The Spanish Government will allocate 100 million euros to national companies that participate in projects aimed at strengthening the European digital sovereigntyin collaboration with companies from other countries of the European Union. This was announced by the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Oscar Lopezduring a working breakfast with his German counterpart, Karsten Wildbergerwithin the framework of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026.
The measure for the development of European digital sovereignty is framed in the Major Project of Common European Interest on Artificial Intelligence (IPCEI-AI)led by Germany, which brings together strategic initiatives to develop a European next-generation artificial intelligence ecosystem. The program seeks to promote the entire value chain, from research and development to the first industrial deployment.
“We can’t run alone”
During his speech, López stressed the need to strengthen cooperation within the EU to compete in the global field of AI.
“Spain is committed to the European race for AI. But we can’t run alone. “Europe needs more cooperation and policies aimed at the single market,” he stated. He added that the Government and Spanish companies want to work “side by side with Germany and other Member States to achieve European digital dreams.”
The minister also defended a strategic alliance between both countries: “Germany and Spain must unite in the defense of a model of European digital sovereignty that combines innovation, regulation, competitiveness and digital rights“.”We have the talent, the industry and the ambition to lead AI in Europe”, he concluded.
Business participation for European digital sovereignty
The meeting, organized by the EU Champions Initiativebrought together representatives of large Spanish and German companies, including Telefónica, Indra, Santander, CaixaBank, Iberia, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Orange, SAP, Schwarz Group (Lidl), Mastercard, Volkswagen and Nokia. Several startups from both countries also participated, such as Multiverse Computing, Open Chip, Quilimanjaro, Sherpa AI, Zhappiens AI, OpenNebula, Applus+ IDIADA, Shakers, Tucuvi and Quside.
Nine Spanish candidates for the IPCEI-AI
Spain has selected nine projects to present them to the European Commission within the AI IPCEI: IDIADA, OpenNebula, Indra, Multiverse Computing, Telefónica, Openchip, Ideaded, Horse Powertrain and Semidynamics.
These companies will now have to look for partners in other Member States to scale their initiatives and give them a truly European dimension, with the aim of strengthening competitiveness compared to other regions of the world.
The days March 10 and 11the Spanish candidates will participate in Berlin in a conference aimed at identifying possible cross-border collaborations with other projects in the program.
The EU Champions Initiative, a pan-European business bloc
The EU AI Champions Initiative is a pan-European coalition of business and private capital created to position Europe as a global leader in artificial intelligence. Although it does not formally belong to the EU institutions, it maintains a continuous dialogue with them.
Launched in the AI Summit held in Paris last year, the initiative brings together more than 110 companiesfrom startups to industrial conglomerates, and has a private investment group led by General Catalystwhich will mobilize 150,000 million euros for the next five years.
