— The director of the Galician Agency for Technological Modernisation presented in Brussels the progress of the regional law on artificial intelligence, pioneer in Europe.

— In a series of meetings with the institutions organised by the FGE, the Galician delegation received first-hand information on the scope and implications of the European AI Act.

Brussels, April 11th 2024. The director of the Agency for the Technological Modernisation of Galicia (Amtega), Julián Cerviño, met with various representatives of the European Union in the past days. During his visit to the EU capital, organised by Fundación Galicia Europa, he presented the progress of the Galician artificial intelligence law, as well as the region’s main actions for the promotion of this technology.

He held meetings with representatives of the European Parliament, the European Committee of the Regions, the Commission and the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU, accompanied by Ana Ramos, the Director of the Brussels Office of Fundación Galicia Europa, Galicia’s regional delegation to the EU.

In the framework of the Galicia Digital 2030 Strategy, that promotes the specialisation of the region in high-impact technologies, the Galician team that visited Brussels reaffirmed before the European representatives its vocation to consolidate Galicia as a pioneer region in artificial intelligence. This aspiration is shown in actions such as the preparation of the first European regional law for the development and promotion of AI, the attraction to Galicia of the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of AI, the approval of the Galician Artificial Intelligence Strategy or the creation of a Commission of experts to advise on the development and ethical use of artificial intelligence in our community.

AI in the focus of Galicia’s future

On Tuesday, April 9th, after a meeting with the Digital Agenda advisor of the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU, Miguel Valle, the Galician delegation met with the Director of Legislative Development of the Committee of the Regions, Thomas Wobben. Both were speakers in the event dedicated to artificial intelligence during the European Week of Regions 2023, organised in october by Fundación Galicia Europa.

It was during the second of said meetings when Galicia received the proposal to be part of a pioneering network of European regions that are committed to specialising in artificial intelligence, as well as to participate in actions to share success stories and presentations of reports on this subject. Wobben was informed about the progress in the processing of the Law for the Development and Promotion of Artificial Intelligence in Galicia, which will be presented for approval in the regional Parliament before the summer.

On the second day, Julián Cerviño met with the MEP Axel Voss, responsible for the report of the special committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age of the European Parliament, which established the timetable for the processing of the European regulation of AI (AI Act). At the meeting, which was also attended by Spanish MEPs Francisco Millán and Pilar del Castillo, Axel Voss informed the Galician delegation about the regional implications and scope of the recently approved European law.

The working sessions in Brussels ended in the afternoon with a meeting with Martin Ulbrich, policy officer for Artificial Intelligence Development and Coordination at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Information Society and Media.

More information: Amtega