Summary Under the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA, COM(2026) 502 final — a draft regulation, not yet in force), the Experience and Acceleration Centres for AI ("Centres for AI") would be established by the EU Member States, not by the European Commission or by private entities. Article 5(1) requires each Member State to establish them, building on the existing European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs). The Commission's role is to set procedures by implementing act (Article 5(4)) and to cooperate on the network (Article 5(7)), while the Centres keep "substantial overall autonomy" over their organisation, composition and working methods under Article 5(5).

Detail

A central pillar of CADA's Cloud and AI Leadership Initiatives is a network of Centres for AI. Knowing who runs them matters for anyone planning to rely on them for support, provider matching or skills.

Member States are the establishing authorities (Article 5(1))

The duty to set up the Centres falls on the Member States. Article 5(1) provides: "Each Member State shall establish Experience and Acceleration Centres for AI ('Centres for AI')." The obligation is mandatory — not an option Member States can decline. This keeps the Centres tailored to national and regional needs while remaining aligned with the Union's objectives.

Building on existing infrastructure (Article 5(1))

CADA does not build the Centres from scratch. Article 5(1) specifies they "shall build on the European digital innovation hubs established under Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2021/694 and, where applicable, any successor entities established under Union law." Leveraging the EDIH network is intended to preserve existing expertise and locations, reduce duplication, and let the hubs specialise in AI and cloud.

Operational autonomy of the Centres (Article 5(5))

Although Member States establish them, the Centres run with significant independence. Article 5(5) states they "shall have substantial overall autonomy as regards their organisation, composition and working methods, in compliance with the objectives set out in this Regulation." That autonomy covers internal structure, who sits on governing or advisory bodies, and how services are delivered — but it is bounded: the Centres must stay consistent with CADA's objectives, including supporting SMEs, SMCs and public bodies and fostering European cloud and AI technologies.

The Commission's role (Article 5(4) and 5(7))

The Commission does not run the Centres, but it shapes the framework. Under Article 5(4), it may adopt implementing acts detailing the procedure for establishing Centres and arrangements on participant-organisation profiles, selection criteria and implementation of tasks — adopted under the examination procedure in Article 46(2). Under Article 5(7), Member States and the Commission must cooperate with existing networks under other Union initiatives, including in semiconductors and data. The Commission's role is therefore procedural and coordinating, not operational.

What the Centres are run for (Article 5(2)–(3))

The objectives (Article 5(2)) are to support integration and scaling of AI use cases, accelerate adoption at regional and local level for SMEs, SMCs and public bodies, and leverage infrastructure for model development and fine-tuning. The tasks (Article 5(3)) include connecting organisations with European providers, ensuring access to upskilling and reskilling in collaboration with the AI Skills Academy, facilitating expertise transfer across regions, and supporting the scaling-up of spin-offs and start-ups.

Who participates in a Centre

CADA leaves the participant make-up to be settled by implementing act. Article 5(4) has the Commission adopt implementing acts on "the participant organisation profile, selection criteria and details on the implementation of the tasks and functions." Because the Centres build on the European Digital Innovation Hubs — which are typically consortia involving research and technology organisations, universities and industry partners — a Centre is likely to be a multi-stakeholder body rather than a single government office. The recitals reinforce this, noting the network "will build on skills-related initiatives" and collaborate with testing and experimentation facilities and AI factories.

The network layer (Article 5(6))

Running the Centres is not purely a national matter once they exist. Article 5(6) establishes a network "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." So while each Centre is run nationally, the network creates a cross-border layer through which Centres support one another — a Centre in a region lacking compute or niche expertise can call on another. Article 5(7) adds that Member States and the Commission must cooperate with existing networks under other Union initiatives, including in semiconductors and data.

What this means for you

For public-sector officers and procurement professionals, the governance of the Centres affects where you go for help.

  1. A national or regional point of contact. Because each Member State must establish the Centres, your designated national or regional Centre would be the first stop for AI-adoption queries, provider matching and testing.
  2. Procurement support. The Centres are tasked with helping organisations accelerate digital transformation (Article 5(3)(a)), including connecting you with European providers — useful when shaping requirements, though the procurement decision remains yours.
  3. Access to testing. Objective (c) of Article 5(2) lets Centres leverage infrastructure for model development and fine-tuning; some may offer testing environments.
  4. Training and skills. Article 5(3)(b) routes upskilling and reskilling through the Centres and the AI Skills Academy.
  5. National variation. Implementation will vary by Member State until the Article 5(4) implementing acts are in place; watch your government's designation, which will likely build on your regional EDIH.

Common misconceptions

"The European Commission runs the Centres." It does not. Article 5(1) places the duty to establish and run them on the Member States; the Commission sets procedures (Article 5(4)) and coordinates (Article 5(7)).

"The Centres are entirely new entities." Article 5(1) says they "shall build on the European digital innovation hubs" — an evolution, not a parallel bureaucracy.

"Member States control day-to-day operations." Article 5(5) gives the Centres "substantial overall autonomy" over organisation, composition and working methods, within CADA's objectives.

"The Centres are only for private companies." Article 5(2) and (3) expressly include public sector bodies as beneficiaries.

Related

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