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No surprises, conservative Christians helped Trump garner 74 million votes, but percentage was high, survey shows

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No surprises, conservative Christians helped Trump garner 74 million votes, but percentage was high, survey shows
(Screenshot from TV footage of Trump using the Bible as a prop.)

Guess why Donald Trump did not lose by a landslide in the U.S. presidential election? Conservative Christians voted for him in big numbers.


That is hardly surprising news, but their huge turnout for him as shown by a recent survey helps explain

“Christians who are active both spiritually and politically—not turned out and voted for him in overwhelming numbers,” said Dr. George Barna, Director of Research, Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

Their perception of the election process and allegations of voting fraud has led a large majority of them (79 percent) to believe that there have been “numerous instances of abuse” in the election, with a mere 1 percent believing that the voting process was legally carried out and the votes were accurately counted.

“Nobody is going to confuse Donald Trump with Jesus Christ, but SAGE Cons believe that the Trump portfolio of policy positions much better reflects the biblical worldview that SAGE Cons seek to implement in all walks of life than do those of Mr. Biden,” Barna said referring to the victor Joe Biden.

As of Dec. 3, Biden had garnered 80,992,666 of the overall votes or 51.3 percent, while Trump won 74,107,444 votes or 46.9 percent, according to The New York Times.

The survey conducted the week after the election by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University discovered that among SAGE Cons — an acronym for Spiritually Active Governance Engaged Conservative Christians—99 percent turned out to vote.

That nearly universal turnout level dwarfed the estimated national turnout level of 66%, which itself was above-average.

But just as remarkable as their turnout was the solidarity of the segment’s vote: 97% of SAGE Cons cast their ballot for Trump.

To place that unity in context, the national exit polls show the highest levels of solidarity among other population segments to include Democrats (94 percent voted for Biden), Republicans (94 percent voted for Trump), black women (90 percent for Biden), liberals (89 percent for Biden), blacks (87 percent for Biden), and conservatives (85 percent for Trump).

However, none of those segments had a turnout level approaching that of SAGE Cons.

“SAGE Cons represent 9 percent of the adult population but their extreme level of turnout enabled them to constitute slightly more than 14 percent of the voting population,” said Barna.

“In raw numbers, there were approximately 23 million SAGE Con votes cast. With 97 percent of those going to Donald Trump, the SAGE Con bloc provided the president with a net margin of more than 21 million votes.”

Barna said that SAGE Cons’ political choices are driven by “their biblical perspectives and personal commitment to Jesus Christ.”

He said they, “have been a target of criticism during the past four years. Critics argue that President Trump lacks the moral character that a public official or candidate should possess in order to receive the support of Christians.”

Barna said that the survey revealed that SAGE Cons “were not, as some have said, voting for a Pastor-in-Chief but were instead responding to his track record in office.”

Previous surveys during the election cycle had found that SAGE Cons were displeased with the content of some of his social media messages and his name-calling of political opponents.

Yet the current CRC research noted that Trump’s performance on a range of issues reflected the political preferences of SAGE Cons.

It’s No Mistake That Our First Freedom Is Religion

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It's No Mistake That Our First Freedom Is Religion

Religion – “But even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten.“

— Supreme Court of the United States, November 25, 2020

When teaching law students about the Bill of Rights, professors often ask on the first day of class which is the first freedom protected by the First Amendment.

The students invariably answer, “freedom of speech.”

It is not.

If the Framers were trying to tell us which freedom is the first among equals, they did so by listing the religion clauses ahead of the freedom of speech.

The religion clauses prohibit the government from respecting the establishment of religion and from interfering with its free exercise.

This is not an academic issue. Recent events have demonstrated that the free exercise of religion is as threatened today as it was in 1791 when the First Amendment was ratified.

Numerous state governors have targeted the free exercise of religion in their multifaceted assaults on personal liberty in the name of public safety. Last week, the Supreme Court put a stop to one of them.

Here is the backstory:

Andrew M. Cuomo is the governor of New York.

He has been foremost among his gubernatorial colleagues in his ubiquitous television explanations of his various executive orders restricting personal liberty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He even won an Emmy for his hundreds of television appearances during which he educated the viewing public on his understanding of the science behind the pandemic.

