Restrict the CERN for AI initiative to EU member states

Key insights

Across the quotes, the key divide is not whether Europe should build shared AI capacity, but whether European leadership should be coupled with exclusion or with international cooperation.
Many speakers use CERN as a model for pooling infrastructure and convening talent across borders, rather than as a template for technological self-containment.
The case against restriction is made on both practical grounds, such as access to researchers, compute, and specific non-EU partners, and normative grounds, such as fairness, peace, and public-interest governance.
Several quotes explicitly separate control from access, arguing that member countries can retain governance while still admitting non-EU participants.
The supplied material includes opposition to an EU-only model from EU leaders, business figures, researchers, journalists, think tanks, civil society groups, and international scientific bodies.

Arguments against

Global collaboration model

Several speakers argue that a CERN-like AI institution should, by design, bring together the best researchers, entrepreneurs, and partners from around the world. In this view, European digital sovereignty means having choice and control, not technological isolation, so limiting participation to EU members would depart from the collaborative model they want to replicate.

From my perspective, digital sovereignty means the ability to exercise choice, control and governance across data, operational, technical and legal layers. This is not about technological isolation or excluding global partners. Europe must remain open to innovation and internatio…

Christian Klein · 2026 · full quote
We want to replicate the success story of the CERN laboratory in Geneva. CERN hosts the largest particle accelerator in the world. And it allows the best and the brightest minds in the world to work together. We want the same to happen in our AI Gigafactories. We provide the infr…

Ursula von der Leyen · full quote
CERN hosts the largest particle accelerator in the world. And it allows the best and the brightest minds in the world to work together. We want the same to happen in our AI Gigafactories.

Ursula von der Leyen · Feb 11, 2025 · full quote
I’d love for there to be an International CERN, basically, for AI, where you get the top researchers in the world and you go: Look, let’s focus on the final few years of this project […] and really get it right.

Demis Hassabis · Aug 14, 2024 · full quote
Then what I’d like to see eventually is an equivalent of a Cern for AI safety that does research into that – but internationally.

Demis Hassabis · Oct 24, 2023 · full quote

Non-EU inclusion for scale

Others present non-EU participation as a practical requirement for success rather than just an ideal. They argue that major AI capability, important partner countries, and much of the relevant research talent sit outside the EU, so an EU-only structure would weaken Europe's ability to keep up and would make a serious initiative harder to build.

The centre has long promoted the creation of a "CERN for AI" [...] But to achieve this, the EU will not be able to isolate itself.

Sara Ibrahim · 2025 · full quote
Coordinated deployment of existing, planned, and within-reach European and other bridge power AI compute capacity is likely to provide sufficient computational resources to produce frontier AI models in the next few years, although significantly more investments are probably requ…

A Blueprint for Multinational Advanced AI Development · Nov 2025 · full quote
Any serious European AI initiative must include the United Kingdom. DeepMind, based in London, is one of the world's three or four leading AI research laboratories. ARM's chip architecture underpins a significant share of global computing. The UK AI Safety Institute, established …

Europa Nova · Aug 2026 · full quote

Worldwide access and neutrality

A third line of argument treats a CERN for AI as a global public institution meant to offer broad and equitable access to compute, dataset building, and shared learning. On this view, goals such as AI safety, democratic public interest, peace, and equal participation are better served by an international, neutral, and widely accessible arrangement than by an EU-only club.

"CERN for AI," which would provide researchers worldwide with broad and equitable access to computing resources, enable dataset construction, and support multi-way learning among researchers [...]

Japan Science and Technology Agency · Jun 26, 2025 · full quote
We recognise that advanced technologies inevitably raise national security concerns, however it is the responsibility of academies and governments to consider the interests of global humanity and the planet. Cooperation for peace and global security is necessary. We would support…

S7 Academies · May 2025 · full quote
Ultimately, we may need something like cern Global, international and neutral, but focused on AI safety rather than high energy physics.

Gary Marcus · 2023 · full quote
It can be conceived as a sort of "global Airbus for AI", or a much stronger and extensive global "CERN for AI". [...] This opportunity is open to all states and firms, allowing them to participate on equal footing.

Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI · 2024 · full quote
The key is using data and AI, governed in a fair and democratic way, and deployed for democratic deliberation, not to increased clicks, polarising public opinions and monetizing users’ data. This is the opposite of the public interest. Europe needs a kind of “CERN” or “Manhattan…

Francesca Bria · 2023 · full quote
We call upon the global community, particularly the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, to collaborate on a monumental initiative: the establishment of an international, publicly funded, open-source supercomputing research facility. This…

LAION · 2023 · full quote

Middle ground

European core, wider participation

Some proposals combine a European core with structured openness beyond the EU. They envision member countries or European founders providing governance and much of the funding, while bringing in trusted non-EU partners, keeping participation open to non-European countries, or building an intentionally international and decentralized network.

The governance model we propose relies on twin principles of transparency and accountability, implemented through a Member Representative Board that serves as a guardian of the institution’s mission. Two independent expert boards—Mission Alignment and Scaling & Deployment—would s…

Centre for Future Generations · Jan 30, 2025 · full quote
CERN for AI’s founding members should comprise a select set of trusted non-EU partners, particularly EEA countries and strategic Horizon Europe collaborators.

Centre for Future Generations · Jan 30, 2025 · full quote
In our initial report, we estimated that establishing CERN for AI requires €30–35 billion over the first three years—an investment that would yield cascading benefits for Europe’s future. The initiative would be funded primarily through core contributions from the EU, member coun…

Centre for Future Generations · Jan 30, 2025 · full quote
Yeah, sure. I think what we all saw with the use case over there is what is possible when people work together and when they are convened on purpose, right? And with a specific purpose in mind. It’s so important. And to formalize that around these resources that we do have in Swi…

Mary-Anne Hartley · 2025 · full quote
Serve un centro UE sul modello del CERN e come tale aperto a paesi anche non europei e all’utilizzo delle sue infrastrutture di supercalcolo.

Gianni Manco · 2024 · full quote
In questi mesi di allarmi sull'impatto dell'umanità artificiale non sarebbe sbagliato immaginare un Cern dell'Ai, fondato da Paesi europei e aperto a tutti.

Luca Tremolada · 2023 · full quote

In the provided material, the debate is framed mainly as a choice between an EU-only institution and a European-led initiative that remains international in membership, access, or collaboration. The supplied quotes favor openness beyond the EU, but they differ on how wide that openness should be, ranging from trusted partners to all states and researchers. A recurring point of convergence is that European governance and funding are seen as compatible with cross-border participation.

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Europa Nova
European policy initiative proposing a treaty-based research institution for sovereign frontier-AI capability.

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votes Against and says:

Any serious European AI initiative must include the United Kingdom. DeepMind, based in London, is one of the world's three or four leading AI research laboratories. ARM's chip architecture underpins a significant share of global computing. The UK AI ...
more AI Verified source (Aug 2026)

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AI Action Plan for Switzerland
Public-private AI strategy coordinated by digitalswitzerland with Switzerland’s Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM).

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votes Against and says:

An intergovernmental treaty modelled on the CERN Convention, with open accession for democratic states.
AI Verified source (May 28, 2026)

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digitalswitzerland
Independent Swiss cross-sector association advancing digital transformation and AI policy.

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votes Against and says:

Hierzu zählt unter anderem die Weiterentwicklung offener, transparenter Schweizer KI-Modelle (wie Apertus) für kritische Industrien sowie das Vorantreiben der Vision eines globalen «CERN for AI» als Diskussionsgrundlage für den Geneva AI Summit 2027.
AI Verified source (May 28, 2026)

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Christian Klein
CEO of SAP SE, Europe's largest software company

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votes Against and says:

From my perspective, digital sovereignty means the ability to exercise choice, control and governance across data, operational, technical and legal layers. This is not about technological isolation or excluding global partners. Europe must remain ope...
more AI Verified source (2026)

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A Blueprint for Multinational Advanced AI Development
November 2025 Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative memo (29 co-authors incl. Yoshua Bengio) arguing that "AI bridge powers" should jointly develop frontier AI

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votes Against and says:

Coordinated deployment of existing, planned, and within-reach European and other bridge power AI compute capacity is likely to provide sufficient computational resources to produce frontier AI models in the next few years, although significantly more...
more AI Verified source (Nov 2025)

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Japan Science and Technology Agency
Japanese government science funding agency

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votes Against and says:

"CERN for AI," which would provide researchers worldwide with broad and equitable access to computing resources, enable dataset construction, and support multi-way learning among researchers [...]
AI Verified source (Jun 26, 2025)

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S7 Academies
Coalition of G7 science academies

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votes Against and says:

