Decentralized AI: A New Paradigm for EU Competitiveness, Digital Sovereignty and Regulatory Compliance
EU AI INNOVATION MONTH · WORKSHOP
An official partner event of the European Commission's European AI Innovation Month
A workshop bringing together industry, policy, and academic representatives in an interactive format to explore emerging decentralized and agentic AI systems in Europe, examine their technical foundations, and discuss key policy questions, regulatory implications, and their potential to strengthen EU competitiveness and sovereignty.
Programme
18:00 - 18:15
Welcome and opening: Keynote Address by Dimitrios Tsiodras, Member of the European Parliament (EPP); Member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and Substitute Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)
18:15 – 19:00
Panel 1: Beyond Hyperscalers: Building Europe's Sovereign AI Stack through Decentralized AI
19:00 - 19:15
Coffee break
19:15 – 20:00
Panel 2: The Next Competitive Frontier: Open Source, Decentralized and Agentic AI, and Europe's Innovation Ecosystem
20:00 – 20:15
Q&A
20:15 - 21:30
Networking dinner and cocktail service
Continue the conversation over dinner with speakers, policymakers and industry peers
Panel 1 (18:15 - 19:00 CET)
Beyond Hyperscalers: Building Europe's Sovereign AI Stack through Decentralized AI
As Europe seeks to strengthen its technological sovereignty and reduce strategic dependencies, policymakers are increasingly exploring how to build a competitive AI ecosystem that does not rely exclusively on large-scale, centralized cloud infrastructure. The recently proposed Tech Sovereignty Package, including the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) and the EU Open-Source Strategy, reflects this shift by recognizing open-source technologies, edge computing and distributed infrastructure as important components of Europe's sovereignty agenda.
Against this backdrop, decentralized AI is emerging as an umbrella concept encompassing a range of technologies and deployment models, including edge AI, open-weight models, peer-to-peer networks, distributed computing and agentic systems. Unlike traditional AI architectures that depend on centralized cloud infrastructure, these approaches seek to distribute computing, data processing and control closer to users, devices and communities.
This panel will explore whether these emerging architectures can help Europe strengthen competitiveness, reduce strategic dependencies, broaden participation by EU startups, and advance a more resilient and sovereign AI ecosystem. It will also examine how future EU policy frameworks can support both institutional sovereignty and architectural sovereignty as complementary pathways towards Europe's digital future.
Moderator: Zach Meyers, Director of Research, CERRE
SPEAKERS
Kai Zenner CONFIRMED
Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for MEP Axel Voss
Kai Zenner is Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for MEP Axel Voss (European People’s Party) in the European Parliament. He focuses on AI and data policy but also promotes the EU’s digital transition and Good Governance principles. Besides, he is 'Fellow of Practice' at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Member of the OECD.AI Network of Experts, and Member of the 'AI Governance Alliance' at the World Economic Forum. In 2023, Mr Zenner was awarded best MEP Assistant and ranked Place #13 in Politico's Power 40, while he received EAIF’s 'European AI Award' in 2024 and was listed as one of the '14 movers and shakers to watch for in Tech policy' by Euronews in 2025.
Raquel Fernández CONFIRMED
Research Scientist, Joint Research Centre (JRC), European CommissionRaquel Fernández is a research scientist at the Digital and Data Sovereignty unit of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and a professor of natural language processing and AI at the University of Amsterdam. Her research has received prestigious awards from the ERC and the Dutch Research Council. Since joining the JRC in April 2026, she carries out science for policy on matters concerning AI sovereignty.
Peter Ide-Kostic CONFIRMED
Senior Policy Advisor, OpenMined Foundation
Peter Ide-Kostic is Head of EU Policy at the OpenMined Foundation, where he leads the organisation’s engagement in Europe on AI governance, data policy and privacy-preserving technologies. OpenMined is a non-profit foundation developing open-source infrastructure for secure and accountable access to sensitive or non-public data and AI systems, without compromising privacy, security or confidentiality. Peter’s work supports OpenMined’s mission to make data and AI more accessible for research, oversight and public-interest innovation, while strengthening trust and Europe’s technological sovereignty. He brings 15 years of experience in European technology policy, including as a European Parliament official working with the secretariats of the LIBE, AIDA and IMCO Committees, as well as with the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA).
Gonzalo Munilla Garrido CONFIRMED
AUTHOR OF GÖD'S GATE (Policy Officer, DG COMP, EU Commission)
Gonzalo Munilla Garrido is the author of the science fiction novel GÖD'S GATE, which explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, consciousness and humanity's technological future. Combining a background in engineering, computer science and privacy-enhancing technologies with a passion for speculative fiction, his work examines how emerging technologies may reshape society and our understanding of intelligence. Outside his writing, Gonzalo serves as a Policy Officer at the European Commission, where he works on the implementation and enforcement of the Digital Markets Act, contributing to initiatives on interoperability, digital competition and privacy.