He attempted to educate the public, as well, on his understanding of the Constitution.

That understanding is wanting.

Cuomo established a color-coded system to indicate the severity of the COVID-19 infection rate by ZIP code.

Red is the most severe and calls for limiting worship to 10 people per indoor venue. Orange is the next level, and it limits worshippers to 25.

Since the governor did not deem the right to worship as “essential,” even though he deemed campgrounds and bicycle, food and liquor shops to be essential, he imposed his 10- or 25-person limit on all houses of worship, irrespective of the size of the venue.

He imposed no numerical limitations on essential venues.

Thus, a small mom and pop liquor store could be packed to the gills with customers, but a 400-seat synagogue or a 1,200-seat cathedral would still be limited to 10 or 25 people.

This was such an interference with the free exercise of religion that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, and three Jewish congregations in New York City collectively sued the governor in federal court in Brooklyn.

They lost.

Last week, the Supreme Court interceded in a splendid 5 to 4 decision that defended religious liberty in the face of government efforts to sweep it aside.

The court recognized that the right to worship is fundamental —and has been the law of the land for many generations.

Yet, its characterization as “fundamental” was a shot across the governor’s bow because, whatever he considers the freedom to worship to be, he ordered that it was not essential.

The court held that by failing to characterize it as essential, while characterizing other choices as essential, Cuomo demonstrated a hostility to religion.

Stated differently, if having more than 10 or 25 people in a large synagogue or church is likely to harm public health, then why is having 500 people in a Walmart or folks packed like sardines in a liquor store not likely to impair public health?

Because the religion clauses are articulated in the First Amendment —and because the freedom to worship is a natural right —the government can only interfere with them by meeting a demanding jurisprudential test called strict scrutiny.

This mandates that the government must have a compelling state interest it is attempting to serve by the least-restrictive means.

It also means that a fundamental right cannot be targeted when other rights that may or may not be fundamental are left to individual choices.

The Supreme Court’s ruling, which was released at 2:12 a.m., was a response to an emergency application. After the plaintiffs lost at the trial court, they asked the trial judge to enjoin the governor during the pendency of their appeal so their congregants could worship during the coming holidays.

The court declined.

Then the plaintiffs asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for a temporary injunction until that court could hear their appeal.

It declined.

Then the plaintiffs threw their Hail Mary pass and asked the Supreme Court to enjoin Cuomo during the pendency of their appeal.

That pass ended up being a touchdown with no time left on the clock.

The Supreme Court not only issued an injunction preventing the governor from limiting the number of worshippers at the religious venues that sued, but it did so in such sweeping, liberty-embracing language that will surely apply to all religious venues in the land.

Reading the court’s decision, and particularly the thoughtful and brilliant concurrence by Justice Neil Gorsuch—who wrote that “government is not free to disregard the First Amendment in times of crisis” —one can see that Cuomo lost this case because while he may understand the science, he does not understand the jurisprudence.

Freedom of religion is not the first freedom by mistake.

It was the judgment of the Framers that this freedom is as essential to human fulfillment as are any other free choices that free people make.

By failing to recognize that natural, historic and jurisprudential truism, N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo doomed his executive order to the ash bin of history.

Progress on fishing in EU/UK trade talks, says Sky News reporter citing EU sources

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Progress on fishing in EU/UK trade talks, says Sky News reporter citing EU sources

… News reporter said on Thursday EU sources had told him there … and the European bloc.
“EU sources suggest progress on fishing … sold to UK customers; and EU boats keep similar quotas for … ) that are loved in the EU but rarely eaten in the …

COVID-19 recovery focus of UN General Assembly special session

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COVID-19 recovery focus of UN General Assembly special session

“Today marks an overdue and much needed moment of reckoning. None of us could have imagined, this time last year, what was to come”, said Assembly President Volkan Bozkir, speaking at the opening of the two-day gathering. 

 “The world is looking to the UN for leadership, to step up and take demonstrable action to address the greatest challenge our world is facing today. This crisis compels us to shake up how things are done, to be bold, and to restore confidence and trust in the United Nations.”  

