Large Language Models Land on Europe’s Digital Sovereignty Agenda
Large language models (LLMs) landed on Europe’s digital sovereignty agenda with a bang last week, as news emerged of a new program to develop a series of “truly” open source LLMs covering all European Union languages.
Up to Scratch
The OpenEuroLLM project is either starting from scratch or it has a head start — depending on how you look at it.
Starting from Scratch
Since 2022, Hajič has also been coordinating the High Performance Language Technologies (HPLT) project, which has set out to develop free and reusable datasets, models, and workflows using high-performance computing (HPC). That project is scheduled to end in late 2025, but it can be viewed as a sort of “predecessor” to OpenEuroLLM, according to Hajič, given that most of the partners on HPLT (aside from the U.K. partners) are participating here, too.
Build Up
The project’s top-line goal, as per its tagline, is to create: “A series of foundation models for transparent AI in Europe.” Additionally, these models should preserve the “linguistic and cultural diversity” of all EU languages — current and future.
What to Expect
What this translates to in terms of deliverables is still being ironed out, but it will likely mean a core multilingual LLM designed for general-purpose tasks where accuracy is paramount. And then also smaller “quantized” versions, perhaps for edge applications where efficiency and speed are more important.
The Open Source Definition
In traditional software, the perennial struggle between open source and proprietary revolves around the “true” meaning of “open source.” This can be resolved by deferring to the formal “definition” as per the Open Source Initiative, the industry stewards of what are and aren’t legitimate open source licenses.
Two for One
Another criticism that emerged in the aftermath of OpenEuroLLM’s formal unveiling was that a very similar project launched in Europe just a few short months previous. EuroLLM, which launched its first model in September and a follow-up in December, is co-funded by the EU alongside a consortium of nine partners.
Funding Gap
The arrival of China’s DeepSeek, and the cost-to-performance ratio it promises, has given some encouragement that AI initiatives might be able to do far more with much less than initially thought. However, over the past few weeks, many have questioned the true costs involved in building DeepSeek.
Sovereign State
As critics have noted, OpenEuroLLM does have a lot of moving parts — which Hajič acknowledges, albeit with a positive outlook.
Conclusion
The OpenEuroLLM project is a significant step towards achieving digital sovereignty for Europe, with the goal of creating a series of foundation models for transparent AI in Europe. While there are concerns about the complexity of the project, the sheer number of participating parties, and the budget, the project’s lead coordinator, Jan Hajič, remains optimistic about the outcome.
FAQs
Q: What is OpenEuroLLM?
OpenEuroLLM is a new program to develop a series of “truly” open source LLMs covering all European Union languages.
Q: What is the goal of OpenEuroLLM?
The goal of OpenEuroLLM is to create a series of foundation models for transparent AI in Europe, preserving the “linguistic and cultural diversity” of all EU languages — current and future.
Q: Who is leading the OpenEuroLLM project?
Jan Hajič, a computational linguist from the Charles University in Prague, is leading the OpenEuroLLM project, in collaboration with Peter Sarlin, CEO and co-founder of Finnish AI lab Silo AI.
Q: What is the budget for OpenEuroLLM?
The budget for OpenEuroLLM is €37.4 million, with €20 million coming from the EU’s Digital Europe Programme.
Q: What is the timeline for OpenEuroLLM?
The first versions of the LLMs are expected to be released by mid-2026, with the final iterations arriving by the project’s conclusion in 2028.
