European Union

36%

10/28

AI Gap Index

1/10

Schools

3/8

Workforce

4/6

Governance

2/4

Access

Schools 1/10

D1 AI literacy curriculum exists in schools 1 AI-ENTR4YOUTH expanded to 10 countries with applied AI projects for secondary students; voluntary ^{[1], [3]}

D2 Curriculum is binding law or mandate 0

D3 Ethics component included in curriculum 0

D4 Teacher training mandated and funded before rollout 0

D5 Dedicated funding attached to the requirement 0

Workforce 3/8

D6 Employers legally required to train all employees 1 Digital Omnibus provisional agreement (7 May 2026) proposes to remove direct obligation on employers to train staff; shifts to encouragement by Commission and Member States — not yet formally adopted as of 25 May 2026. Score held at 1 pending formal adoption. ^{[1], [2], [3]}

D7 Training must cover ethics and critical evaluation 0

D8 Pre-redundancy training obligation exists 0

D9 Workers have rights when AI used in employment decisions 2 AI Act classifies employment AI as high-risk with transparency and appeal rights; enforceable August 2026 ^{[1], [3]}

Civil Service & Governance 4/6

D10 Civil servants working with AI must receive training 2 EU AI Office established under the AI Act with a legal mandate and enforcement powers over AI providers and deployers ^{[1], [3], [4]}

D11 Minimum training standard is defined 1 Omnibus weakens Art.4 from mandate to encouragement; EU Council conclusions (11 May 2026) call on Member States to strengthen teacher digital/AI skills but non-binding. Score held at 1 pending formal Omnibus adoption. ^{[1], [2], [3]}

D12 Enforcement mechanism exists with named authority 1 Omnibus provisional agreement (7 May 2026) removes direct obligation underpinning the penalty; enforcement risk reduced. Score held at 1 pending formal adoption. ^[4]

Public Access 2/4

D13 Free or publicly funded AI literacy resources available 1 Various EU Digital Compass and skills programmes provide public resources ^[3]

D14 Digital infrastructure support for schools and institutions 1 Digital Decade connectivity targets and structural funds support infrastructure ^[3]

Sources

Index history

May 25, 2026 10/28 Digital Omnibus provisional agreement (7 May) weakens Art.4 AI literacy obligation from employer mandate to Commission/MS encouragement; EU Council conclusions (11 May) call for human-centred AI in education with teacher upskilling but non-binding. Scores held pending formal Omnibus adoption — dims 6, 11, 12 at risk of downgrade.

April 20, 2026 10/28 Refresh: no new findings since 2026-04-18. Article 4 FAQ and enforcement details already filed.

April 18, 2026 10/28 Dim 12 raised from 0 to 1: Commission FAQ confirms Article 4 carries specific penalty (EUR 7.5M/1.5%) but enforcement not yet active (August 2026).

April 17, 2026 9/28 Refresh: no new findings since last research date; existing coverage confirmed current.

April 13, 2026 9/28 Finland first operational enforcer; 8/27 member states ready; AI-ENTR4YOUTH at 10 countries; no score changes

April 12, 2026 9/28 Filed Apply AI Strategy milestones, sandbox challenges, AI Literacy Framework progress, AI Skills Academy. No score change: implementation tracking, no new binding obligations.

April 10, 2026 9/28 Added enforcement infrastructure readiness gap assessment; 8 of 27 member states designated contact points ahead of Aug 2026 deadline

March 18, 2026 9/28 Refresh: GPAI Code of Practice (July 2025) filed; no score change — voluntary compliance tool, enforcement powers not yet active until August 2026

March 17, 2026 9/28 Governance rescore: dim10=2 (EU AI Office), dim11=1 (Art.4 obligation without standard), dim12=0 (AI Act enforcement covers systems, not training obligations)

March 17, 2026 7/28 Initial scoring from research archive

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