‘Time to reset’ 

COVID-19 is first and foremost, a health crisis. Nearly 64 million cases have been recorded as of Thursday, including more than 1.4 million deaths, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). 

While disrupting lives, the pandemic has also decimated livelihoods. With the global economy in decline and millions of jobs lost, extreme poverty is expected to rise and global efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at risk. 

Although the entire planet is facing this common threat, UN Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out that it is the most vulnerable, such as the poor, older people, and women and girls, who have been hit hardest. 

However, he said some of this fallout is not due to the pandemic alone, but the result of long-standing fragilities, inequalities and injustices which the crisis has only exposed. 

“It is time to reset”, said the UN chief.  “As we build a strong recovery, we must seize the opportunity for change.”   

Vaccines for all 

Since the pandemic was declared in March, the UN system has been supporting countries in averting its worst impacts while also working to promote a strong recovery, including through delivering medical equipment and supplies to more than 170 nations. 

“I have repeatedly called for a COVID-19 vaccine to be a global public good available to everyone, everywhere”, said the Secretary-General.  However, he added that a global mechanism which would make this possible remains underfunded. 

Equitable access to vaccines is integral to effective pandemic response, said Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, speaking on behalf of the 120 countries of the Non-Aligned Movement. 

“As many vaccines against COVID-19 are being currently studied, we are all looking forward to the successful outcome of clinical trials and hope that a safe and effective vaccine will soon be available, and that they will be considered as global public goods ensuring their universal distribution at affordable prices for all”, President Aliyev said in a pre-recorded video message. 

Concern for developing countries 

Beyond health, the Secretary-General has also appealed for a global ceasefire during the pandemic, while also calling for peace within the home, to counter the rise of violence against women and girls. 

Support to developing countries is another key area for response. The President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Munir Akram, reported that more than 60 of these nations need “urgent financial help”, while five countries have defaulted on their debt payments. 

“If there is an economic collapse or a humanitarian disaster in the developing countries, it will halt a global economic recovery, and the achievement of the SDGs will turn into a chimera”, he warned. 

Brighter days ahead 

Looking beyond the pandemic, the Secretary-General said recovery must address the pre-existing conditions it has exposed and exploited. “We cannot bequeath a broken planet and huge debts to future generations. The money we spend on recovery must go into building a greener, fairer future”, he said.  

Mr. Bozkir, the General Assembly President, expressed the feelings of millions worldwide, dreaming of the day the pandemic is declared over.  “The day we can take a deep breath of fresh air without fear. The day we can shake the hands of our colleagues, embrace our families, and laugh with our friends.” 

Nine months into the crisis, he acknowledged that it would be easy to feel frustrated, but the veteran diplomat urged people everywhere not to be deterred. 

“The UN is working for you. We are united, for you,” he said. “Stay strong. There are brighter days ahead.”

EU studying Kyiv’s proposal on ‘Crimean platform,’ EU special representative for Crimea – Stano

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EU studying Kyiv's proposal on 'Crimean platform,' EU special representative for Crimea - Stano

17:51
03.12.2020

The European Union is studying Ukraine’s proposal to create a “Crimean platform” and an EU special representative for Crimea, and is awaiting additional information on the structure of the platform, EU Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano has said in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.

Ukraine has presented the idea of an “International Crimean Platform” to the EU and several major international parties, he said. In this context, among other things, Ukraine has put forward the idea of creating an EU special representative for Crimea. As stated in the joint statement at the Ukraine-EU summit on October 6, 2020, we welcome diplomatic efforts aimed at restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and are studying in detail Ukraine’s proposals on this matter, the official noted.

Stano stressed that the EU and Ukraine are fighting the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula through many bilateral and multilateral channels and at different levels, including the political one. He said they did not and would not recognize the illegal annexation, which is a violation of international law.

In addition, the representative of European diplomacy pointed out that while they look forward to more information on how Ukraine would like to structure the platform, the EU non-recognition policy already offers a reliable and well-implemented toolkit that helps move towards the goals set by Ukraine and that are in line with the goals of the EU policy of non-recognition in general.

