The European Union is attempting a delicate balancing act as it pushes to accelerate the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) across public administrations while avoiding a repeat of previous programmes that attracted substantial funding but delivered limited practical results.
The challenge is particularly relevant as the EU launches three new initiatives aimed at bringing GenAI tools into government services: Floods and Droughts, Eunomia AI and EuropAI.
Together, the projects are worth €36.8 million, with €18.4 million provided directly by the EU. Final results are expected between 2029 and 2030.
Advocates argue that large-scale deployment of AI across multiple member states requires experimentation and flexibility. Critics counter that future funding must be accompanied by stronger oversight and greater involvement of European companies with proven experience developing and deploying GenAI systems.
In the past, complex procurement procedures and administrative requirements often made it difficult for startups and scale-ups to participate in EU and national funding schemes. At the same time, concerns have emerged about "AI-washing", a phenomenon in which projects promote artificial intelligence credentials without delivering significant real-world value, echoing concerns previously raised about "innovation-washing".
Floods and Droughts project
The Floods and Droughts initiative is led by Italy, with participation from partners in France, Spain and Greece.
The project has a total budget of €8.8 million, half of which is financed by the EU, and is scheduled to run until 30 June 2030.
Its objective is to provide public authorities with GenAI-powered tools designed to improve forecasting, crisis management and communication with citizens during climate-related emergencies such as floods and droughts.
Eunomia AI
The Eunomia AI consortium is led by Spain and includes Austria, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Latvia, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Norway and Malta.
The initiative has a budget of €13.9 million, including €6.9 million in EU funding, and is expected to conclude on 30 June 2029.
The project pursues two primary goals.
The first is to accelerate adoption of trustworthy generative AI across European public administrations through deployment in 25 public administrations and at least 15 public services.
The second is to strengthen Europe's technological sovereignty by relying on and adapting European open-source AI models.
According to project plans, a central high-performance GenAI infrastructure will be procured and hosted at the University of Granada, with the possibility of establishing additional local nodes elsewhere.
EuropAI
The third initiative, EuropAI, is being led by the Netherlands together with Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg.
Like Eunomia AI, it carries a budget of €13.9 million, including €6.9 million in EU support, and is expected to run until 30 June 2029.
The consortium aims to help governments jointly develop, test and share generative AI applications in three main areas:
- Legislative and administrative simplification.
- Urban analysis and spatial planning.
- Digital assistance for citizens through web and mobile services.
Project organisers argue that many European administrations currently rely heavily on AI tools developed outside the EU, including systems such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini, which they describe as expensive and insufficiently aligned with European sovereignty and compliance requirements.
To explain its vision, the consortium uses a culinary analogy.
Rather than depending on imported "AI fast food", member states would gain access to a shared "community kitchen" where they could collaboratively design, test and deploy AI solutions.
The technological foundation for the initiative is based on Denmark's OS2ai platform, which already serves more than 28,000 users, and the Dutch GovChat-NL platform.
The project also envisages a library of validated AI tools, reusable components, compliance frameworks and an application marketplace that other governments could adopt and adapt to their own needs.
Source: Euronews
