Europe is no longer willing to watch the AI race pass it by. MEPs have therefore approved a plan to harness artificial intelligence to strengthen Europe’s trade and strategic autonomy. The move comes as EU lawmakers warn that the bloc risks falling behind global competitors without stronger investment, clearer rules, and better access to key technologies.
The draft plan lays out how AI could help European businesses compete globally, focusing on helping companies export more easily while reducing risks linked to global competition. “Europe will not be a passive bystander in the global AI race,” rapporteur Brando Benifei (S&D/ITA) told EU Perspectives.
According to him, AI must become “an engine of European trade competitiveness”. The sense of urgency is clear, as the EU attracted just 6 per cent of global investment in AI startups in the first half of 2024, highlighting concerns that Europe is losing ground in a fast-moving sector.
Europe will not be a passive bystander in the global AI race”, arguing that AI must become “an engine of European trade competitiveness. — MEP Brando Benifei (S&D/ITA)
Mr Benifei also pointed to its potential to help SMEs enter new markets, reduce compliance costs and strengthen customs enforcement, while stressing that this will require “reliable data flows, ambitious digital trade agreements, and WTO rules that prevent regulatory fragmentation while projecting the European model globally”. He also underlined the need for “open strategic autonomy”, aimed at reducing dependencies on major powers such as the US and China through partnerships and economic security tools.
Global competition
At the core of the report is the idea that AI can lower compliance costs, streamline supply chains, and open new export opportunities, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Among other advantages, AI-powered tools can help companies navigate tariffs, rules of origin, and regulatory requirements, reducing barriers that traditionally favour larger firms. The report also points to gains in logistics and customs, where AI could improve risk detection and enforcement against counterfeit goods.
You might be interested
At the same time, the document stresses that competitiveness gains will depend on access to key inputs such as data, computing power, and skilled labour. However, the EU still lags behind global competitors in such areas.
A central point of the document is the need for reliable cross-border data flows. The report underlines that AI development and deployment depend on access to data, while warning that fragmented regulations could undermine EU firms’ ability to compete globally.
The committee calls for more ambitious digital trade agreements and stronger cooperation with like-minded partners, including through international forums such as the World Trade Organization. The aim is to prevent diverging AI rules from becoming new trade barriers while promoting the EU’s “human-centric” regulatory model.
Dependency on external suppliers
Beyond opportunities, the report highlights growing structural risks linked to AI. It warns that the EU is increasingly dependent on external suppliers for critical technologies, including semiconductors and cloud infrastructure, leaving it exposed to geopolitical pressure.
MEPs point to the concentration of AI supply chains and intensifying competition between the United States and China as key challenges. The report calls for diversification of supply, stronger investment, and closer coordination of trade defence and economic security tools.
What comes next
A broad majority in the International Trade Committee supported the initiative, with 31 votes in favour and only two votes against. Support came from S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA, EPP, as well as part of ECR, The Left, and ESN members.
The vote does not create binding legislation but sets out Parliament’s political priorities for the European Commission’s future work on AI and trade. It is expected to feed into upcoming trade negotiations and the EU’s broader digital and economic security strategies.
