The EU's InvestAI fund, with a budget of EUR 20 billion, is set to finance five AI gigafactories across the bloc, designed to deploy large-scale AI models and applications. But a late 2024 shift in the Commission's approach — requiring member states to commit funding upfront before a tender open only to private companies or consortia — prompted pushback from several countries.
Poland led a coalition of seven member states, including France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden, demanding a return to the original framework.
"Poland built a coalition of countries that halted the suboptimal proposals of the European Commission", Standerski told PAP. "We are now close to reaching a solution that will strengthen the digital sovereignty of the European Union".
Poland had previously partnered with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the Baltic AI GigaFactory consortium, though Latvia and Estonia later withdrew.
On a separate digital policy matter, Standerski said a working group at the Ministry of Digitization is finalizing a proposed digital services tax of up to 3% on revenues of large technology firms operating in Poland. The draft legislation is expected to be published by early July, he said, following a second stakeholder meeting planned for June.
The tax would apply to companies or consolidated groups with global revenues exceeding EUR 1 billion and taxable Polish revenues above PLN 25 million (EUR 5.9 million), targeting firms offering targeted advertising, social media platforms, online marketplaces and data brokers.
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Source: PAP