Panel 2 (19:15 – 20:00 CET)
The Next Competitive Frontier: Open Source, Decentralized and Agentic AI, and Europe's Innovation Ecosystem
A new generation of AI technologies is emerging beyond traditional cloud-based models. From open-weight foundation models and local AI assistants to decentralized computing networks and autonomous AI agents, innovators are exploring new ways to develop, deploy and scale AI systems. These approaches have the potential to lower barriers to entry, reduce infrastructure costs, and expand opportunities for SMEs and technology providers to compete in global markets.
This panel will bring together industry leaders, think tank representatives and policymakers to examine how these technologies are already being deployed in practice and what they mean for Europe's innovation ecosystem, with particular attention to the role of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) in accelerating adoption across Europe's industrial base and SME ecosystem.
As AI systems become increasingly autonomous, the discussion will also explore how existing regulatory frameworks can adapt to new deployment models and machine-to-machine environments, how responsibility and oversight should be allocated across distributed AI value chains, and whether compliance-by-design can turn regulatory compliance from a cost into a competitive advantage for European innovators.
SPEAKERS
Paul-John Loewenthal CONFIRMED
Paul-John Loewenthal is head of the unit responsible for AI regulation and compliance at the EU’s AI Office, which enforces the AI Act and ensures its proper implementation across the EU. Prior to joining the AI Office, Mr. Loewenthal was a member of the Legal Service, where he worked on numerous legislative proposals, including the AI Act, the DSA and the DMA, and represented the Commission in over 300 cases before EU and national courts. Mr. Loewenthal previously worked as a referendaire at the EU Court of Justice and as a lawyer at an international law firm.
Sergey Lagodinsky CONFIRMED
Dr Sergey Lagodinsky is a German lawyer and author. He serves as Vice-President of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) in the European Parliament, responsible for foreign affairs and digital policy.
He is Co-President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), as well as a substitute member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). Dr Lagodinsky also acts as the Greens/EFA spokesperson on transatlantic relations and Russia.
Camilla de Coverly Veale CONFIRMED
Global Lead, Policy & Communications, Mozilla.org
Camilla is Global Lead, Policy & Communications at Mozilla.org, where they work across Mozilla’s portfolio including its products, Mozilla.ai, Mozilla Ventures and its public-interest initiatives to advance open source AI. Their work focuses on strengthening Mozilla’s global policy presence and shaping debates on the future of technology, with a particular emphasis on building alternatives to closed, extractive AI systems and supporting a more plural, participatory digital future.
Previously Camilla served as Policy Director at the Startup Coalition.
Giles Dixon CONFIRMED
Global Head of Regulatory Affairs and Licensing, Tether
Giles Dixon heads regulatory affairs and licensing at Tether, developing the company's global regulatory strategy. He works closely on Tether's growing AI portfolio, including Tether QVAC, a decentralized AI framework supporting local-first, privacy-preserving AI applications that operate independently of centralized cloud infrastructure.
Jurgita Miseviciute CONFIRMED
Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs, Proton
Jurgita Miseviciute is the Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs at Proton, one of the fastest-growing consumer and business communications and collaboration companies in Europe. In her current role, Jurgita is responsible for Proton's global public policy efforts, including the company's engagement on AI policy and the emerging rules governing it. She leads Proton's dialogue with politicians, governments, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions - from data protection and competition to trustworthy, privacy-preserving AI. Before Proton, she held positions in the private and public sectors, including at top-tier global law firms such as Covington and Latham & Watkins, and at the European Commission.
Apostolos Fournaris CONFIRMED
Researcher Director, Head of Efficient embedded Computing Systems for Intelligence, Security and Trust, (ECSIST) Research Group, Industrial Systems Institute/Research Center ATHENA
Dr. Apostolos Fournaris has received his diploma and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering department of University of Patras, Greece, in 2001 and 2008 respectively. He has worked for the Information and Communication Technologies Lab in Sophia Antipolis Hitachi Europe SAS European R-D Centre for two years and he is currently Principal Researcher in Industrial Systems Institute of Research Center ATHENA. He has also been working as senior postdoctoral researcher in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Patras and as an adjunct Assistant Professor in the University of Patras and Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece for more than 10 years.
Organised by the Digital Currencies Governance Group (DCGG). For enquiries, please contact the DCGG team at info@dcgg.eu & maria@dcgg.eu