How do I access an Experience and Acceleration Centre for AI under CADA?

Under the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA, COM(2026) 502 final — a draft regulation, not yet in force), each EU Member State would have to esta

Summary Under the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA, COM(2026) 502 final — a draft regulation, not yet in force), each EU Member State would have to establish Experience and Acceleration Centres for AI ("Centres for AI") under Article 5(1), building on the existing European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs). In practice you would access one by finding the designated hub in your region — it acts as an entry point for public bodies, SMEs and start-ups to connect with European cloud and AI providers, get upskilling, and accelerate AI adoption. Because CADA is still a proposal, the exact application route will depend on national implementation and on the Commission's implementing acts under Article 5(4).

Detail

The Centres for AI are CADA's regional entry points for AI and cloud adoption. They are an evolution of the EDIH network rather than new bodies built from scratch.

Legal basis and establishment (Article 5)

Article 5(1) requires every Member State to establish Centres for AI, building on the European digital innovation hubs established under Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2021/694 (the Digital Europe Programme). The objectives (Article 5(2)) are to support the integration and scaling-up of AI use cases, accelerate adoption at regional and local level for SMEs, SMCs and public bodies in line with the "AI first" principle, and leverage infrastructure for model development and fine-tuning.

How the Centres operate (Article 5(3))

Article 5(3) sets the tasks the Centres deliver: helping organisations accelerate digital transformation through access to AI technologies (a); ensuring access to upskilling and reskilling in collaboration with the AI Skills Academy (b); facilitating expertise transfer across regions (c); and supporting the scaling-up of spin-offs and start-ups by facilitating access to clients (d). Crucially for public buyers, Article 5(3)(a) says the Centres help "by connecting organisations with European providers of cloud and AI technologies" — a route to sovereignty-aligned vendors.

Role in national strategies (Article 7)

The Centres sit inside national policy. Article 7(2)(b) requires Member States to include in their national cloud and AI strategies measures supporting "the Centres for AI referred to in Article 5 as entry points to the European AI innovation ecosystem." So your national strategy should identify the Centres as the gateway for businesses and public bodies.

Practical steps to access a Centre

For a public-sector officer or procurement professional:

Identify your local hub. Since Centres build on the EDIH network, your starting point is the European Digital Innovation Hub in your region or country; the Commission maintains an EDIH directory that the Centres network is expected to build on.
Consult your national strategy. Under Article 7, this should position the Centres as entry points and may give contact details or portals.
Engage with the Centre. Typical services include technical advice on selecting compliant AI or cloud solutions, provider matching with European vendors (Article 5(3)(a)), and access to upskilling (Article 5(3)(b)).
Use pilots and testing. Where a Centre leverages infrastructure (Article 5(2)(c)), you may be able to test solutions before a large-scale procurement.

The exact application process may vary by Member State until the Article 5(4) implementing acts — covering the establishment procedure, participant-organisation profiles and selection criteria, adopted under the examination procedure in Article 46(2) — are in place. And because CADA is a proposal, none of this is operational until the regulation is adopted and starts to apply.

Using the network if your local Centre lacks capacity

If your nearest Centre cannot provide the specialised skills or compute you need, the network may help. Article 5(6) establishes a network of Centres "to support collaboration and the exchange of best practices among Centres for AI, and to provide specialised services across regions where the required skills or compute capacity are not available locally." In practice this means you would normally approach your regional Centre first, which can then draw on the network — so a gap in local capacity need not be a dead end. Article 5(7) adds that Member States and the Commission cooperate with other Union networks, including in semiconductors and data, widening the pool of facilities a Centre can connect you to.

Timing: what to do now versus later

Because CADA has only been proposed, there is no live Centre-for-AI access process yet. Practical near-term steps are: (1) locate your existing European Digital Innovation Hub, since the Centres are to build on it; (2) follow your Member State's progress on its national cloud and AI strategy, which Article 7 would require within one year of entry into force and which should name the Centres as entry points; and (3) watch for the Commission's Article 5(4) implementing acts, which will set the formal participation and access rules.

What this means for you

For public-sector procurement officers and IT directors, the Centres would be a practical resource for the new framework.

Sovereign procurement support. The Centres help identify European providers (Article 5(3)(a)); where Union assurance levels or risk assessments apply to your activity, those obligations are governed by CADA's sovereignty title (including the risk assessment in Article 29), with the Centres assisting rather than deciding.
Risk mitigation. Use testing environments and expert advice before committing to large deployments.
Capacity building. Article 5(3)(b) upskilling helps your team manage and oversee AI systems.
Strategic alignment. Engaging the Centres aligns local activity with your Member State's Article 7 national strategy.

Common misconceptions

"Centres for AI are only for private companies." Article 5(2)(b) expressly includes public sector bodies.

"You need to be a tech expert to use a Centre." The Centres are designed as accessible entry points offering guidance, matchmaking and training.

"The Centres will replace your IT service providers." They do not provide cloud services themselves; Article 5(3)(a) has them connect you with European providers — they facilitate and advise.

"Access is limited to large enterprises." CADA emphasises SMEs, SMCs and public bodies at regional and local level; the Centres are meant to be inclusive.

This is general information about a draft EU regulation, not legal advice.