The European Union bolstered its 6G ambitions with the reveal of research projects centered around AI and sovereignty, as well as tie-ups with Taiwan and India.

Five new 6G research projects were announced at the Techritory conference in Riga, Latvia, which together will receive €22 million ($24.6 million) in funds from the European Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU). Among these is HEMES-6G, which aims to create a large-scale 6G experimentation platform spanning eight testbed sites across six EU countries.

Other efforts include strengthening Europe's position in the 6G connected-device ecosystem in the name of “reinforcing technological sovereignty;" the development of real-world and synthetic datasets to support AI-native 6G networks; and the establishment of an EU-India coordination hub for research, standardization, and industrial collaboration.

SNS JU Executive Director Erzsébet Fitori commented in an announcement that 6G would be the "nervous system" of the AI economy.

“6G will not simply be another faster radio access network …The network will have built-in computing power, and it will be the first communications technology in which artificial intelligence is built in from the very beginning,” Fitori said.

Established by the European Commission and the 6G Industry Association, SNS JU is working with a budget of approximately €220 million ($246.8 million) for its research and innovation efforts in 2027. As announced in December, its 2026-2027 Work Programme will distribute over €240 million ($268.8 million) in EU grants. As also revealed in Latvia, the draft program includes a Taiwanese collaboration centered around AI radio access networks (AI-RAN), and a successor to Hexa-X-II, Europe’s flagship 6G research project led by Nokia, which concluded last summer.

“Compared to previous work programs, we are placing a strong emphasis on large-scale trials in collaboration with industry, as the technology is maturing. We want to pave the way from the lab to the market,” Fitori said.