WHO/Europe and the Turkic Council begin putting memorandum of understanding into action

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WHO/Europe and the Turkic Council begin putting memorandum of understanding into action

WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge and Secretary General of the Turkic Council Mr Baghdad Amreyev met this week as the organizations work towards establishing a united action plan for health and collaboration.

The 2-day consultation focused on operationalizing the memorandum of understanding between WHO/Europe and the Turkic Council signed on 11 September 2020. Topics included the European Programme of Work “United Action for Better Health in Europe”, and pragmatic steps to ensure that both organizations bring maximum value to their cooperation.

This includes potential capacity-building activities for protection during health emergencies as well as progress towards universal health coverage, such as strengthening data and regulation and ensuring healthy lives for all through vaccination, digital health and mental health. Antimicrobial resistance and noncommunicable diseases in Member States were also discussed.

Day 2 of the consultation included a briefing with the ambassadors to Denmark and the missions in Geneva of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Presentations were also given by the WHO representatives in all Turkic Council Member States and by observers to identify further ways of working together at the country level.

During the meeting, the Regional Director referred to WHO/Europe’s excellent relations with the Member States of the Turkic Council. He noted that the memorandum of understanding builds on the already robust alliance with them and with coordinating stakeholders in and across countries.

A strong emphasis was also placed on the need to establish further WHO collaborating centres across Turkic Council Member States to assist with the implementation of health priorities.

Both organizations agreed to advocate for health jointly and to further facilitate the exchange of information and experience among Member States. An action plan will be finalized in the coming weeks, and activities are scheduled to begin immediately.

Spanish Scientologists Help the Country to put Pandemic Under Control

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Spanish Scientologists Rally to Help the Country Bring the Pandemic Under Control

With the number of new cases finally dropping in Spain, now is not the time to relax on prevention, say the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Madrid.

In Madrid, Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology of Spain are continuing their “Stay Well” campaign to reach out with proven protocols to help people stay well.

With the second wave of coronavirus finally abating—new cases down one third from last week—it is vital to continue prevention protocols. The danger when such an improvement takes place is that people can tend to neglect the very actions that caused the improvement. Now is not the time to change what is working, the volunteers say.

Madrid has canceled many traditional holiday events to prevent the spread of the virus. And the Scientology Volunteer Ministers backed this up by visiting local shops to remind them of the importance of prevention protocols.

In May, 135 Volunteer Ministers from Scientology Churches and Missions across Spain distributed 74,000 copies of educational booklets in their neighborhoods. These booklets contain vital information to prevent the spread of the virus.

As soon as the pandemic began, the most effective measures were researched for ensuring the safety of Scientology staff and parishioners, and these were implemented internationally as protocols under the direction of Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige.

To make this prevention information broadly available, the Church of Scientology published three educational booklets: How to Keep Yourself & Others Well, How to Protect Yourself & Others with a Mask & Gloves and How to Prevent the Spread of Illness with Isolation. All three booklets are available to be read or downloaded free of charge in 21 languages from the How to Stay Well Prevention Resource Center on the Scientology website.

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the world’s largest independent relief forces. A Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Their creed: “A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.”

Polish Catholic leader to European Parliament: There can be no compromise on the right to life

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Polish Catholic leader to European Parliament: There can be no compromise on the right to life

CNA Staff, Dec 3, 2020 / 08:00 am MT (CNA).- A Catholic archbishop spoke out Wednesday after the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Poland’s pro-life laws. 

In a Dec. 2 statement, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, president of Poland’s bishops’ conference, said that there could be no compromise on the right to life. 

He said: “The right to life is a fundamental human right. It always takes precedence over the right to choose, because no person can authoritatively allow the possibility of killing another.”

The archbishop was responding to a resolution adopted by the European Parliament Nov. 26 condemning Poland’s “de facto ban on the right to abortion.” 

The European Parliament, the European Union’s law-making body, passed the resolution by 455 votes to 145 after Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled Oct. 22 that a law permitting abortion for fetal abnormalities was unconstitutional.

Gądecki, the vice president of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE), noted that the resolution repeatedly referred to the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, pointing out that the charter declares that “Everyone has the right to life.”

