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May 22, 2023

European AI startups have a new lobbying group in Brussels

EU policymakers will soon finalise negotiations on new AI rules

Zosia Wanat

1 min read

A new lobbying group to represent European AI companies and startups has been launched today in Brussels, as negotiations on new EU regulations on artificial intelligence enter the crunch period. 

For years, big tech companies have been represented in Brussels by their own lobbyists and trade associations. Smaller European businesses and startups, meanwhile, usually don’t have the means to engage with complicated EU policymaking.  

The European AI Forum (EAIF), which has been launched by nine national associations, hopes to give more than 2,000 AI businesses a voice in Brussels. 

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It plans to lobby for rules that could accelerate investment in AI across the continent, push for input on the EU’s AI strategies and programmes and align AI policy among European countries. 

The group, which includes national AI organisations from France and Germany, has been informally working together since 2020. It’s now formalising its operations as European policymakers will soon enter the last phase of negotiations of the EU AI Act which is likely to have massive compliance consequences for the European startup sector.

Zosia Wanat

Zosia Wanat is a senior reporter at Sifted. She covers the CEE region and policy. Follow her on X and LinkedIn