Europe could fall into 'dependency trap' in AI trade, report finds

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · May 26, 2026 · 670 words · By Anna Desmarais

AI Infrastructure Gap EU-US Economic Relations Technological Sovereignty

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What to know about AI Infrastructure Gap

Europe relies on Asia for much of the infrastructure to power AI, and American companies hold large market shares in many tech fields, which could leave the continent at risk.

Claims checked 16

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Europe relies on Asia for much of the infrastructure to power AI, and American companies hold large market shares in many tech fields, which could leave the continent at risk.

Why it matters

Europe risks falling into a technology “dependency trap” as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes global trade and economic power, according to a new report.

Common ground

The report from insurance company Allianz argues that the world’s economy is reorganising around tech industries such as cloud computing, data centres and semiconductors, where Europe is weaker compared to the United States and Asia.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this AI Infrastructure Gap story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that American tech giants control... nearly half of upcoming data centre projects [in Europe]?
How does this story connect AI Infrastructure Gap with EU-US Economic Relations over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/05/26/europe-could-fall-into-dependency-trap-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Fear 70% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 7

schedule Pending 6

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info

Claim 1: “American tech giants control... nearly half of upcoming data centre projects [in Europe].”

SINGLE SOURCE

Although the 'Evidence gathered' section for claim 8 says 'No evidence found', the evidence for claim 7 explicitly includes the phrase 'and nearly half of upcoming data centre projects' in the Euronews snippet. Thus, it is reported by the same single source as claim 7.

schedule

Claim 2: “It can take up to five years for data centre projects in some parts of Europe because the providers are not able to connect to some ageing power grids”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “The bloc imports 57% of all its IT equipment... from five Asian countries: Taiwan, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 4: “59% of Europe’s enterprise software revenue [is held by the US]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 5: “The US also has a 80% market share of Europe’s cloud computing market”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries to support or refute the claim that the US has an 80% market share of Europe's cloud computing market.

schedule

Claim 6: “Some projects can take as long as four years to get off the ground.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 7: “It [the US] is also home to nearly half of the world’s data centres.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources confirm this: one source explicitly states the US 'hosts nearly half of the world's data centres', and another states 'Close to 40% of all data centers in the world are in the United States'.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and minor islands. Bot…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_St…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “more than half of the hardware gear needed for its data centres [is imported] from five Asian countries: Taiwan, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 9: “The US has tripled its AI-related imports since 2023”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim that the US tripled its AI-related imports since 2023 is explicitly stated in the Euronews report regarding the Allianz findings, but not corroborated by other independent sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — AI slop (also known as slop content or simply as slop) is digital content made with generative artificial intelligence that is perceived as lacking in effort, quality, or meaning, and produced in high…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_slop

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generative AI pornography or simply AI pornography is a digitally created pornography produced through generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Unlike traditional pornography, which invol…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_AI_pornography

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mistral AI SAS (French: [mistʁal]) is a French artificial intelligence (AI) company, headquartered in Paris. Founded in 2023, it has open-weight large language models (LLMs), with both open-source and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistral_AI

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 10: “an industry that has exploded from $1 trillion (€880bn) in 2014 to $3.8 trillion (€3.3tn) in 2025.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific growth figures ($1 trillion in 2014 to $3.8 trillion in 2025) are cited in the Euronews report on the Allianz study. Other search results discuss AI spending generally but do not confirm these specific industry-wide export/market figures.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence visual art, or AI art, is visual artwork generated or enhanced through the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) programs, most commonly using text-to-image models. Th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_art

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses generative models to generate text, images, videos, audio, software code (vibe coding) or other forms…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_AI

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “The report from insurance company Allianz argues that the world’s economy is reorganising around tech industries such as cloud computing, data centres and semiconductors, where Europe is weaker compared to the United States and Asia.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that an Allianz report argues the global economy is reorganizing around tech industries (cloud, data centers, semiconductors) and that Europe is at risk of a dependency trap due to being weaker than the US and Asia.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Allianz SE ( AL-ee-ənts; German: [aˈli̯ants] ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allianz

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Allianz Global Investors (commonly called AllianzGI), is a global investment management firm with offices in 21 locations worldwide. It is owned by the global insurance and financial services group Al…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allianz_Global_Investors

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO) is an American investment management firm. While it has a specific focus on active fixed income management worldwide, it manages investments in many a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIMCO

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 12: “American tech giants control up to 40% of Europe’s operational computing capability”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim that US tech giants control up to 40% of Europe's operational computing capability is cited in the Euronews report on the Allianz study, but not corroborated elsewhere.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — How can we look the other way, put all the eggs in the basket of regulation, and fail to “go it alone” in building and strengthening our capacity in the next global order? This discussion needs to acc…
https://www.techpolicy.press/europe-needs-to-do-more-than-sc…

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web search NEUTRAL — American tech giants control up to 40% of Europe’s operational computing capability and nearly half of upcoming data centre projects. These firms are profiting off a weak market for private investment…
https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/05/26/europe-could-fall-i…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mistral, which was founded in 2023 by former Meta and DeepMind researchers, has emerged as one of Europe's flagship AI startups with a valuation of roughly $13.6 billion.
https://www.businessinsider.com/mistral-ceo-warns-europe-2-y…

schedule

Claim 13: “73% market share of customer management software [in Europe is held by the US]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 14: “Europe’s AI-related imports, meanwhile, have risen by just 40% over the same period”

SINGLE SOURCE

The 40% increase in Europe's AI-related imports is mentioned in the Euronews report on the Allianz study, but no other independent source provides this specific figure.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · Europe's AI-related imports, meanwhile, have risen by just 40% over the same period, highlighting what Allianz describes as a widening ...
https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/05/26/europe-could-fall-i…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The 2025 World Trade Report explores the complex and fast-evolving relationship between artificial intelligence. (AI) and international trade and how this.
https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/wtr25_e.pdf

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 13, 2026 · McKinsey found that shipments of hardware needed for AI surged 37% globally, with U.S. imports up 66%. Meanwhile, U.S. trade in other ...
https://www.facebook.com/McKinseyGlobalInstitute/posts/tarif…

info

Claim 15: “seven of the world’s top 10 AI exporters [are in Asia]”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim that seven of the top ten AI exporters are in Asia appears in the same Euronews report on the Allianz study, but is not corroborated by other independent sources in the provided evidence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Asia dominates the export of AI-related goods with 65% of this part of the world economy and seven of the world’s top 10 AI exporters, in an industry that has exploded from $1 trillion (€880bn) in 201…
https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/05/26/europe-could-fall-i…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — North Korea’s Top 10 Exports. North Korea’s Top 10 Exports. Located in East Asia and historically nicknamed “The Hermit Kingdom” due its isolationist policies, nevertheless the Democratic People's Rep…
https://www.worldstopexports.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The latest McKinsey Global Survey on the state of AI reveals a landscape defined by both wider use—including growing proliferation of agentic AI—and stubborn growing pains, with the transition from pi…
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insig…

info

Claim 16: “Asia dominates the export of AI-related goods with 65% of this part of the world economy”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific statistic (65% of AI-related goods exports) is mentioned in the Euronews article reporting on the Allianz report, but no other independent source corroborates this specific figure.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ai Ogura (Japanese: 小椋藍, Hepburn: Ogura Ai; born 26 January 2001) is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle racer who competes in the MotoGP World Championship for Trackhouse MotoGP Team. Ogura was crowne…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Ogura

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Scale AI, Inc. is an American artificial intelligence infrastructure and software company based in San Francisco, California. Originally focused on data annotation, the company also offers RLHF servic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_AI

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.