![OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT) will invest $500bn [€422bn] over the next four years into AI infrastructure. For comparison, the EU Commission wants create €200bn in investment towards AI infrastructure](https://static.euobserver.com/2023/05/258406f96541ba09a95c130f68a18555.jpg)
Why is the EU struggling to scale artificial intelligence?
OpenAI spends more on AI than the whole EU. Europe is lagging in the innovation race — here’s why, and how it plans to catch up.
Analysis
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‘Deregulation’ tops leaders’ retreat, but critics point to investment gap and corporate lobbying
EU leaders will discuss simplification and competitiveness and even a ‘Buy European’ strategy at their informal retreat on Thursday — but others see a simple focus on competitiveness as self-defeating, writes Wester van Gaal.
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Red carpet for Meloni at African Union summit — but wars and financing threaten to overwhelm welcome
Italian premier Giorgia Meloni hopes on Friday to cement her status as one of the bridges between Europe and Africa, as African leaders roll out the red carpet for her in Addis Ababa.But there are several crises brewing, writes Ben Fox.
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EU goes tactical, as Trump lets START nuclear arms deal expire
Any new US-Russia deal on strategic nuclear bombs would have mostly “symbolic” value, as France and Germany focus on tactical threats instead.
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Shared China dilemma pushes EU and US into new minerals pact
The promise of an EU-US deal on critical minerals is one of the most significant cases of a transatlantic trade alliance since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term. What could this mean for Europe and supply chains?
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Behind EU’s December asylum relocation pledges: More deal-making, fewer transfers
Most commitments made by EU states in December to receive asylum seekers arriving primarily in Italy and Greece are actually alternative forms of support.
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The EU-India trade deal: ‘mother of deals’ or ‘overhyped’ and full of loopholes? The answer may be both
Why the EU-India trade deal sparks both praise and pushback — explained.
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Plummeting EU development aid risks being compounded by a lack of ambition
The EU Commission wants to create new partnerships with the private sector to plug the gaps left by falling aid budgets. But it still lacks imagination.
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Debt: Europe’s biggest financial advantage over US is also its weakness
Europe is the largest holder of US debt, which it could use as leverage. But even if governments could coerce investors into selling trillions in US holdings, Europe would be first to suffer.
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Spotlight on EU Parliament, as MEPs decide future of EU trade
The fate of the EU’s trade relations with the United States and Mercosur lie in the hands of the European parliament, where a simple majority will determine ratification or rejection.
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The UK’s Brexit ‘reset’ bill: popular, but fragile
UK prime minister Keir Starmer spent much of 2025 trying to persuade people there was substance to his ‘reset’ on EU-UK relations, which he’s been talking about since taking power in July 2024.
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Venezuela coup endangers EU efforts on Ukraine ceasefire
The US show of power in Venezuela could make a Ukraine ceasefire less likely, despite new Paris talks on Western peacekeeping troops.
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US could recognise Somaliland in next diplomatic challenge to EU
Speculation is growing that Donald Trump will join close ally Israel in recognising the breakaway republic of Somaliland — in a move that would deepen its existing rift with Brussels about the Horn of Africa.
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A burnt-out Europe: Is a four-day working week within reach?
Europe debates shorter workweeks as Poland pilots a four-day model without pay cuts, following mixed experiences and perspectives from the UK, France, Spain, Lithuania and Greece, balancing productivity, wellbeing and competitiveness concerns.
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Trump’s Congo ‘peace’ deal outflanked EU, left guns blazing
A transactional peace deal brokered by president Trump has paved the way for massive US investment in DR Congo and Rwanda, but the fighting in eastern DR Congo continues.
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Is Greece leading the way for the end of asylum in Europe?
Across Europe, efforts are underway to rewrite the 1951 Refugee Convention. Fear of migration is testing the limits of our humanity.
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Secret plan for east Africa: Austria looking to set up ‘transit centres’ for rejected asylum seekers
An internal document from the home affairs ministry outlines Austrian plans to turn east African countries into “transit hubs” for rejected asylum seekers — regardless of where they come from.
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EU’s week of African summitry ends with slim pickings in Luanda
Having made a series of major financial commitments ahead of last weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, there was little left for the EU-AU summit days later.
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Africa seeks ‘green growth,’ as EU and US stall on climate finance
African leaders are pitching for investment in green growth and industrialisation, as Western powers fail to deliver on climate finance commitments.
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Armenia becomes new EU hope in South Caucasus, as Georgia slips away
As Georgia rapidly moves away from its pro-European course, Armenia is quietly emerging as the EU’s next ally in the South Caucasus. But despite its European aspirations, it’s heavily dependent on Russia for energy and trade.
