Brussels and Madrid Challenge China and the US in the AI Race

This year's Mobile World Congress technology forum in the capital of Catalonia was dominated by discussions on the need for the European Union to build its own competencies in the field of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies. Representatives of the largest European telecommunications companies, including Marc Murtra from Indra and the management of Telefónica, sent a clear signal to Brussels: Europe must stop being "naive" about digital security. Murtra emphasized that in today's world, technology has become a form of armament, and relying on algorithms from the US or China is risky in the long term. In response to these challenges, the European Commission presented the outlines of the "Made in Europe" initiative, which is to favor local production in strategic sectors. This proposal includes, among other things, that subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles will be directed exclusively to vehicles produced within the Community. Simultaneously, a new Industrial Acceleration Act was announced, aimed at simplifying procedures and protecting key branches of the economy from unfair external competition. This initiative aims not only to protect jobs but, above all, to secure European supply chains in the face of global crises. Since 2021, the European Union has been intensifying work on the so-called Digital Decade, aiming for at least 75% of EU enterprises to use advanced cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies by 2030.The Spanish Minister of Digitalization, Óscar López, officially announced the mobilization of funds amounting to €100 million. These funds will go to Spanish companies involved in projects strengthening digital sovereignty. One of the most important undertakings is the EURO-3C project, implemented jointly by the European Commission and the operator Telefónica. The €75 million investment aims to create an integrated, secure digital platform that will make European business independent of foreign technological monopolies. „Es ingenuo contar con la IA de EE.UU. a largo plazo: todo se usa como un arma.” (It is naive to rely on US AI in the long term: everything is used as a weapon.) — Marc MurtraThe practical application of artificial intelligence is already visible in the public and private sectors. Catalan healthcare units are among the first to implement AI systems to analyze conversations between doctors and patients, which is intended to relieve staff from tedious bureaucracy. Meanwhile, Telefónica presented an innovative cybersecurity center where machine learning algorithms predict hacker attacks before they occur. Collaboration with the medical sector also includes the use of quantum computing to accelerate work on new anti-cancer drugs, showing the multi-dimensional nature of the current transformation. Joining forces by governments, EU institutions, and industrial giants is currently the only way to preserve the Old Continent's competitiveness.

Perspektywy mediów: Emphasizes the necessity of strong state intervention, subsidies, and market protection from global capitalism. Highlights the need for deregulation and market scale so European companies can compete without excessive bureaucratic constraints.