We recognise that advanced technologies inevitably raise national security concerns, however it is the responsibility of academies and governments to consider the interests of global humanity and the planet. Cooperation for peace and global security ...
more AI Verified source (May 2025)

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Centre for Future Generations
European think tank on emerging technologies

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votes Against and says:

CERN for AI’s founding members should comprise a select set of trusted non-EU partners, particularly EEA countries and strategic Horizon Europe collaborators.
Unverified source (Jan 30, 2025) 1 of 3

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Mary-Anne Hartley
EPFL physician; ICANN initiative

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votes Against and says:

Yeah, sure. I think what we all saw with the use case over there is what is possible when people work together and when they are convened on purpose, right? And with a specific purpose in mind. It’s so important. And to formalize that around these re...
more AI Verified source (2025)

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Sara Ibrahim
Science and AI journalist at swissinfo.ch

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votes Against and says:

The centre has long promoted the creation of a "CERN for AI" [...] But to achieve this, the EU will not be able to isolate itself.
AI Verified source (2025)

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Gianni Manco
Italian digital transformation and AI policy consultant

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votes Against and says:

Serve un centro UE sul modello del CERN e come tale aperto a paesi anche non europei e all’utilizzo delle sue infrastrutture di supercalcolo.
AI Verified source (2024)

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Kevin Kohler
Researcher, Simon Institute

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votes Against and says:

Membership should be open to all states and the organization may be "linked to the UN via a cooperation agreement".
AI Verified source (2024)

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Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI
International nonprofit for global AI governance

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votes Against and says:

It can be conceived as a sort of "global Airbus for AI", or a much stronger and extensive global "CERN for AI". [...] This opportunity is open to all states and firms, allowing them to participate on equal footing.
AI Verified source (2024)

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Demis Hassabis
Nobel laureate, AI Researcher and CEO of DeepMind

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votes Against and says:

I’d love for there to be an International CERN, basically, for AI, where you get the top researchers in the world and you go: Look, let’s focus on the final few years of this project […] and really get it right.
Unverified source (Aug 14, 2024) 1 of 2

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Gary Marcus
Professor of Psychology and Neural Science

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votes Against and says:

Ultimately, we may need something like cern Global, international and neutral, but focused on AI safety rather than high energy physics.
AI Verified source (2023)

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LAION
Open‑source AI research organisation

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votes Against and says:

We call upon the global community, particularly the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, to collaborate on a monumental initiative: the establishment of an international, publicly funded, open-source supercomp...
more AI Verified source (2023) 1 of 2

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Luca Tremolada
Italian technology journalist, Il Sole 24 Ore

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votes Against and says:

In questi mesi di allarmi sull'impatto dell'umanità artificiale non sarebbe sbagliato immaginare un Cern dell'Ai, fondato da Paesi europei e aperto a tutti.
AI Verified source (2023)

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Francesca Bria
Innovation economist and digital policy expert

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votes Against and says:

The key is using data and AI, governed in a fair and democratic way, and deployed for democratic deliberation, not to increased clicks, polarising public opinions and monetizing users’ data. This is the opposite of the public interest. Europe needs ...
more AI Verified source (2023)

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Antonio Krüger
German AI research institute leader

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votes Against and says:

But a hub usually implies a place. A place to go. The place to be, to discuss, to invent. We therefore must join the minds and the talents in a real hub, a European Lighthouse for AI. Not only as a symbol for European excellence and ambition across a...
more AI Verified source (Sep 14, 2021)

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Steven Hill
Political author and policy analyst

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votes Against and says:

Given the constraints on the current research paradigm, scientists and policy advocates are increasingly coming to the conclusion that a more collaborative and international endeavor is necessary to truly harness the power of AI and ensure it is used...
more AI Verified source (2018)

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Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Commission

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votes Against and says:

CERN hosts the largest particle accelerator in the world. And it allows the best and the brightest minds in the world to work together. We want the same to happen in our AI Gigafactories.
AI Verified source (Feb 11, 2025) 1 of 2

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Demis Hassabis
Nobel laureate, AI Researcher and CEO of DeepMind

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votes Against and says:

I’d love for there to be an International CERN, basically, for AI, where you get the top researchers in the world and you go: Look, let’s focus on the final few years of this project […] and really get it right.
Unverified source (Aug 14, 2024)

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Sara Ibrahim
Science and AI journalist at swissinfo.ch

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votes Against and says:

the success of any major new AI initiative will depend on the inclusion of non-EU countries.
Disputed source (Apr 2, 2025)

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