> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.therecursive.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 9 CEE Governments Sign a Declaration on AI - URL: https://www.therecursive.com/cee-countries-unite-around-a-common-ai-agenda/ - Published: 2026-09-04T13:08:50.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-04T15:22:14.000Z - Description: At the first CEE AI Summit in Prague, more than 250 policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders focused on the region’s bigger challenge: turning its technical talent into globally competitive AI companies. - Author: Teodora Atanasova - Tags: News, CEE AI Summit, CEE, AI Chamber, Czech Republic Yesterday, September 3, the first edition of the **CEE AI Summit,** organized by [Poland's AI Chamber](https://aichamber.eu/?ref=therecursive.com) and the Czech National AI Platform, in cooperation with the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, took place at Prague’s Martinický Palace. The event brought together more than 250 policymakers, business leaders, researchers, and technology experts from across Central and Eastern Europe. The summit focused on a central question: **how CEE can turn its strong technical talent and growing AI ecosystem into a more competitive position within Europe and the global AI race.** Discussions ranged from infrastructure and access to computing power to data, talent, regulation, investment, and the commercialization of research. ## Declaration on AI signed by 9 countries One of the main outcomes was the adoption of the **Prague Declaration on Artificial Intelligence** by nine countries: Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, and Romania. The agreement commits participating countries to coordinate their positions on European AI policy, connect key computing infrastructure, and systematically exchange expertise and best practices. The declaration is intended as a practical framework for strengthening CEE’s position within the EU and giving the region a stronger role in shaping emerging European AI rules. A particular focus is on connecting national technology capacities, including specialized **AI Factories and planned Gigafactories**. The declaration was accompanied by memoranda on AI cooperation designed to translate those commitments into joint projects. > “The results of today’s summit show that our region can act confidently and unitedly. The adopted declaration and signed memoranda give us a strong tool for building infrastructure and developing talents. We are immediately transforming the agreed framework into specific pilot projects in key sectors of our economy." — added **Lukáš Kačena**, the government’s AI Commissioner. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b8/ae/b8aee878-7ddc-40ad-8f68-92a28c560560/content/images/2026/09/CEE-28.jpg) ## Building CEE’s AI competitiveness European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation **Ekaterina Zaharieva** opened the expert program and joined a discussion on moving CEE innovation from the lab to the market, alongside Czech Technical University rector **Michal Pěchouček** and Oxylabs CEO **Vytautas Savickas**. **Infrastructure was another major theme**, with policymakers and industry representatives discussing what CEE needs to build. The conversation brought together representatives from Poland and Czechia alongside companies including [Skeleton Technologies](https://www.therecursive.com/cee-startup-tech-weekly-estonian-skeleton-technologies-secures-e33m-ahead-of-us-ipo/) and Datum. The afternoon broadened the discussion to **European technological sovereignty and competitiveness**. EU AI Office Director **Lucilla Sioli**, MEP **Diego Solier**, Hungarian Minister of Science and Technology **Zoltán Tanács**, Multiverse Computing's **Iraia Ibarzabal**, and Google DeepMind's **Jennifer Beroshi** examined Europe's ability to develop and retain strategic AI capabilities. A panel titled *“From Brain Drain to Brain Gain: Building Europe’s Next AI Engineering Hub”* brought together experts from Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, and Romania to discuss how CEE can retain technical talent and position itself as an AI engineering center rather than primarily a source of talent for other markets. ## CEE’s emerging tech strengths **Antoni Rytel of ElevenLabs** presented the company's perspective on CEE's role in the global AI race. *“We will never compete just by market scale, but what we can do, and what we have been doing, is compete on the quality of the people who work here,”* said Rytel for The Recursive. Beyond [ElevenLabs](https://www.therecursive.com/poland-becomes-a-shareholder-in-elevenlabs/) itself, he argued that the emergence of globally successful companies can have a broader effect on the regional ecosystem. > *“The moment that someone does it for the first time, it becomes much, much easier for others to follow.”* Other success stories covered **precision oncology, biometrics, cybersecurity, and AI-powered autonomous systems**. A later panel explored how data could contribute to European economic growth, with representatives from Rohlik, Allegro, the European Parliament, and Estonia's AI program. **Defense and dual-use technology** also featured in the program, including discussions around AI-powered autonomous systems and a closed-door session focused on dual-use technologies and the region's proximity to the war in Ukraine. Other closed sessions examined AI's impact on **healthcare, automotive industries, and IT infrastructure**. Beyond individual technologies and companies, the summit also assessed progress since the **CEE AI Action Plan** [launched in June 2025](https://aichamber.eu/ai-action-plan-launches-june-17-in-gdansk-during-eu-digital-summit-2/?ref=therecursive.com), which set out ambitions to develop the region into one of Europe's AI hubs.