EU Commission launches twin strategies to scale trustworthy AI across industry and science
The European Commission has unveiled two complementary strategies to accelerate AI adoption across the EU and strengthen Europe’s position in AI-driven research. The Apply AI Strategy targets deployment in strategic and public sectors, while the AI in Science Strategy focuses on scientific excellence and infrastructure. Together, they implement the AI Continent Action Plan and align with the AI Act’s framework for trustworthy AI.
Apply AI prioritizes sectoral uptake in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy, mobility, manufacturing, construction, agri-food, defense, communications, and culture, with targeted support for SMEs. Measures include AI-powered advanced screening centers for healthcare, development of frontier models and agentic AI tailored to key industries, and coordinated infrastructure-to-market pathways. The Commission is mobilizing approximately €1,000,000,000 to support adoption and will establish the Apply AI Alliance and an AI Observatory to coordinate stakeholders and monitor impacts, alongside an AI Act Service Desk for implementation support.
Cross-cutting actions include workforce upskilling to ensure AI readiness, renewal of European Digital Innovation Hubs as Experience Centres for AI, and a Frontier AI initiative to connect leading EU actors. The strategies emphasize an “AI first” approach balanced with safety and compliance, aiming to improve diagnostics, public service efficiency, and competitiveness while safeguarding societal interests and fundamental rights.
The AI in Science Strategy centers on RAISE, a virtual European institute to pool and coordinate resources for AI in research. Strategic actions allocate €58,000,000 for Networks of Excellence and Doctoral Networks, €600,000,000 from Horizon Europe to expand compute access including dedicated AI Gigafactories, and a planned doubling of annual Horizon Europe investments in AI to over €3,000,000,000, including AI in science. Data initiatives will identify gaps and curate high-quality datasets. Forthcoming steps include a Data Union Strategy in October and the AI in Science Summit in Copenhagen on 3–4 November 2025.
