- Europe
- News Desk
- Source: European Commission — Digital Strategy https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-holds-special-meeting-scientific-panel-frontier-ai-safety-and-risks
The European Commission’s Scientific Panel on artificial intelligence presented recommendations on frontier AI safety and security risks to the Commission at a special meeting convened on 9 October 2026 by Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen and panel chair Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh. The meeting followed the panel’s investigation into recent loss-of-control incidents involving advanced AI models.
Key facts
What prompted the meeting?
- The special meeting of the Scientific Panel on AI was held on 9 October 2026, convened by Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and panel chair Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh.
- The panel, made up of 60 independent experts, has been investigating recent loss-of-control incidents and, with the Commission’s AI Office, prepared questions for the companies that developed the models involved.
- The panel advises the EU AI Office and national authorities on systemic risks, model classification, evaluation methodologies and cross-border market surveillance.
- Henna Virkkunen said the EU has the world’s first law addressing systemic risk from AI and stressed the need for state-of-the-art scientific input.
The special session was called after a series of loss-of-control incidents involving frontier AI models, which the panel has been examining. Together with the Commission’s AI Office, the panel drafted a set of questions for the companies behind the models involved, according to a statement published by the European Commission’s digital strategy department. Who sits on the panel?
The Scientific Panel brings together 60 leading independent experts from around the world. It provides advice to the EU AI Office and to national authorities on systemic risks, model classification, evaluation methodologies and cross-border market surveillance. Its role is to supply independent scientific analysis as the EU implements its AI rulebook. What was said at the meeting?
During the meeting, the panel presented its recommendations to the Commission on frontier AI safety and security risks. Virkkunen attended the session. In a statement, she said: “The EU has the first law in the world that addresses systemic risk from AI, and we need state-of-the-art scientific input. AI capabilities are advancing rapidly, but with a strong legal framework, decisive enforcement and the best scientific minds supporting this work, Europe can lead in ensuring safe and secure AI.” What happens next?
The Commission is expected to consider the panel’s recommendations as it continues to implement the EU’s AI Act, which is intended to address systemic risks from advanced AI models. The panel’s findings may also inform the work of the AI Office and national market surveillance authorities. Further details on follow-up actions were not immediately available.
The EU’s approach is being watched closely by other regulators, as the bloc seeks to balance innovation in AI with safeguards against potential harm from increasingly capable models.
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