After four roundtables held across Central and Eastern Europe, the #CEEAIChallenger 2026 series concluded in Brussels, bringing together policymakers, representatives of the European Commission, Members of the European Parliament, industry leaders and digital policy experts to present a consolidated set of recommendations for Europe's AI future. The final event marked the culmination of months of discussions across the region and transformed local perspectives into a shared CEE voice on AI policy, competitiveness and innovation.

The Brussels finale provided an opportunity to present the key conclusions developed throughout the series and engage directly with European decision-makers on how AI policy can better support innovation, investment and deployment across all Member States.

Among the speakers and participants were Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, Member of the European Parliament, Małgorzata Nikowska, Head of Unit at the AI Office of the European Commission, Karolina Mojzesowicz, Acting Head of Unit for Data Protection at the European Commission, Jakub Dysarz, Attaché for Cybersecurity and the Digital Single Market at the Permanent Representation of Poland to the European Union, alongside representatives of the digital industry and AI ecosystem from across Central and Eastern Europe.

Bringing together the region's recommendations
The Brussels discussion built on conclusions gathered during previous #CEEAIChallenger roundtables dedicated to AI investment, AI adoption, regulatory simplification and technology strategies. Together, these discussions demonstrated that while individual countries face different challenges, the region shares a common vision of what Europe needs to strengthen its global competitiveness in artificial intelligence.

Participants agreed that Europe's AI agenda should increasingly focus on deployment alongside regulation. While the AI Act provides an important legal framework, its implementation must remain proportionate, harmonised and innovation-friendly. Businesses require legal certainty and consistent interpretation of EU rules to avoid fragmentation of the Single Market and ensure that compliance supports, rather than slows, AI adoption.

From investment to deployment
A central theme of the discussion was Europe's ability to finance and scale AI innovation. Participants highlighted that Europe possesses world-class research capabilities and engineering talent but continues to lose promising AI companies during the scale-up phase due to limited access to growth capital.

The debate explored how future European funding instruments should place greater emphasis on AI deployment, industrial implementation and cross-border cooperation, while strengthening regional investment ecosystems across Central and Eastern Europe. Participants also underlined the importance of reinforcing collaboration between public and private investors and creating conditions that enable innovative companies to grow within Europe.

Building an open, trusted and competitive European AI ecosystem
Another key area of discussion focused on Europe's technological sovereignty and its ability to build trusted AI ecosystems without isolating itself from international innovation. Participants discussed the need to combine secure data governance, trusted international partnerships and access to cutting-edge technologies with the development of strong European AI capabilities.

The conversation also addressed several ongoing regulatory discussions affecting AI development, including the Omnibus package, GDPR-related provisions for AI development, the use of sensitive data, legitimate interest as a legal basis for AI training, and the future of the Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception. Participants emphasised that future reforms should reduce regulatory fragmentation, improve legal certainty and create a more coherent framework for responsible AI innovation across Europe.

Accelerating AI adoption across Europe's economy
Participants also examined the practical barriers preventing broader AI adoption, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises. They agreed that Europe must move beyond pilot projects and focus on supporting implementation through targeted adoption programmes, stronger public-private partnerships, expanded AI skills initiatives and greater access to computing infrastructure.

These priorities were consistently identified throughout the #CEEAIChallenger series as essential conditions for ensuring that AI delivers tangible productivity gains across Europe's economy.

One regional voice for Europe's AI future

Perhaps the most important outcome of the Brussels finale was the presentation of a consolidated CEE perspective on Europe's AI future. The recommendations developed throughout the series call for simpler and more harmonised AI regulation, stronger support for AI deployment, particularly among SMEs, greater investment in European AI ecosystems, enhanced computing and data infrastructure, and sustained investment in AI skills and lifelong learning.

The discussions reinforced the message that Central and Eastern Europe is not only ready to contribute to Europe's AI ambitions but can play a leading role in translating AI policy into real-world implementation and industrial competitiveness.

The conclusions presented in Brussels will now form the basis of the forthcoming #CEEAIChallenger 2026 report, which will consolidate the discussions held throughout the series into a comprehensive set of policy recommendations for European and national policymakers. The publication will present the collective voice of Central and Eastern Europe on the future direction of AI policy, offering practical proposals to strengthen Europe's competitiveness, innovation capacity and AI deployment across the Single Market.