Europe’s dependence on US frontier models
As I argued in Europe cannot rent its way to AI sovereignty, a domestic data center does not confer control over the models inside it. A credible alternative requires sustained spending on researchers, compute, energy, and successive model generations. Europe's practical goal should be enough domestic capability to keep essential work running through a cutoff and negotiate with a bargaining chip in hand, which could be powered land and data center capacity. That is, if its energy prices and planning permission challenges can come down to be competitive…
Frequently asked questions
Answers drawn from the report and the sources below.
Anthropic’s notice was updated on July 1, 2026 to announce restored access. The notice describes different rollout arrangements across products and partners, including Mythos access through Glasswing.
Source: Anthropic: redeploying Fable 5.
A domestic data center does not give a country control over the models running inside it. My argument is that a credible alternative also needs sustained investment in researchers, energy, and successive model generations.
Source: Nathan Benaich: Europe cannot rent its way to AI sovereignty.
The report’s selected sovereign programs are at different stages, from procurement to operating capacity. A pledge measures a commitment. It cannot be treated as money already spent or capacity already delivered.
Source: State of AI Report 2026 · CNAS: Sovereign AI Index.