The EU Invests in AI Safety: €9 Million Tender Launched to Assess Systemic Risks

The EU Invests in AI Safety: €9 Million Tender Launched to Assess Systemic Risks
Source: Freepik - wirestock

On April 28, 2025, the European Commission announced that the EU AI Office is launching a €9.08 million tender for monitoring compliance and assessing systemic risks of General-Purpose AI (GPAI) models. The call for tenders relates to the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which entered into force on August 1, 2024, with certain rules becoming applicable on August 2, 2025, establishing a comprehensive legal framework governing artificial intelligence.

The tender is divided into six different lots, with five focusing on specific systemic risks: (1) CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) risks, (2) cyber offense risks, (3) loss of control risks, (4) harmful manipulation risks, and (5) sociotechnical risks. As stated in the tender description: This lot aims to allow for flexible and close collaboration in developing risk models, prioritising risk scenarios, setting risk levels including a level of unacceptable systemic risk at Union level. The sixth lot centers on creating an "agentic evaluation interface," providing software and cloud infrastructure to evaluate GPAI models across various benchmarks.

The tender is part of the EU's broader digital strategy aimed at strengthening technological sovereignty and innovation. In parallel, the EU has launched other initiatives, such as €140 million in new calls under the Digital Europe Programme to accelerate the deployment of key digital technologies and develop digital skills, or a public consultation on the upcoming "Data Union Strategy." The tender highlights the EU's commitment to ensuring the safe and responsible development and use of artificial intelligence while protecting against potential risks, reflecting the EU's leadership role in technology regulation.

Sources:

1.

EU Funding & Tenders Portal
The Funding and Tenders Portal is the single entry point (the Single Electronic Data Interchange Area) for applicants, contractors and experts in funding programmes and procurements managed by the European Commission.

2.

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European Commission's New Funding Calls to Focus on Digital Skills
The European Commission has launched four new calls under the Digital Europe Programme, committing €140 million to accelerate the deployment of key digital technologies, with a strong emphasis on developing advanced digital skills across the EU.

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Dispatch from Brussels: Updates on EU tech policy | techUK
The EU AI Office will shortly be seeking external contractors to offer technical support for compliance monitoring, particularly in evaluating risks associated with general-purpose AI models at t