The expert commission on “competition and artificial intelligence” established by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) has completed its work and presented key recommendations for action to boost Germany and Europe as AI sites on 28 April 2026.
The commission has developed seven principles and 20 recommendations for action. The final report provides a scientific perspective and commentary on these recommendations. This section was written by Rupprecht Podszun in collaboration with the HHU researchers Sefqan Bendes, Maximilian Brand and Sebastian Steinert.
“The recommendations represent what the Federal Government needs to tackle proactively at this point in time. In particular in the case of AI, it is important to pool resources and establish clusters. Germany and Europe definitely have a chance to succeed but it is imperative that we lead the next wave of AI innovations and do not become even more dependent on just a few powerful companies. The foundations for European AI success are in place: We have outstanding research, established industrial companies, the European market, a constitutional state and democracy. However, the government has yet to define focuses. In our role as the commission, we say: These 20 points are what we need to focus on right now,” says the expert.
In a total of five meetings since October 2025, the independent and interdisciplinary commission has identified key action areas and developed concrete recommendations. These address the following topics in particular:
Infrastructure and digital sovereignty: Establishment of sovereign, competitive AI infrastructure with a European focus; the state as an anchor customer for European solutions; improvement in location factors by reducing energy costs and eliminating regulatory barriers
Funding: Development of the “Germany Fund” (Deutschlandfonds) into a long-term “German Future Capital” state fund with a total volume of approx. €300 billion; intelligent state procurement as an investment tool; ten percent of defence spending for AI and disruptive technologies
Data: Extensive simplification and centralisation of data protection; establishment of high-quality open data rooms with industrial domain knowledge; development of a data room for health data and life sciences as a priority; large-scale provision of public data
Competition and (de)regulation: Systematic enforcement of the Digital Markets Act; intensification of merger controls in the AI sector; promotion of open source to reduce dependencies; substantial simplification in the areas of data protection, the AI Act and other digital laws; moratorium on new EU digital legislation
Talent and transfer: Fast track for highly qualified skilled workers with 48-hour guarantee for visas; simplification of employee participation in start-ups via company shares; mandatory teaching of AI skills in schools and universities; focus of research funding on German strengths; promotion of geographical clustering of AI hubs; significant acceleration of the setup process for spin-offs from universities
For Professor Podszun and his team Sefqan Bendes, Maximilian Brand and Sebastian Steinert, working on the commission was a ground-breaking experience, which will feed into research and teaching at HHU. “We learned a great deal ourselves. The collaboration in the commission was intensive and highly productive. We are keen to see what happens with the recommendations,” says Rupprecht Podszun, “but above all, we hope that many people will read the final report, on which Sefqan, Max and Sebastian worked so hard.”
You can find the final report here (both sources German only) and more information here.
