French AI lab Mistral unveils le Chonk, a one trillion-parameter multimodal model, claiming it significantly outperforms any open-weight models developed in the US or Europe. The model, previewed to developers, targets enterprise workloads in cybersecurity, finance and law, with full release planned later this month. (TECH.EU) Mistral
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The EU Kids Act goes after real harm to our children. But to get there, it would require proof of age before anyone opens an account on the largest platforms. But can't we protect children by changing the services instead?
By Christian Triantafillou Schade
Five European payment providers form an alliance to create an alternative to US-led digital payment systems, covering over 70% of the EU and Norway's population. The group includes Bancomat, Bizum, EPI Company/Wero, SIBS-MB WAY and Vipps MobilePay, serving around 130 million users across 13 countries.
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By Christian Triantafillou Schade
By Christian Triantafillou Schade
By Christian Triantafillou Schade
By Christian Triantafillou Schade
By Christian Triantafillou Schade
By Christian Triantafillou Schade
By Christian Triantafillou Schade
By Christian Triantafillou Schade
Italy’s Democratic Party has backed the government’s proposal for a national AI gigafactory, with PD Senate leader Francesco Boccia calling it a strategic infrastructure project. The initiative, involving major companies and research centres, aims to secure EU funding by 31 December. (NUPATH.EU) Italy’s Democrats back government’
(#source_www.nupath.eu)
The Open Source Conference in Luxembourg 2026 highlighted the growing focus on deploying large language models on-premises across Europe to enhance digital sovereignty. Discussions also covered open weights versus open source AI and permission-aware retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) implementations. (HYLAND) European open-source conference highlights on-premises LLM
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The EU, Canada and Lithuania withdrew from an international disinformation conference in Vilnius after the US State Department pressured allied governments to distance themselves. The event included panels describing the US as a 'foreign information manipulation and interference' actor, according to reports. (NUPATH.EU) EU, Canada and Lithuania
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Portugal is preparing legislation to adopt the EU’s stricter foreign investment screening framework, which enters into force in July 2026 and applies from January 17, 2028. Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said the new law will strengthen scrutiny of investments in strategic sectors, including energy, telecommunications and critical infrastructure, to
(#source_ECO-News)
The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has celebrated the graduation of 38 students from its third EUMaster4HPC cohort at the University of Luxembourg. The programme aims to strengthen Europe's high-performance computing talent pipeline for strategic sectors including AI and climate modelling. (EUROHPCJU) EuroHPC JU
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The Fourth Law and Odd Systems launch Project Foundation to expand European thermal sensor production to four times its current level within three years, addressing strategic autonomy in defence and industrial supply chains. The initiative targets uncooled long-wave infrared sensors for drones, vehicles and robots, with new fabrication facilities
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Poland’s state-owned National Development Bank (BGK) launches the Vinci Space Tech Fund worth €114 million to invest in 15-20 space technology firms, aiming to bolster the country’s technological sovereignty. The fund, backed by the finance ministry and partners including the Polish Space Agency, will target sectors
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The EU’s Joint Research Centre and cybersecurity agency ENISA are evaluating publicly available open-weight AI models from China as part of comparative assessments that also include US and European models. The tests aim to assess capabilities and potential applications, with no plans to use the Chinese models for
(#source_Politico)
Brighton-based Universal Quantum secures the UK’s largest quantum Series A with €89 million to scale modular trapped-ion quantum computers. The funding will support global expansion and commercialisation of fault-tolerant systems, including a new R&D centre in Singapore. The round was co-led by DCVC
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Portugal’s government has renewed restrictions on 'high-risk' 5G suppliers after a new security review, maintaining a policy that effectively excludes Huawei from the market. The decision, adopted under Decision No. 1/2024, was confirmed by the Presidency Ministry and follows a classified assessment completed by September
(#source_ECO-News)
IBM introduces a self-hosted deployment option for its IBM Bob agentic AI platform, enabling enterprises to run the system on-premises, in private and sovereign clouds, or air-gapped environments. The move addresses European data residency and sovereignty concerns by keeping sensitive code and data within controlled enterprise environments.
(#source_eeNews-Europe)
The EU, Canada and Lithuania withdrew from an international disinformation conference in Vilnius after the US State Department pressured allied governments to distance themselves. The conference included panels describing the US as a 'foreign information manipulation and interference' actor, prompting Washington to lobby European capitals to reconsider participation.
(#source_Politico)
DIGITALEUROPE argues Europe’s tech leadership requires faster funding access, simpler regulation and more ambitious public procurement, citing an €800 billion venture capital gap with the US. The group highlights its Future Unicorn Awards, which have supported over 250 European scaleups since 2018, and calls for a €5 billion EU
(#source_Tech.eu)
French AI lab Mistral unveils le Chonk, a one trillion-parameter multimodal model, claiming it significantly outperforms any open-weight models developed in the US or Europe. The model, previewed to developers, targets enterprise workloads in cybersecurity, finance and law, with full release planned later this month. (TECH.EU) Mistral
(#source_Tech.eu)
