By Ruxandra Popa, Executive Director

Artificial intelligence is increasingly reshaping entire segments of Europe’s economy and society. Meanwhile, the transformative potential of agentic AI will further redefine societies’ relationship with technology, raising novel, profound political, economic, legal, ethical and societal questions. 

As often when societies stand on the verge of fundamental transformations, much of the public attention is focused on the risks and potential costs. This is no different with the AI revolution. There is no denying that these concerns are serious and legitimate. They will require an open and honest dialogue among policymakers, industry and civil society to align on a shared vision and on the solutions and trade-offs needed to bring this vision to life. Technology only succeeds when people genuinely trust it – and we only earn that trust by getting these fundamentals right. 

Managing the risks is essential, but it’s only half of the story. We can’t let caution overshadow the massive opportunities that AI adoption can generate for Europe’s economy and society. Nor should it slow down what is already a vibrant, open, competitive field.

As AI innovation month kicks off across the EU, we have a perfect opportunity to highlight how European start-ups and SMEs are using this technology to transform lives, in a positive way. Across every  sector, teams are applying their creativity to increase productivity, detect diseases earlier, develop new life-saving medicine faster, and predict weather patterns to mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture.  

In her State of the Union address, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made clear that Europe’s ambition is “to make the most of AI to improve our society, our quality of life and our productivity.” 

If we want Europe to lead the next wave of AI innovation and build a thriving economy, we must give its creativity room to breathe.

How? At CODE, we are convinced that openness is part of the answer.  

Open digital ecosystems have been a key ingredient and enabler of every major  technological revolution. They foster innovation, growth and consumer choice. 

The internet has thrived in openness. Today, previously closed mobile ecosystems are increasingly opening up thanks to the efforts of those who, like CODE, denounce the costs of lock-in and work to bring down the artificial barriers which stifle innovation and restrict consumer choice. 

The AI ecosystem is still nascent. It is dynamic and complex. Yet, in this early phase of development, we already see openness driving unprecedented progress across European industries. 

The priority for policymakers should therefore be to nurture this openness and leverage public policy tools to support AI innovation and adoption. 

Initiatives like the EU Apply AI strategy are welcome steps and a helpful model of public-private partnership, with a range of initiatives developed in partnership with industry to support AI innovation and adoption in 10 strategic sectors. We also look forward to the additional measures which President von der Leyen indicated would be presented in November for the health, transport, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, defence and space sectors.

But there is still a long way to go. According to Eurostat, less than 20% of businesses and only 17% of small enterprises in the EU were using AI in 2025. So what’s stopping companies from taking the leap? And how can the EU truly incentivise them to embrace these tools?

At CODE, we don’t pretend to have all the answers. But we strongly believe the focus needs to shift – as well as addressing the risks of AI, we should be talking about how to leverage AI’s immense potential. Ensuring that regulation – which is necessary to manage the risks – accompanies rather than stifles innovation will be key.  As will be working hand in hand with industry to develop and promote the wide adoption of open and secure standards and best practices which are flexible enough to accommodate the technology’s quick evolution.

CODE’s work has been shaped by the conviction that open digital ecosystems benefit society as a whole.  

Today, we are convinced that the adoption of AI in Europe must be guided by the same core openness principles: industry collaboration, empowering consumers, enabling safe interoperability and nurturing an environment of non-discriminatory access.

I look forward to working with policymakers, industry, consumer organisations and civil society in the coming months to support an informed, evidence-based public discussion on the benefits of AI for Europe and to highlight how open digital ecosystems can enable the safe and empowering adoption of AI in Europe.