The European Union has called for a shared international commitment to safe, trustworthy, and human-centric artificial intelligence governance, in a statement delivered at the first United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva on 6-7 July 2026. Speaking on behalf of the EU and its member states, Roberto Viola, Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology at the European Commission, urged participants to base AI discussions on a credible, independent scientific baseline and to foster multistakeholder collaboration to avoid a race to the bottom where technological advances are pursued at any cost.
The statement, published by the EEAS on 7 July 2026, marks the EU's first formal intervention at a dedicated UN-wide AI governance meeting. Viola highlighted both the extraordinary opportunities of frontier AI—such as accelerating drug design and enabling digital twins in biotechnology—and the considerable societal risks, including threats to children's safety, weaponisation of AI to probe critical infrastructure, and the replacement of cultural creators without adequate remuneration. He stressed that the tension between transformative opportunities and new pressures defines the central challenge, requiring determined action and strengthened international cooperation.
The EU reiterated its own approach of responsible and trustworthy AI innovation, grounded in its uniform risk-based AI rules across the single market, which only intervene where risk is too high or unacceptable. Viola emphasised that trust is necessary for adoption and is in high demand by industry. He also underscored the importance of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, whose preliminary findings have already contributed to the Dialogue, arguing that rigorous, peer-reviewed evidence must underpin policy decisions as political debate outpaces empirical data.
The EU's statement aligns with its recent domestic investments in AI infrastructure, including the upgrade of supercomputers into AI Factories and AI Gigafactories, and the Cloud and AI Development Act, which aims to build a sovereign AI ecosystem with energy-efficient data centres. Viola called for the Dialogue to produce concrete solutions for safe, trustworthy, inclusive, and sustainable AI, and to demonstrate a willingness among participants to continue working together in structured and transparent ways. He concluded with intellectual honesty, acknowledging that the EU does not know everything, which is why evidence, multistakeholder dialogue, and multilateralism are needed.