Place-based funding and investment needed to put regions at forefront of AI deployment, demand local and regional leaders

Local and regional authorities can shape Europe’s AI future in sectors such as health, transport and energy. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 10 December adopted an opinion on the AI Continent Action Plan, calling for decentralised initiatives, investment, and guidance to ensure that cities and regions can fully participate in the Artificial Intelligence-driven transformation of industry and society. 

Local and regional leaders argued that their administrations are uniquely placed to deploy AI responsibly in sectors such as health care, transport and energy and stressed the need to avoid an ‘AI gap’ between regions. They underlined the importance of creating EU-owned AI models that are accessible, ethical, and interoperable while safeguarding data privacy and public value.  

They further emphasised the critical role of AI factories, gigafactories, and data centres and urged Member States and the European Commission to engage sub-national authorities in site selection, permitting processes, and pre-permitting consultations, ensuring infrastructure deployment is efficient, sustainable, and inclusive. The opinion also called for careful consideration of energy availability, workforce skills, connectivity, housing, research links, and cyber-resilience when locating AI facilities, to prevent over-concentration and digital divides. 

CoR members also called for procurement frameworks that favour European-developed AI, transparency, open standards, and audit rights. Local authorities should lead in predictive AI applications for health, mobility, energy, urban security, and climate resilience. Regulatory sandboxes and observatories are needed to safely test, monitor, and exchange AI practices across regions. Skills development and AI literacy were emphasised as being crucial, with support for citizen engagement, public-private partnerships, and training programmes. 

Moreover, the CoR members reiterated the key role of decentralised initiatives such as European Digital Innovation Hubs and living-in.EU, which are closest to people on the ground, in providing immediate hands-on expertise and thus contributing to building public trust in digital solutions. Regarding financial support, local and regional leaders called for the creation of a single ‘AI Fund for regional and local authorities’ and stressed the need to expand EU and national funding for AI projects. Public-private partnerships and innovative financing models were identified as essential means to complement public funding and accelerate investment in AI-driven solutions for the public sector. 

Quote  

Rapporteur Alberto Cirio (IT/EPP), President of Piedmont region and chair of the CoR’s Commission for Economic Policy (ECON): “Europe must accelerate the creation of a dynamic, innovative AI ecosystem to secure our future independence and strategic autonomy. We, as local and regional leaders, call on the EU to invest in a sovereign and resilient AI ecosystem, reduce dependence on non-EU technologies and strengthen Europe’s industrial and digital sovereignty. This includes establishing AI factories, data labs and gigafactories across EU regions, backed by clear guidelines, greater investment in skills, and updated funding models to prevent digital divides. Regions and cities play a key role in deploying AI for essential services – from health care and mobility to energy efficiency and urban management – through place-based strategies. For example, AI-driven software and flow-management tools have already cut emergency room waiting times by more than 55%.”  

Background 

• Video and photos from the debate 

• The AI Continent Action Plan, presented by the European Commission on 9 April 2025, aims at turning EU strengths, such as unparalleled talent and strong traditional industries, into AI accelerators and at shaping the next phase of AI development, boosting economic growth, and strengthening the EU’s competitiveness in areas such as healthcare, cars, science and more.