Summary Under the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA, COM(2026) 502 final — a draft regulation, not yet in force), Article 5(3) assigns the Experience and Acceleration Centres for AI ("Centres for AI") four tasks: (a) help organisations accelerate digital transformation through access to AI technologies, including by connecting them with European providers of cloud and AI; (b) ensure or provide access to upskilling and reskilling schemes, in close collaboration with the AI Skills Academy; (c) facilitate the transfer of expertise across regions; and (d) support the scaling-up of spin-offs and start-ups from universities, incubators and accelerators by facilitating access to clients seeking specialised AI services.

Detail

The Centres for AI are CADA's operational hubs for AI and cloud uptake. Their objectives are in Article 5(2); their concrete tasks are listed in Article 5(3).

Legal basis (Article 5)

Article 5(1) requires each Member State to establish Centres for AI, building on the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs). While Article 5(2) sets the objectives (integration and scaling, regional adoption, leveraging infrastructure), the four operational tasks are set out in Article 5(3)(a)–(d).

The four tasks (Article 5(3))

1. Accelerate digital transformation and connect with European providers (Article 5(3)(a)). The Centres help organisations "accelerate their digital transformation through access to and use of AI technologies, including by connecting organisations with European providers of cloud and AI technologies." For buyers this means a route to discovering European, sovereignty-aligned alternatives rather than searching the whole market alone.

2. Ensure access to upskilling and reskilling (Article 5(3)(b)). The Centres must "ensure or providing access to relevant upskilling and reskilling schemes, in close collaboration with the AI Skills Academy." This addresses the human-capital gap and helps standardise training quality.

3. Facilitate the transfer of expertise across regions (Article 5(3)(c)). The Centres "facilitate the transfer of expertise across regions," so know-how flows from advanced hubs to less digitally mature regions — reinforced by the network of Centres under Article 5(6).

4. Support spin-offs and start-ups (Article 5(3)(d)). The Centres support "the scaling-up of spin-offs and start-ups emerging from universities, incubators and other accelerators by facilitating access to clients, companies and organisations seeking specialised AI services." This is a matchmaking and market-entry role.

A closer look at each task

Connecting to European providers (Article 5(3)(a)). The recitals tie this to the wider aim of reducing dependence on non-EU providers: the curriculum and adoption measures are meant to "reduce dependence on non-EU providers and develop next-generation capabilities." The Centre's matchmaking role therefore is not neutral vendor listing — it is oriented toward strengthening the Union's technological autonomy, while leaving the actual purchasing choice to the organisation.

The AI Skills Academy link (Article 5(3)(b)). CADA's recitals envisage a dedicated curriculum on cloud and AI skills built, where relevant, on European initiatives "including the AI Skills Academy, the Centres for AI and the Interoperable Europe Academy." Article 4(8)(b) — under operational objective 8 — separately tasks the Initiatives with developing "a common cloud and AI curriculum, drawing on the network of Centres for AI." So the upskilling task and the common curriculum are designed to reinforce each other.

Expertise transfer and the network (Article 5(3)(c) with 5(6)). Task (c) works hand-in-hand with the network of Centres established by Article 5(6), which exists "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, a region short on AI skills or compute could draw on another Centre through that network.

Scaling start-ups (Article 5(3)(d)). This task focuses on demand-side market access: connecting innovators with "clients, companies and organisations seeking specialised AI services." The recitals frame Centres as regional and local accelerators for SMEs, SMCs and public bodies, reinforcing this matchmaking role.

How the tasks fit the wider framework

The tasks deliver operational objective 8 (regional and local adoption), named in Article 3(2)(h) and detailed in Article 4(8). By connecting public bodies with European providers, the Centres also support the sovereignty and procurement aims elsewhere in CADA. Where a public body must run a risk assessment before procuring cloud services for certain activities, that obligation sits in Article 29 of the proposal; the Centres can support that process but do not replace it. The Centres also operate with substantial autonomy over how they carry out these tasks (Article 5(5)), so the what is fixed by Article 5(3) while the how is left to each Centre, within CADA's objectives.

What this means for you

For public-sector procurement officers and IT administrators, the Centres are a resource to draw on; the duties in Article 5 fall on Member States and the Centres, not on you.

  • Simplified supplier discovery. Article 5(3)(a) tasks the Centres with connecting you to European providers, narrowing the search to vendors aligned with CADA's sovereignty goals.
  • Compliance support. The Centres can help you understand which providers meet the relevant Union assurance levels for your use case, though the formal recognition of providers sits under CADA's sovereignty title rather than with the Centres.
  • Workforce development. Article 5(3)(b) gives access to training via the AI Skills Academy, helping procurement teams evaluate bids.
  • Access to innovation. Article 5(3)(d) introduces you to start-ups and university spin-offs — useful for innovation procurement.

Common misconceptions

"The Centres are only for private companies." Article 5(2) and (3) expressly cover public sector bodies, SMEs and SMCs.

"The Centres choose your cloud provider for you." They facilitate connections and provide expertise (Article 5(3)(a)); the procurement decision remains with the buyer and must follow public procurement rules and any applicable risk assessment under Article 29.

"These are entirely new organisations." Article 5(1) states they "shall build on the European digital innovation hubs" — an evolution of existing structures.

"The AI Skills Academy is a separate, unrelated body." Article 5(3)(b) requires the Centres to work "in close collaboration" with the AI Skills Academy — part of the same skills ecosystem.

Related

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