EUROPEAN UNION

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

EU institutions are working towards promoting European excellence and trust in AI. The European Commission (EC) views AI as ‘an area of strategic importance and a key driver of economic development’. It has therefore adopted its policies aimed to ensure EU competitiveness in AI, and to share the conditions for development and use of AI in line with European values.

In 2018, the EC put forward an ‘AI strategy’, announcing a plan to invest around EUR 1.5 billion until 2020 in AI research and innovation, encouraging EU member states and the private sector to make similar efforts. It also committed to supporting countries in adapting their labour and education policies to the opportunities and challenges brought by AI. The strategy was followed by a coordinated plan on AI (developed together with member states) focused on fostering cross-border cooperation and generating increased investments (public and private) in AI.

Another priority for the EC is to ensure a human-centric approach to AI. To this aim, it set up a High-Level Expert Group on AI, which developed a set of ‘Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI’. The guidelines outline several key requirements that AI systems must ensure: human agency and oversight; technical robustness and safety; privacy and data governance; transparency; diversity, non-discrimination, and fairness; societal and environmental well-being; and, accountability.

In February 2020, the EC published the ‘AI White Paper’, as part of a broader plan to make the EU a global leader in the digital realm, while also ensuring their technological sovereignty. The paper envisions the creation of an ecosystem of excellence to support the development and uptake of AI across the EU, with a focus on fostering innovation, research, investments, and education. It also suggests that trust in AI can be built through a clear EU regulatory framework, which combines existing rules with new legislation focused on high-risk AI applications. Issues related to AI regulations are also explored by the European Parliament; for instance, it has called on the EC to elaborate proposals to ensure that consumers are protected from harm in the context of AI and automated decision-making, and it has initiated discussion on civil liability frameworks for AI.

To ensure that the EU can achieve its AI-related objectives, both the EC and the Council of the EU have called on member states to put in place national AI strategies and programmes.

To ensure that the EU can compete on the international AI market, the EC’s plan is to ensure joint investments (from EU institutions, member states, and the private sector) in over EUR 20 billion per year over the next decade.

The use of AI in the context of electoral processes has also been in the attention of EU institutions. The European Parliament has commissioned studies into the consequences of AI-based disinformation initiatives on pluralism and the functioning of democracy, and has held debates on the misuse of AI and other technologies as tools for electoral interference and disinformation in democratic processes. The European Data Protection Supervisor has warned that the use of AI in ‘fine-grained surveillance’, deepfakes, speech simulation, and automated new reporting pose a risk to democractic processes, and that access to and adeptness at using technology determines the balance of power between states and between regimes and protest movements.

The EU, in particular through the EC, is also engaged in international dialogue on AI-related issues (within organisations and processes such as G7, G20, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), where it has two priorities: to encourage cooperation, including on research and innovation issues, and to promote European values in discussions on AI ethics and trust.

It also contributes to the work of the GGE on LAWS. Here, the EU position includes several key elements: international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law, applies to all weapons systems, including LAWS; humans should retain full control over the use of LAWS; and, policy measures should not hamper civilian research, including in AI.

On matters related to the security implications of AI, the 2018 Coordinated Plan on AI stressed the ‘need to better understand how AI can impact security in three dimensions: how AI could enhance the objectives of the security sector; how AI technologies can be protected from attacks; and, how to address any potential abuse of AI for malicious purposes’. It also explained that ‘The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will, with the support of the Commission, build on consultations in the United Nations, the Global Tech Panel, and other multilateral fora, and coordinate proposals for addressing these complex security challenges.’

The Global Tech Panel was set by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to foster ‘new types of cooperation between diplomacy and technology’. It brings together leaders from industry, civil society, and other sectors, and one of its priority areas is international security and the regulatory framework for LAWS.

QUANTUM COMPUTING

Advancing European research in quantum computing is one of the goals behind the Quantum Technologies Flagship initiative launched by the EC in 2018 and supported by all EU member states. The overall goal of the initiative is to ‘place Europe at the forefront of the second quantum revolution, bringing transformative advances to science, industry, and society’.

