Meta hosted "Build to Lead: The Brussels AI Symposium", bringing European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder, Italian Vice Minister Valentino Valentini, UK AI Adviser Matt Clifford and industry figures to discuss whether Europe can seize the artificial intelligence opportunity, the company said in an announcement.
Markus Reinisch, VP Public Policy Europe at Meta, used opening remarks to argue that AI and its ecosystem could become "the single most important engine of resilience in Europe," and outlined strategic risks if Europe does not accelerate adoption and investment.
Reinisch set out three blunt assessments: frontier AI development is consolidating around the United States and China; Europe risks falling behind amid rapid adoption in India and the Middle East; and a focus on replicating every layer of the technology stack risks missing momentum. As he warned, "Europe’s challenge is not primarily a sovereignty crisis. Right now, it is a relevance crisis," Reinisch said in the announcement.
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He advocated a third approach beyond sovereignty or modest deregulation: double down on Europe's strengths in science, design and engineering, and turn them into trusted products. Reinisch cited Meta's partnership with EssilorLuxottica on wearables and criticised legacy rules that, he said, hamper innovation — for example, battery replaceability requirements that do not fit emerging device categories.
Meta reiterated that it is deeply invested in Europe through people and partnerships, and called for matching European values with speed and capital so the region can lead in the AI era rather than merely participate.
The recap
- Meta hosted the 'Build to Lead' Brussels AI symposium
- Reinisch said AI leadership is increasingly a US-China contest
- Meta highlighted its partnership with EssilorLuxottica on wearables