EU Leaders to Meet in Dublin on Europe's Place in Global AI Race

European Union heads of state and government will hold an informal meeting in Dublin, Ireland, on Friday (Nov 13) with artificial intelligence (AI) as the main topic, after European Council President António Costa told the 27 leaders that the bloc must decide where it stands in the global AI race, Eunews reported on Thursday (Nov 5).

Costa sent the invitation letter on Tuesday (Nov 3), accompanied by a steering note on AI. “Europe must define its position in this global race,” he wrote, according to the report.

Competitiveness and sovereignty

The meeting will open with a morning session featuring two external guests. The first, Mistral AI chief executive Arthur Mensch, is to address Europe’s position in AI, including competitiveness, sovereignty, reducing critical dependencies and building infrastructure backed by affordable clean energy and large-scale public and private investment.

The second guest, Nobel physics laureate and computer science professor Geoffrey Hinton, will speak on AI’s impact on society. His session covers security and trust, fundamental rights, child protection, democratic processes, market concentration, cybersecurity, international cooperation and the governance of advanced AI.

Leaders will then hold an exchange of views over lunch on the way forward for AI, with Costa aiming to wrap up the meeting by 4pm.

Funding in focus

Costa pointed to the EU’s next long-term budget, the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, and said the proposed European Competitiveness Fund could play a decisive role. The report did not give funding amounts.

He recalled that leaders agreed at Alden Biesen in Belgium in February that 2026 would be the “Year of Competitiveness,” and that the March European Council stressed the need to channel investment into future technologies.