Europe is a funny space, and I say this being an European. On one end, the EU has always been quite keen on setting regulations and protectionist measures for everything, on the other end, they've taken in massive numbers of immigrants from outside Europe having different strong cultures, became reliant on a single major source of gas and oil producer, and embraced the woke movement (its latest forms) probably more than the initiators of that movement itself (some, to this day). And we wonder why the Europeans have kind of had enough...
Among the protectionist measures, there are a few I actually really like: imposing food chain standards (for example, on the level of nitrites that can be used, not allowing unsafe pesticides, etc.). I also like that you can't smoke inside buildings in the EU, unless there is a separate room for smokers. It's one of the things I dislike as I cross the Serbian border in their buildings. I also like that very old polluting vehicles (you know, the kind that are surrounded by a cloud of smoke when the engine runs) can't be seen very often on our roads. There are probably others that don't come to my mind now.
AI-generated image.
To return to things I want to talk about...
The EU already over-regulated crypto through MiCA. Maybe they meant well, applying the same principles of protectionism. But then, why didn't they apply the same principles when it comes to immigration, to becoming depended on Russia for gas, or to being invaded by this woke movement to the point statues were taken down or vandalized, books were burned and so on? Seems like protectionism only was applied occasionally, not consistently. So, they didn't even hold the same line on this.
Coming back to crypto, obviously MiCA doesn't help European companies compete, especially when outside EU there are jurisdictions that regard crypto positively, as it is now in the US.
And now the AI. The EU has already passed the AI Act, which from my understand will start taking effect from next year, in phases.
To be honest, I think the AI can be much more dangerous than crypto ever was or will be (unless linked to AI directly), if left without any checks. But it's a race... And we know in a race, everyone acts first and worry about consequences later or when sentiment shifts. For the time being, the AI is regarded quite positively, because it is still not advanced enough and is still kept under tight control. While I am interested in this field and want to see how it evolves and where it might go before it gets there, I do understand the risks quite well.
These days there is the AI Summit in Paris. Macron says the EU might relax regulations for AI. They might, because France has a horse in the race, and Macron says over 100bn Euros from the private sector would be invested in the French AI field. If the amount is real, comes soon and not over a long period of time, and with the example DeepSeek provided, it can be a way for Europe, through France (and maybe others too), to matter in this race. After all, the Chinese started late too... The problem the European AI companies have is where would they get the high-end chips or the data to compete from? The EU doesn't have any major chip producer or a major social media platform.
