19 EU states sign manifesto for the AI IPCEI

More than 150 selected individual projects are to build a sovereign, closely networked ecosystem for industrial AI applications — among them automotive, manufacturing, defence, robotics, semiconductors, energy, healthcare, telecommunications, agriculture and public administration. An investment volume of over €10bn is envisaged, predominantly privately funded and co-financed by the state under the IPCEI principle.

On 17 September 2026 ministers and senior government representatives from 19 EU member states signed a joint manifesto, launching the IPCEI on Artificial Intelligence. Operational project work is to begin in spring 2027; Germany is providing around €1bn at federal level and intended to submit its project proposals to the European Commission during September. Compared with the national funding guideline of 27 July 2026 (entry 269c0871, then 16 participating states), the number of participating states has risen to 19 (heise online/dpa, 17 Sep 2026; Oiger, 17 Sep 2026).