BRUSSELS — The Business Software Alliance (BSA) welcomes the European Commission’s Apply AI Strategy and AI in Science Strategy, unveiled today and signaling Europe’s determination to boost AI adoption and strengthen its innovation ecosystem.

BSA notes the EU’s focus on technological sovereignty, however, isolation is not the way forward. True sovereignty should be built on openness, competitiveness, and global leadership. The Strategy itself reflects this view by emphasizing the importance of strong international engagement on AI, particularly in coordination with Europe’s closest allies.

“We do need strategies and roadmaps; however, AI ambitions will ultimately be realized through adoption and uptake. Europe has the right ambitions and intentions, but it must push the pedal on creating the right foundation for companies of all sizes to embrace AI at work,” said Hadrien Valembois, Director – Policy EMEA.

The Commission rightly highlights that uncertainty surrounding the AI Act is slowing adoption. No grace period has yet been foreseen, and many Member States have yet to designate their responsible national competent authorities. At the same time, companies need legal certainty and confidence, which can only be achieved through clear guidance, realistic timelines, particularly on high-risk classification, and, most importantly, on the Act’s overlap with other EU laws.

BSA understands why frontier AI models and AI agents are seen as strategic assets for Europe’s competitiveness. However, turning these elements into success will require close public–private collaboration, access to data, and interoperability. The launch of RAISE (the Resource for AI Science in Europe) is another promising step to pool talent, compute, and research excellence, but only provided it connects effectively to the broader AI ecosystem.

Many of the priorities outlined today, including building an AI-ready workforce, expanding access to data and cloud infrastructure, ensuring legal clarity, and supporting SMEs, mirror the pillars of BSA’s forthcoming EU Enterprise AI Adoption Agenda. The Agenda will set out practical, business-born-and-driven policy actions to help operationalize the EU’s strategic vision and accelerate responsible AI uptake across Europe’s economy.