TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN will travel to Brussels and Paris today to attend bilateral EU meetings and a global Artificial Intelligence Summit in the French capital.

US Vice President JD Vance will be among the world leaders and top tech players at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit that French president Emmanuel Macron and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi are co-hosting.

The two-day summit, which begins today, Monday 10 February, is intended as a “wake up call” to Europe and will focus on problems that can be solved by AI.

The meeting of around 1,500 guests in the French capital’s opulent Grand Palais will feature lectures and panel discussions outlining the promises of and challenges posed by AI.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is expected to announce around 10 public supercomputers designed for use by researchers and startups while attending the summit.

Other attendees will include big US tech names, like OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google boss Sundar Pichai, Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis, who leads Google’s DeepMind AI research unit, and Anthropic head Dario Amodei.

It is not yet clear if X owner Elon Musk – who has his own generative AI initiative, xAI – will attend.

Speaking ahead of the summit, the Taoiseach described the rapid progress of AI as a “paradigm shift” and said it has “enormous potential to be a force for good” in areas like the economy and healthcare.

He added, however, that he recognises the speed of change also raises “legitimate concerns for many people about the protection of citizens’ rights, widening of the digital divide, and future job security.”

“I look forward to discussing with political and business leaders how we can harness these technological advances to bring about positive transformation while ensuring the development and use of AI is ethical and responsible,” Martin said.

The Taoiseach added that it is vital to get the balance right on regulation “so that innovation can flourish while protecting against harmful developments.”

The Programme for Government set out by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Regional Independents commits to advancing a new digital strategy and a strategy for AI health.

Brussels 

Before travelling to Paris on Monday afternoon, the Taoiseach will be in Brussels to hold bilateral meetings with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the President of the European Council, António Costa.

During the meetings the Taoiseach will outline the priorities of Ireland’s new government following the general election. 

A statement from his office said he will discuss a “range of issues on the EU agenda”, including the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, and look ahead to Ireland’s Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026.

“I will also set out Ireland’s priorities for the next EU budget, including a strong budget for the Common Agricultural Policy,” the Taoiseach said in a statement.