EU calls for evidence-based AI governance at UN dialogue
EU statement links AI governance with human rights, child safety and sustainability.
The European Union has called for evidence-based AI governance and stronger international cooperation during the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva.
Speaking on behalf of the EU and its member states, European Commission Director-General Roberto Viola said the meeting was the first dedicated UN gathering on AI governance involving all members of the organisation.
The EU said broad stakeholder participation was essential for the relevance of the Dialogue’s outcomes and could help lay the foundation for stronger international cooperation.
The statement said frontier AI is advancing quickly, creating opportunities in biotechnology, industrial AI, robotics and public-interest innovation.
It also pointed to the EU investments in AI Factories, AI Gigafactories, computing capacity and a sovereign AI ecosystem.
At the same time, the EU warned that rapid AI development creates societal, economic and security risks.
The statement highlighted risks to children’s safety and rights, possible misuse of AI against critical infrastructure, the environmental footprint of AI systems and concerns over generative AI’s impact on cultural creators and journalism.
The EU described its AI governance approach as human-centric, risk-based and grounded in international human rights law.
It also emphasised the role of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, arguing that political debates on AI are moving faster than the evidence base.
The EU said independent, peer-reviewed and internationally validated evidence should provide a factual baseline for AI policy decisions.
Why does it matter?
The EU statement shows how Brussels wants to shape global AI governance around trust, human rights, scientific evidence and multistakeholder cooperation. Its focus on frontier AI risks also reflects a growing concern that policy processes are struggling to keep pace with advances in capability. By backing the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, the EU argues that global AI governance should be grounded in evidence rather than projections, lobbying, or geopolitical competition.
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