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Europe boosts European AI developers with the AI Factories call for proposals

Ai3

Today, the Commission has launched a call for setting up AI Factories to boost European leadership in trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). AI Factories will be created around the EU’s world-class network of European High-Performance Computing (HPC) supercomputers and will be available to a range of European users, such as startups, industry and researchers.

President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said: “Europe is already leading the way with the EU AI Act, ensuring AI is safer and more trustworthy. Earlier this year, we fulfilled our promise by opening our high-performance computers to European AI start-ups. Now, Europe must also become a global leader in AI innovation. AI Factories will help secure our position at the forefront of this transformative technology.”

AI Factories will bring together the key ingredients for success in AI: computing power, data and talent. They will help AI developers train their large generative AI models by using the EuroHPC supercomputers and providing access to data, computing and storage services. The Factories will be networked across Europe, providing a unique European collaborative AI framework. Continue reading “Europe boosts European AI developers with the AI Factories call for proposals”

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Europe’s innovation performance steadily improving

… but at different speeds between Member States !

The innovation performance of the European Union continues to improve at a steady pace, reaching a 10% increase since 2017 and a growth of 0.5% between 2023 and 2024. According to the 2024 edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) published today, most EU Member States have boosted their innovation performance, but the increase varies strongly from one to another.

Key findings

Between 2023 and 2024, the national innovation performance has increased for 15 Member States, while it has declined for another group of 11. Croatia remained stable. Compared to the last edition:

  • Denmark remains the most innovative EU country followed by Sweden, which led the rankings between 2017-2022.
  • Two countries now belong to a different performance group. Estonia became a Strong Innovator following a steady growth pattern since 2017. Belgium, which was an Innovation leader in 2023, moved down to the Strong Innovators’ category, although it maintained its fifth position in the rankings overall.

A broader analysis, including other European countries and selected global competitors, shows a changing international landscape. Switzerland is the most innovative European country and South Korea remains the most innovative global competitor in 2024, while China has surpassed Japan and is progressively closing the gap with the EU. Continue reading “Europe’s innovation performance steadily improving”

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Commission welcomes political agreement on new rules to boost energy performance of buildings across the EU

Paris

The Commission welcomes the provisional agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council to reduce the emissions and energy use of buildings across the EU. The strengthened Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) will support the EU’s efforts to decarbonise buildings across the whole Union. This is an area in which the concrete impact of the European Green Deal will improve the quality of life for people, in their homes and workplaces, and lower their energy bills. This deal will also  boost Europe’s energy independence in line with the REPowerEU Plan and make a strong business case for a cleaner buildings sector in the EU.

Better performing buildings to lower energy bills and cut emissions

The revised Directive will set out a range of measures that will help EU governments boost structurally the energy performance of buildings, with a specific focus on the worst-performing buildings. Continue reading “Commission welcomes political agreement on new rules to boost energy performance of buildings across the EU”