The 8th Friends of Industry Conference in Berlin, hosted by Federal Minister Katherina Reiche, marked a crucial turning point for European industrial policy. With the handover of the joint Berlin Declaration to EU Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, EU Member States sent a clear message:
Europe must accelerate its digital transformation
to secure industrial competitiveness and sovereignty.
Digitalisation, cloud technologies and rapid AI adoption are key — but they require a new mindset that favours innovation over bureaucracy.
The 8ra Initiative is the strategic answer to this call, dedicated to translating this political vision into technological reality.
Uniting Europe’s Critical Digital Projects
The declaration highlights that Europe must move away from fragmentation and third-country dependencies. The most efficient pathway is through increased interoperability and the strengthening of European solutions.
This is the core mission of the 8ra Initiative, which acts as the umbrella for Europe’s most critical digital infrastructure projects:
- IPCEI Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS)
- IPCEI on Artificial Intelligence (IPCEI-AI)
- IPCEI for Edge Cloud Infrastructure (IPCEI-CIC)
By uniting these projects, the 8ra Initiative ensures the cohesive development of a secure, interoperable, and vendor-neutral European digital ecosystem.
Driving Innovation through Open Source
To ensure long-term benefit and transparency for European industry, the 8ra Initiative is committed to Open Source principles.
This commitment ensures that the innovations delivered through the IPCEI frameworks remain transparent and accessible, fostering community contribution and securing technological independence.
Find the full text of the Berlin Declaration here.