Following calls to increase the EU’s competitiveness in the development and uptake of Artificial Intelligence, the recently published AI Continent Action Plan aims to make the EU a “leading AI continent”. In this context, the European Commission has launched a public consultation to inform the drafting of the future “Apply AI Strategy”, an initiative aiming to strengthen the adoption and deployment of AI in key industries and the public sector in the EU. 

Under the public sector chapter, the main objective of the Apply AI Strategy is to improve public service delivery and streamline administrative processes by fostering the integration of AI solutions. As cities and regions are key actors in the innovative and responsible use of AI – as recognised by the Committee of the Region’s opinion –, the Apply AI Strategy is likely to have an impact on the provision of digital services at the local level.

Objectives of the session

A main goal of Living-in.EU is to highlight the key role of local and regional administrations in the upcoming Apply AI Strategy under the dedicated public sector pillar. The Living-in.EU Legal Working Group is organising this webinar to support this message, and to allow cities and regions to have their say on the Strategy:  

Participants will have the opportunity to express the needs and challenges they are facing with the adoption of AI in their administrations, and to share their best practices or AI initiatives they have implemented at local level. The input received and collected during the session will feed directly into a joint response to the call for evidence that is part of the public consultation on the Apply AI Strategy. 

If you are interested in a short presentation (2-3 minutes) of an AI use case or good practice during the webinar, we kindly ask you to send your input to luca.kerscher@eurocities.eu by Monday, 5 May 2025.

Agenda (more details to follow)

10:30-10:40 | Welcome and introduction to the public consultation on the EU Apply AI Strategy

10:40-10:45 | Presentation of an urban AI use case

10:45-11:15 | Collecting feedback through Slido with selected questions from the public consultation survey: AI awareness, needs and use cases, challenges

11:15-11:55 | Open discussion, including a space to share local good practices on AI implementation

11:55-12:00 | Closing remarks