Set to run for ten year, the initiative is expected to see a budget of EUR 1 billion invested in quantum research, with the long-term vision of developing a ‘quantum web, where quantum computers, simulators and sensors are interconnected via quantum communication networks’.

Additionally, several EU member states are cooperating in exploring how to develop and deploy a quantum communication infrastructure (QCI) across the EU within the next ten years. In the medium-run, such a QCI would help Europe to secure its critical infrastructure and encryption system; in the long-run, it could become ‘the backbone for Europe’s Quantum Internet, connecting quantum computers, simulators and sensors via quantum networks to distribute information and resources securely all over Europe’.

Other quantum computing related initiatives launched across the EU include:

• Quantum Key Distribution testbed project, dedicated to building an experimental platform to test and validate the concept of end-to-end security, providing quantum key distribution as a service.
• QuantERA, a network of 31 organisations from 26 countries, supporting international research projects in quantum technologies.
• European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, a funding entity created to pool EU and national resources in high-performance computing.

BLOCKCHAIN

As with other emerging technologies, the EU’s ambition is to position itself at the forefront of blockchain innovation and uptake.

In 2018, EU member states, joined by Norway and Liechtenstein, launched the European Blockchain Partnership, to cooperate towards realising the potential of blockchain for the benefit of society and the economy. Members of this partnership are working on developing a European Blockchain Services Infrastructure to support the delivery of cross-border public services using blockchain.

Another EU initiative dedicated to advancing the development and use of blockchain technology is the European Blockchain Observatory and Forum. Launched by the EC and the European Parliament in 2018, this initiative aims to facilitate multistakeholder cooperation in accelerating blockchain innovation and uptake.

In terms of investments, the EC supports blockchain research and development, in particular through its Horizon2020 and European Investment Fund programmes. Funds are allocated for projects that involve the use of blockchain and related technologies in areas such as data management, electronic identity, cybersecurity, education, the IoT, and industrial applications.

The European Parliament is also encouraging the uptake of blockchain-based solutions at the EU level, while supporting a regulatory approach toward distributed ledger technology (DLT) that is innovation-friendly. It considers that the EU ‘has an excellent opportunity to become a global leader in the field of DLT and to be a credible actor in shaping its development and markets globally, in collaboration with international partners’.

The EU is contributing to international standardisation processes in the area of blockchain and DLT, for instance in the context of the International Organization for Standardization.

The European Central Bank (ECB) constantly monitors evolutions related to crypto-assets and digital currencies, and assess their potential implications for monetary policy, market infrastructures and payments, and the stability of the financial system. In 2019, a Crypto-assets Task Force within the ECB published an analysis showing that crypto-assets do not currently pose an immediate threat to the financial stability of the euro, but that the sector requires continuous monitoring, given its dynamics.

In addition, the ECB is analysing the costs and benefits of issuing a eurozone central bank digital currency. It has formed an internal task force dedicated to this issue, and it has also joined the Bank for International Settlements and a group of central banks in assessing potential cases for central bank digital currencies.

5G

EU institutions have undertaken several initiatives in the field of 5G, which they see as ‘a key asset for Europe to compete in the global market’.

In 2016, the EC launched a 5G for Europe Action Plan, to support the deployment of 5G infrastructures and services across the EU. Measures include: ensuring coordination between EU member states’ roadmaps and strategies, making provisional spectrum bands available for 5G, and facilitating investments in 5G. The implementation of the plan is monitored via the European 5G Observatory, which also provides updates of 5G initiatives undertaken by governments and private entities in Europe, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the USA).

The EC has been supporting 5G-related research and innovation, for example in the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme and the 5G Public Private Partnership initiative. Activities conducted within these frameworks are intended, among others, to help shape 5G standards and support the implementation of projects to demonstrate the applicability of 5G networks for various industries.

At the international level, the EU is promoting cooperation ‘as a critical instrument to arrive at a global consensus on 5G vision, standards, and spectrum requirements’. The EC has signed joint declarations on 5G with Brazil, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, and is also cooperating with India and the USA. It is also actively engaged in international standardisation processes in the field of 5G, contributing for instance, to related activities within the International Telecommunication Union ITU).

