ECB scenarios cited by Mario Draghi shows AI adoption could add 0.3% to 0.4% points to annual total-factor productivity growth.

That measure has remained near zero since 2022, so the projected gain would materially change Europe's growth path.

But, unlike the US, Europe is not building many data centres; it has far too little computing capacity for its AI demand. The EU holds less than 5% of global AI compute, vs 75% for US, and its data-centre shortfall could grow from about 3GW today to 14GW by 2030.

Draghi identifies data as Europe's clearest controllable asset, including public health and machine-readable industrial records.

But, Europe increasingly wants control over both its data and the machines processing it. US companies can provide local cloud capacity, but their US ownership creates legal and political risks for sensitive European systems.