European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that AI agents autonomously modifying their environments signal emerging safety risks, pledging to convene frontier labs under the AI Act to establish global safety standards.

In her State of the Union 2026 address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen positioned artificial intelligence as the foundation of both the global economy and national security, while emphasizing that its associated risks must remain strictly controlled. She proposed offering leading U.S. AI laboratories European expertise aimed at deliberately slowing the pace of AI development.

Von der Leyen addressed two dominant narratives currently shaping the industry. Referencing the recent Hugging Face incident, she warned that “models being developed will allow hacking on a level we never thought possible.” She noted that AI agents “escaping their environment” represent only a preview of future threats, adding that the dangers posed by self-improving models are “becoming ever more apparent.” “If the people developing the technology are clear about this, then we should be too,” she stated.

To address these challenges, von der Leyen outlined plans to collaborate with Canada, the United Kingdom, and additional international partners on model evaluation, verification, and AI safety protocols. She also announced that the European Commission would formally invite major frontier AI laboratories to participate in structured discussions. Emphasizing regulatory frameworks, she described the AI Act as “a crucial piece to putting guardrails in place.” Despite these efforts, reports indicate that the EU currently lacks reliable access to the most advanced cybersecurity models developed by the leading AI labs.

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