The security of 5G networks is a concern for the EU. In March 2019, the European Parliament issued a resolution which, among others, called on the EC and the member states, in cooperation with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), to provide guidance on how to tackle cyber-threats and vulnerabilities when procuring 5G equipment. In the same month, the EC called on member states to conduct national risk assessments of their 5G network infrastructures, which were then used by the NIS Cooperation Group (composed of representatives of member states, the EC, and ENISA) to develop a EU Coordinated Risk Assessment on Cybersecurity in 5G Networks. The report notes, among other things, that the ‘integrity and availability of 5G networks will become major national security concerns and a major security challenge from an EU perspective’.  On its part, the Council of the EU called on member states, the EC, and ENISA to take measures to ensure the security and integrity of 5G networks, in a coordinated manner.

In early 2020, the NIS Cooperation Group published the so-called EU toolbox on 5G network security, with recommendations for member states and the EC. Member states are to: strengthen security requirements for mobile network operators; assess the risk profile of suppliers and apply relevant restrictions for suppliers considered to be high-risk (including exclusions from 5G network deployment plans); and, ensure an adequate balance of suppliers at the national level and avoid dependency on suppliers considered to be high-risk. At the same time, the EC is asked to contribute to maintaining a diverse and sustainable 5G supply chain and to strengthen EU capacities in 5G technologies. The toolbox was endorsed by the EC, the Council of the EU, and ENISA.

INTERNET OF THINGS

‘Unleashing the potential of IoT technologies across EU member states’ is one EC’s goals in the digital sphere. Several policies and initiatives adopted by the EC work toward achieving this goal. For instance, the ‘Digitising European Industry initiative’ and the accompanying ‘Advancing the Internet of Things in Europe’ document outline the vision for a thriving and human-centred European IoT ecosystem.

Back in 2015, the EC launched the Alliance for IoT Innovation, which fosters industry-wide cooperation on advancing a competitive European IoT market. The EC also supports research and innovation in IoT technologies and applications (in areas such as smart living, autonomous vehicles, and smart agriculture) and in IoT security, particularly within the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme. The planned Horizon programme for the 2021–2027 period envisions continued support for the IoT sector.

Particularly important for the EU’s ambitions to achieve sustainable digital development is the application of IoT across several key sectors: smart cities, smart mobility solutions, energy, and the environment. In these areas, the EC fosters research and innovation, and encourages cooperation among the private sector.

Aspects related to the security of IoT technologies and smart infrastructures are addressed by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. Examples of documents and tools elaborated by the agency in these areas include: the ‘ENISA Good Practices for IoT and Smart Infrastructures tool’, ‘Good Practices for Security of IoT in the context of Smart Manufacturing’, and ‘Industry 4.0 – Cybersecurity Challenges and Recommendations’.

ROBOTICS

EU’s approach towards robotics is closely related to its approach towards AI. Thus, several AI-related initiatives also cover issues of relevance for the robotics sector. For instance, under the proposed Horizon Europe programme, the EC intends to set-up a public-private partnership on AI, data, and robotics to foster the coordination of research and innovation activities in these areas. Similarly, when the EC assessed the applicability of the EU legal framework on product safety and liability in the context of emerging technologies, it focused on AI, IoT, and robotics combined.

In the EC’s view, funding research and innovation in robotics is a priority, as the institution sees this sector as a key driver of digital innovation and as being essential for increasing the EU’s competitiveness.

Robotics have also been an area of interest for the European Parliament. In 2017, the legislative body adopted a ‘Report with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics’, calling for increased investments in robotics research, and recommending the elaboration and adoption of an EU ‘legislative instrument’ to tackle legal questions related to the development of robotics and AI, such as: intellectual property rights and the flow of data, registration of smart robots, liability to damage caused by robots, interoperability and access to source code, and disclosure of the use of robots and AI by undertakings. In 2019, the parliament called for the adoption of a comprehensive European industry policy on AI and robotics that would prioritise: measures to adapt the workforce to the challenges of the changing world of work; policy solutions to address the malicious use of AI and robotics and their potential negative implications for human rights; investments in research and innovation; and, legal frameworks that support innovation while fostering respect for human rights and ethical principles.