19
May
2026
Watch
EU cybersecurity and preparedness in view of advanced AI systems (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, when we talk about cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, we are talking about Europe's freedom. We cannot just be a market for technologies developed elsewhere. We need to build European infrastructure that protects citizens, data and the economy. To do this, we need the courage to invest also in the territories that can become the new strategic frontier of the continent. In the South of Italy there are universities, research centers and skills already protagonists in projects on cybersecurity and innovation. The South has young energies and talents that Europe can no longer continue to lose. Investing in Southern Italy, in Southern Europe means strengthening the strategic autonomy of the entire European Union, it means building a less dependent, safer and more united Europe. Artificial intelligence is not just a technological challenge: This challenge is first of all political, then social and civil, and Europe will only win it if it can transform its peripheries into new centres of innovation, dignity and future.