European Commission publishes action plan for the promotion of artificial intelligence.

On 9 April, the European Commission published an ‘AI Continent Action Plan’, which aims to make the European Union (EU) a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). With this goal in mind, the action plan shows how untapped potential in research and industry can be utilised to increase Europe's competitiveness, for example in healthcare, the automotive industry and science.

Structure of the action plan

The content of the action plan is based on five areas in which the EU's innovative capacity is to be strengthened through measures and strategies. These areas are the development of a large AI data and computing infrastructure, improved access to large and high-quality data, the accelerated introduction of AI in strategic sectors (including the healthcare sector with a particular focus on pharmaceuticals and biotechnology), the promotion of AI skills and talent and the simplification of legislation.

Focus on AI skills

AI skills are to be promoted from an early age, for example through a ‘2030 Roadmap on the future of digital education and skills’ and an ‘AI in Education’ initiative, both of which were announced as part of the Union of Skills. Building on this, further education and training programmes on (generative) AI in key sectors are to be developed, and urgently needed international experts – including from third countries – are to be recruited through existing and new initiatives such as the EU talent pool. One key initiative in the area of AI skills training is the AI Skills Academy, which is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.

Relaxation of AI regulations?

It is uncertain what the planned regulatory simplification will mean for the AI Act, which came into force last August. The action plan states that the success of the regulation will largely depend on how its provisions are put into practice. To support the implementation of the AI Act, the European Commission will set up an ‘AI Act Service Desk’ in July 2025, which will serve as a central information point. Apart from this, the European Commission would like to identify further measures based on the knowledge gained during the current implementation phase in order to enable efficient and uncomplicated application of the AI Act, especially for smaller companies. It is currently unclear exactly what this means.

Relevance for social security

The topic also remains relevant for social insurance, as more and more institutions are recognising the potential of AI in various areas. For example, the Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft (VBG) is demonstrating how AI can simplify the creation of risk assessments and help to improve occupational safety and health. New AI features have been developed for their GEDOKU software, which has been supporting the structured planning, implementation and documentation of risk assessments for six years. In addition to an intelligent search function, the option was created to use AI-generated texts based on corresponding regulations and catalogues to create the risk assessment. References allow users to check the AI-generated suggestions for quality and accuracy. The beta test of the AI features is running until the end of May, and they should be available to all GEDOKU users from autumn 2025.

Action plan: Accompanying measures

With the publication of the action plan, the European Commission has launched a consultation on the ‘Apply AI’ strategy, which also contains specific questions on challenges in the implementation of the AI Regulation. The results are intended to guide the European Commission's further measures and feed into a comprehensive assessment of the legislative acquis in the area of digital policy in order to examine whether the existing rules go beyond what is necessary. A second public consultation concerns the legal act on cloud and AI development and a third (May 2025) the strategy for a European Data Union.