Europe’s focus on AI shifts from ambition to execution at the first European Innovation & Tech Summit in Brussels on Thursday, February 5th, 2026. The summit, hosted by Akkodis in partnership with POLITICO, brought together top technology experts from politics, industry, and research to discuss the role of AI as a bridge between human thinking and machine precision.
Akkodis, a leading global digital engineering consulting company based in Europe and part of The Adecco Group, organized the invitation-only summit with the goal of addressing Europe’s urgent need to turn its world-class AI research and regulation into practical, scalable real-world applications.
Speakers at the summit highlighted that Europe’s future competitiveness rests on its ability to deploy AI at scale in four key sectors: healthcare and life sciences, the public sector, autonomous driving and robotics, and defense. These sectors are seen as essential to Europe’s AI leadership and sovereignty due to their high societal value, strict regulatory demands, and potential for deployment. As a result, the summit focused on practical strategies for implementation, recognizing that progress in these areas will determine Europe’s success in utilizing AI as a driver of competitiveness, resilience, and public trust.
Responsible AI was a key topic throughout the summit, with speakers emphasizing that trust in AI systems cannot be achieved through principles alone. Rather, it requires clear accountability frameworks, transparent and explainable decision-making, robust governance structures, human-in-the-loop approaches, deployable compliance models, and secure data infrastructures. Many also noted that Europe’s regulatory leadership can become a competitive advantage if paired with practical deployment templates that organizations can quickly adopt.
The summit’s Spotlight session, “Between Autonomy and Alliance: Can Europe still shape the rules?” shed light on the geopolitical dimension of AI. As the world’s focus turns to two significant high-level policy gatherings in February – the Munich Security Conference on defense and the India AI Impact Summit on digital development – Europe finds itself in a strategic crossroads. The debate highlighted growing tensions in Europe’s AI strategy, with calls for technological sovereignty conflicting with the continent’s reliance on non-European foundation models and infrastructures. Speakers stressed the potential of balanced global partnerships to unlock innovation at scale.
“The European Innovation & Tech Summit made one thing very clear: Europe does not lack AI ambition. With strong alliances, we will accelerate and innovate for measurable impact,” stated Jo Debecker, President & CEO of Akkodis. “If Europe wants to lead in trustworthy and human-centric AI, regulation must be matched with scalable solutions, sovereign data infrastructures, AI gigafactories, and governance models that organizations can actually use. Akkodis sees its role as bridging research, policy, and real-world application.”
Jamil Anderlini, POLITICO Regional Director, Europe, summed up the discussions at the summit, stating, “What makes AI such a consequential issue for Europe is not just the technology itself, but the economic and policy choices around it. Decisions made in Brussels increasingly influence how AI is governed globally, which is why these discussions are so important for both Europe and the wider international system.”
Jacques Pitteloud, Head of the Mission of Switzerland to NATO & Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kingdom of Belgium, added, “AI is but one of the key factors that will reshape the world order sooner and more thoroughly than we are prepared for. Brace yourselves for an interesting second quarter of the 21st century.”
Jonathan Van Cauwenberge, Port of the Future Advisor at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, highlighted the importance of AI in the logistics industry, stating, “Ports are the perfect proving ground for autonomous technologies – our role is to enable innovators to test, learn, and scale solutions that will transform the entire logistics ecosystem.”
Ziad Matta, General Manager Servier BELUX and Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce France-Belgium, spoke about the potential of AI in healthcare, stating, “New technology is offering us today, more than ever, remarkable tools to provide better patient care. The 2026 European Innovation & Tech Summit in Brussels was a fantastic opportunity to discuss with experts and decision-makers how we could collectively drive forward the healthcare model for the best interest of patients and for the best support of healthcare professionals.”
The European Innovation & Tech Summit served as a forum for Europe’s technology and innovation decision-makers in the intelligent age. It represents a strategic step towards deeper European cooperation and broader global engagement on AI. Akkodis plans to continue the format as a platform for cross-border dialogue, with a clear focus on implementation, measurable impact, and responsible innovation.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Anne FriedrichSVP, Global Head of Communications, AkkodisM. +4915174633470E. anne.friedrich@akkodis.com
Lisa BushkaVP, External Communications, AkkodisM. +18604630770E. lisa.bushka@ade