The European Union is preparing to launch an ambitious new plan to reduce its reliance on American and Chinese artificial intelligence, as Brussels moves to assert digital sovereignty and secure Europe’s place in the global AI race.

According to a draft proposal seen by the Financial Times, the European Commission’s upcoming “Apply AI Strategy” will promote homegrown AI tools to boost resilience, competitiveness, and security across key sectors including healthcare, defence, and manufacturing.

The strategy, set to be unveiled on Tuesday by EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen, aims to strengthen “EU AI sovereignty” by speeding up the development and adoption of European-made generative AI systems. Brussels also wants to prioritise the use of these tools within public administrations to help Europe’s AI start-ups scale and compete globally.

The document reportedly warns of growing “external dependencies” across the AI supply chain – from chips and data infrastructure to software models – which could be “weaponised” by geopolitical rivals. These fears have intensified since Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency, sparking renewed calls across Europe for digital independence.

China’s rapid advances in AI have also heightened pressure on the EU to respond. Although Europe has nurtured promising firms such as France’s Mistral and Germany’s Helsing, the bloc still depends heavily on foreign technology and raw materials for AI development.

To counter this, Brussels is set to mobilise €1 billion from existing programmes to fund AI adoption in key industries, while encouraging open-source European alternatives to take root. The strategy also positions AI as a “strategic asset” central to the EU’s industrial and security architecture, rather than simply a productivity tool.

A core focus will be defence. As European nations ramp up military spending amid concerns over Russia and possible US disengagement from NATO, the Commission plans to fast-track “European AI-enabled” command and control systems — currently reliant on American technology – and to develop sovereign AI capabilities for space and defence.