Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during a press conference on Jan. 17, 2025.
Florian Gaertner | Photothek | Getty Images
STOCKHOLM — Europe is at risk of becoming a “museum” if it doesn’t soften strict curbs on artificial intelligence technologies and deregulate, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday.
“I think we really need to step up in Europe … the American economy, Chinese economy have been growing far faster compared to the European economies over the last 20 years,” the premier told attendees of the Techarena event in Stockholm.
“If we don’t change that, Europe will actually become some kind of a museum compared to other parts of the world,” he added.
Kristersson’s voice joins a chorus of European leaders who spoke at the Paris AI Action Summit last week, stressing the need for the region become a more competitive player in the global AI race.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced a 109-billion-euro ($113.7 billion) investment in AI, which includes commitments from both foreign investors like the United Arab Emirates and U.S. American and Canadian investment funds, as well as domestic firms like Iliad, Orange and Thales.
Macron at the time compared the scale of the investment commitment to the $500 billion Stargate private AI investment venture announced by President Donald Trump last month.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said that the EU would mobilize a total of 200 billion euros ($208.6 billion) for AI investments in Europe.
Against this backdrop, U.S. Vice President JD Vance took aim at Europe, arguing officials in the continent have become too heavily focused on regulating AI instead of embracing its growth potential.
Touting America as “the leader” in the technology, Vance said that the U.S. wants its European allies to foster a more favorable attitude to the technology than it has done to date.
“To create that kind of trust, we need international regulatory regimes that fosters the creation of AI technology rather than strangles it, and we need our European friends in particular to look to this new frontier with optimism rather than trepidation,” Vance told attendees at the Paris summit.
‘Not good enough’
Tech executives have previously criticized the EU for taking too strict a regulatory approach to AI. The bloc’s landmark AI Act, which became enforceable this year, is the first comprehensive set of rules aimed at safeguarding against risks posed AI.
“To be able to compete in the new geopolitical context, Europe needs to become a place where business and innovation can thrive,” Kristersson said Thursday. “That means less regulation. That means more access to capital and talent.”
He added, “As it stands now, we’ve got companies having troubles using the latest technology due to uncertainties with the European legislation, companies founded in Europe relocating to the U.S. due to the lack of access to capital. That is simply not good enough.”