Highlights of the EU AI Week 2025

Key figures

A guiding question: Innovation vs Regulation?
7 days of conferences featuring engaging discussions and insights from experts
Over 3500 participants on site and online
86 speakers, including 36% women
30 events, including 10 at FPS BOSA
An average satisfaction rate of 82% among attendees of the events held at FPS BOSA (regarding content, format, and organization)

Innovation vs Regulation?

The EU AI Week 2025, held from March 17 to 21, provided a unique platform to dive into the societal, technological, and industrial challenges of the artificial intelligence era. This week-long event brought together Belgian stakeholders from all three regions and communities, alongside European and international partners, to explore the dynamic intersection of innovation and regulation in AI. Organized by FPS BOSA, AI4Belgium and its partners, the event facilitated engaging debates, insightful keynotes, and innovative projects that showcased AI's potential to drive societal and industrial transformation.

The 2025 edition of EU AI Week addressed key themes such as the future of society, the impact of generative AI on media and trust, the role of AI in enhancing public services, and the challenges of ensuring transparency and cybersecurity. The event also highlighted how AI fosters innovation across sectors like industry and public services, while stressing the importance of responsible AI practices.

This report reflects on the objectives and outcomes of the week, outlining key takeaways and emphasizing important figures and ideas for a sustainable and innovative digital future.

Discussions during EU AI Week 2025 highlighted the importance of anchoring innovation in a framework of trust. At the federal public administration level, this dynamic materialised in July with the signing of a charter for the responsible use of artificial intelligence, guaranteeing ethical and transparent use in public services. Supported by 40 federal organisations, this initiative establishes a governance model in which technology remains at the service of citizens and strengthens public confidence in AI, positioning Belgium as a leader in responsible innovation in Europe.
Vanessa Matz

Minister of Public Action and Modernization, in charge of Public Enterprises, the Civil Service, State Real Estate Management, Digital and Scientific Policy

Beyond the hype: AI as a societal project

The EU AI Week 2025 kicked off on March 17 with an opening ceremony that brought together key institutional voices to frame the week’s central theme: Innovation vs Regulation? Vanessa Matz, Belgian Minister of the Modernisation of the Public Administration, delivered the opening address, followed by Lucilla Sioli, Director of the EU AI Office, who shared strategic insights on Europe’s AI trajectory.

The ceremony was followed by a thought-provoking debate on the delicate balance between fostering innovation and ensuring robust AI regulation. Topics such as transparency, trust, cybersecurity, and European competitiveness set the stage for a rich week of reflection and exchange on the future of AI.

Beyond setting the tone, this opening session proved to be a distillation of the week’s most essential messages. The ideas expressed by all the panelists and speakers — emphasizing collaboration, nuance, and the imperative to move beyond binary oppositions — captured the spirit of the entire AI Week. It became clear that if Europe is to shape a trustworthy and sovereign approach to AI, it must embrace both innovation and regulation, AI and humanity.

Key takeaways

Innovation

AI is viewed as a major driver of economic and social transformation.
Europe must catch up in terms of investment (compared to the US and China) and boost competitiveness through widespread AI adoption across sectors (industry, health, public services...).
The need for infrastructure is emphasized: supercomputers, innovation hubs, gigafactories…
Innovation must be grounded in real-world experimentation, as exemplified by the Tremplin IA project call (Digital Wallonia) — supporting risk-free AI prototyping in public and private organisations — by the work of the Knowledge Centre Data & Society (Flanders) and by FARI’s immersive demonstrators and regulatory sandboxes in Brussels, which connect applied research with societal needs and regulatory foresight, among others.

Regulation

The European AI Act is highlighted as a pioneering regulation aimed at ensuring the safe and ethical use of AI in accordance with fundamental rights.
Regulation and innovation are not opposites but complementary —regulation is a driver of trust and therefore an accelerator of adoption.
The gradual implementation of the Act is paired with efforts around guidance and co-regulation.
Regulation must be pragmatic and agile, allowing for experimentation and adaptation as AI technologies evolve.

Ethics and society

There is a strong emphasis on the need for AI to serve human well-being by improving public services, working conditions, and quality of life.
Citizens must be included in the dynamic, with a focus on transparency, diversity, and bias mitigation.

Research, education, and collaboration

Educating all stakeholders — from citizens to experts and policymakers — is key.
Initiatives such as the Vlaamse AI Academie (VAIA), the FARI - AI Institute for the Common Good in Brussels, the TRAIL Institute, Start IA for companies & public services (Digital Wallonia - and similar initiatives in Flanders and Brussels) are highlighted as concrete examples.
The three Regions reaffirm their investments in R&D and their will to work together at both national and EU levels.

European and geopolitical positioning

Europe aims to become an AI continent, relying on its values, technical expertise, researchers, and startups.
The issue of digital sovereignty is crucial: avoiding dependency on non-European tech giants and ensuring fair access to computing and data resources.

It’s not regulation or innovation: it’s regulation and innovation. Not AI or humanity, but AI and humanity.

FPS BOSA: initiating the EU AI Week to address the challenges of a digital society

The EU AI Week is an event initiated by FPS BOSA and AI4Belgium. The event is fully in line with the missions of innovation and monitoring of digital technologies at FPS BOSA, which analyzes emerging trends to anticipate their impact and support public strategies. At the same time, FPS BOSA promotes AI innovation and facilitate collaborations within the AI4Belgium coalition and its partners, while promoting Belgian expertise on the international stage.

To (re)discover the highlights of EU AI Week 2025, take a look at the photos, the full programme and the recordings of the speeches available at EU AI Week 2025: innovation versus regulation? | BOSA

Thanks to our partners and the organizations represented by our speakers.