For the first time, EU leaders held a dedicated discussion on Artificial Intelligence. AI is rapidly reshaping our economies, societies and security. Europe must be ready not only to embrace this transformation, but to shape it. I stressed that Europe must become a creator of competitive AI technologies - not just a consumer. This requires investment in infrastructure, research, data and people, while ensuring that AI reflects Europe’s democratic values and linguistic diversity. We must also protect our democracies from AI-driven disinformation and foreign interference, ensure children’s safety online and put fundamental rights at the heart of AI development. Europe’s competitiveness and security must go hand in hand.