European Union endorses Leaders’ Declaration at AI Summit in India
The European Union will endorse the Leaders’ Declaration at the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, which recognises that “AI’s promise is best realised only when its benefits are shared by humanity”. Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen will endorse the declaration on behalf of the EU, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with India, promoting AI innovation and international cooperation, and strengthening global AI governance.
In India, Executive Vice-President Virkkunen launched several important initiatives, including the European Legal Gateway Office with India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Announced by President Ursula von der Leyen at the 16th EU–India Summit, the initiative aims to connect European companies with India’s ICT talent base. The Executive Vice-President also launched the Frontier AI Grand Challenge, an EU-wide flagship competition to drive the development of sovereign, large-scale European AI models.
During the summit, the Commission also launched two calls for expression of interest as part of the Commission’s Apply AI Strategy to strengthen European capabilities in AI. The first call invites healthcare organisations across Europe to join the network of AI-powered advanced screening centres, aiming to advance the safe and effective use of AI in cancer and cardiovascular prevention, early detection and diagnosis. The second call invites European AI actors to participate in an expert forum on frontier AI, which will map existing efforts in frontier AI in the EU and identify related opportunities and challenges.
Executive Vice-President Virkkunen, said: “Every day, Europe is getting closer to becoming an AI Continent. As well as stepping up international cooperation, this summit was also an opportunity to showcase progress in this regard. The European Legal Gateway Office in India will increase the attractiveness of the European Union for talent; new calls and grand challenges will strengthen European capabilities in AI.”
Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, said: “The launch of the Legal Gateway Office marks a new level of mutually beneficial cooperation between the European Union and India on talent mobility. It will play a key role in further connecting Indian ICT talent with the EU employers and higher education institutions. It will open new pathways for students, researchers, and professionals to EU Member States, creating added value and opportunities for growth.”
