30th October 2026
Ireland, alongside 18 other EU Member States, has signed a joint political declaration supporting an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The initiative will support the development and deployment of next-generation AI technologies and services, helping to build a stronger and more competitive European AI ecosystem. For Ireland, participation in the IPCEI-AI presents an opportunity to strengthen its position in high-value digital and AI sectors, foster innovation, deepen collaboration with European partners, and attract investment in strategically important technologies.
By enhancing the European Union’s capabilities to compete globally in strategically critical AI domains, the IPCEI-AI will also significantly strengthen Europe’s technological resilience.
Minister Peter Burke TD:
“My Department is delighted to announce Ireland’s continued support for cutting edge research and development in advanced technologies through participating in the Important Project of Common European Interest, (IPCEI) in Artificial Intelligence. With the rapid growth and increasing importance of AI for jobs, industry, and the wider economy, it is essential we continue to invest in innovative Irish-based companies to enable them to move further up strategic EU value chains and become global leaders in this transformative technology.
As Ireland chairs the EU Presidency, I am especially proud to announce Ireland’s collaboration with other EU Member States and companies in IPCEI-AI, to ensure we establish a competitive European AI ecosystem that contributes to European resilience. I have secured and allocated public funding for Ireland’s participation in IPCEIs, including IPCEI-AI, that will unlock significant private investment and lead to the creation of well-paid jobs across the country.
Our current and future competitiveness depends on investing in innovation and working closely with our European partners to remain at the frontier of innovation.”
Minister of State Niamh Smyth TD:
“As Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation, I welcome the publication of this political manifesto and Ireland’s commitment to IPCEI-AI. Ireland’s participation can really complement Ireland’s efforts to drive the adoption and deployment of AI across the Irish economy.
The projects proposed under IPCEI-AI will ensure we are part of the ambitious plans to establish a sovereign European AI continuum and will be well positioned to capture the enormous opportunities that follow. Ireland’s National Digital and AI Strategy aligns closely with the objectives of IPCEI-AI and provides the framework for ensuring the necessary skills, knowledge and infrastructure are in place to deliver these projects successfully.”
To read the manifesto in full, please refer to: Political Manifesto
Website: www.ipcei-ai.eu
Note on the Political Manifesto
Ministers and Vice-Ministers from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden have signed a political manifesto stating their common aim to develop a continuum of federated and distributed artificial intelligence services with a European scale as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI-AI).
Background on Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI)
An IPCEI is an EU state aid instrument and industrial policy tool that enables Member States to provide a public funding contribution for large, high-risk strategic projects that would often be too expensive or too uncertain for the market to finance on its own. The IPCEI instrument enables EU Member States to set up major projects that are of common interest for a number of States. These projects need to make a significant contribution to growth, employment and the competitiveness of European industry and the economy while delivering wider spillovers at an economic and societal level.
An IPCEI must contribute to the strategic objectives of the European Union and must involve at least four EU Member States. Member States provide a state aid contribution towards the costs of high-risk innovation projects that go beyond the global state-of-the-art. The majority of funding is provided by the companies or researchers delivering the projects. Projects need to pursue ambitious targets for Research, Development and Innovation (R&D&I), which explicitly exceed current state-of-the-art technologies of the corresponding sector. The RDI is expected to lead to First Industrial Deployment (FID) activities that bridge the gap between lab and fab.
ENDS
For further information please contact Press Office, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, press.office@enterprise.gov.ie or (01) 631 2200.
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