of the Union: new ways to use public and private funds to invest in the most promising European companies and own capabilities. Thus, we are working closely with the EIB Group to set up a new public equity capacity with the Member States as soon as possible, so that is ready at the latest by the start of the next MFF. Ladies and Gentlemen, While we manage the risks and strength our sovereign capacities, we need to make AI real for our competitiveness and industries. Let me be clear: the two aspects are equally important and mutually support each other. We are not doing either this or the other. We need to pursue both priorities at the same time! Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, together with the Irish Presidency, we launch the European AI Innovation Month. Four weeks dedicated to showcasing and discussing AI innovation in Europe. Nearly 100 events in over 15 European countries are part of this initiative, and I will have the honour to conclude the Month on 17 November at the Apply AI Summit in Brussels. Europe's goal is clear: to use AI to boost competitiveness, productivity and innovation, and build a true European AI Continent. One year ago, with the Apply AI Strategy, Europe took an important step in this direction. The Strategy starts from a simple conviction: Europe will lead if it applies technology at scale, in the sectors that matter the most to our economy and our society. That is why Apply AI is built on an “AI First” principle. Companies and public administrations should rethink their processes, products and services around what AI can deliver. One year on, we see first results: In healthcare, AI can help flagging medical scans containing early signs of cancer. This allows doctors to focus where it is mostly needed. Our network of 350 screening centres across the EU are helping validate and deploy such AI tools faster. In energy, Europe struggles to keep energy affordable, while expanding renewable generation. AI can help predict electricity demand and optimise power distribution. This why in June we officially launched the AI grids initiatives framework to develop, train and deploy a pan-European AI model for power grids. In manufacturing, AI models can analyse images of products in their making, identify defects in production lines, cutting waste and downtime. With Apply AI, we are supporting the development of such reliable and game-changing models for industrial applications. In robotics, where Europe can become a global leader, world models will enable machines to understand and act in the physical world. We want to ensure that the technology and the production capacity for this huge market are built in Europe. Therefore, we started investing in large projects applying advanced AI models to robotics. And there is more that our Apply AI Strategy is enabling: from a European multilingual AI-driven news platforms to open-source models for floods and wildfires, helping cities and emergency services with climate emergencies. We also have support on the ground – with our network of Experience Centres for AI that helps businesses and public sector to transition into AI-ready powerhouses. Perhaps you will see some of these examples in practice at the AI Office exhibition stand today. In total, across sectors, we have already mobilised nearly 2 billion euros, aimed at concrete industrial challenges and genuine societal needs. But for Europe to become a global leader in industrial AI, we must continue our Apply AI journey across three axes: First, we must sharpen our sectoral focus across key industrial sectors - from health, transport and agri-food, to advanced manufacturing, defence and space, where we combine industrial strengths and public interest . Second, we must strengthen collaboration across the AI ecosystem: trusted data sharing, access to infrastructure, shared testing environments, and closer links between large industrial players, innovative start-ups, researchers and public authorities. Third, we must build stronger implementation vehicles that pool resources, remove common obstacles, accelerate deployment and create European scale. In this context, I am very much looking forward to the contribution of the Special Envoy for Industrial AI to be published in November. Building on this report and the work of the Apply AI Strategy, we will soon launch dedicated industrial AI alliances in strategic areas, to steer deployment and address persistent bottlenecks. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to conclude with a thought inspired by one of Ireland's greatest poets, Seamus Heaney. In his poem "Digging" he looks at the pen in his hand and decides it will be his tool, as the spade was his father's. Every generation finds its own instrument. AI may be ours. Heaney's words were ‘I'll dig with it'. And so, the time for Europe to dig has arrived. Thank you. SPEECH/26/2150 <@rel_link@>
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