“The European Union thus recognizes that the inalienable dignity of the human person and respect for the right to life are fundamental criteria for democracy and the rule of law,” he said.

The archbishop of Poznań argued that the title of the resolution was itself misleading as there is no “right to abortion” either from an ethical standpoint or in international law. 

“In no democratic legal order can there be a right to kill an innocent person,” he said.

He also objected to the resolution’s reference to an “abortion compromise” in Poland. The phrase refers to laws passed after the collapse of communism which restricted abortion but still permitted it in limited circumstances. 

He said: “Talking about the so-called legal compromise on the protection of life is a falsification of reality because it omits the most important third party in the dispute, i.e. unborn children and their inalienable right to life.” 

“Any compromise in this matter is tantamount to depriving some children of their fundamental right to life and imposing the death penalty in a brutal way, which, let’s recall, is also prohibited by the Charter of Fundamental Rights. There can therefore be no compromise in this regard.”

Gądecki quoted Pope Francis several times in his statement, including the pope’s Nov. 22 letter to a group of Argentine women. In the letter, the pope said that abortion was primarily an ethical issue rather than a religious one. “Is it fair to eliminate a human life to solve a problem?” he wrote after Argentine President Alberto Fernández introduced the bill to legalize abortion. “Is it fair to hire a hitman to solve a problem?” 

Gądecki also noted that Pope Francis had expressed support for pro-lifers in Poland following mass demonstrations against the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling. 

Protesters disrupted Masses while holding signs supporting abortion, left graffiti on Church property, vandalized statues of St. John Paul II, and chanted slogans at clergy. 

The archbishop thanked those who witnessed to the value of human life despite being “often met with aggression and contempt.” 

He also praised communities in Poland that sought to defend unborn life. 

“They are the voice of natural reason, which consistently, contrary to ideological conformism and opportunism, defends human life in every phase of its development,” he said. 

“They are the voice of hundreds of millions of people around the world who have discovered the beauty of every life.”

“Unfortunately, this brave and righteous voice is often met with aggression and violence by the supporters of the civilization of death.”

The archbishop praised people who not only worked for full legal protection of unborn life, but also offered help and support to expectant mothers. 

“From the heart I bless all people of goodwill and pray for the grace of conversion for those who have not yet discovered the stunning beauty of every life,” he wrote. 

“I also recommend to God all those who in Europe maintain an awareness of their spiritual and religious and moral heritage.”

European Union ban on PIA flights to remain after some conditions still ‘not met’

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European Union ban on PIA flights to remain after some conditions still 'not met'
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane can be seen at an airport. — AFP/Files

Pakistan International Airlines’ flights to the European Union will remain banned as certain conditions put to the flag carrier were still”not met”, a letter seen by Geo News said.

The suspension, imposed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), took effect on July 1, 2020, after it came to light that pilots possessed “fake” licences, as put by the aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar.

The EASA, in the letter, expressed satisfaction over certain steps taken by the Civil Aviation Authority to improve the situation. However, it said that a further audit by the agency’s officials was imperative to revoke the ban.

Read more: PIA flights to Europe suspended for six months by air safety agency

“On 16 November 2020, your organisation provided the agency with a comprehensive set of documents as evidence to support the Implementation of the agreed Corrective Action Plan [CAP] for the remaining open level 1 finding related to identifying issues in your Safety Management System,” the letter said.

“The Agency reviewed the submitted material and found it satisfactory and sufficient as a first important step towards the closure of the above-mentioned finding,” it added.

Read more: PIA decides not to appeal EU flight ban

However, the agency said that the conditions that it had laid down in ART 205(c)(2) were not met. 

In particular, the investigation conducted by the European Commission on the issuance of professional licenses was still on-going, which indicates that there is a possibility that the audit will not have the expected positive results, the letter noted.

“We propose to contact you for a next update of the situation as soon as the concerns regarding the issuance of professional licenses is investigated in full and satisfactorily resolved,” the latter said, that their officials would not be able to visit Pakistan amid coronavirus.

Read more: After EASA move, UK aviation industry suspends PIA flights from three airports

“In the meantime, the Agency will closely monitor the situation and further developments,” the letter added.

‘Fake’ licences, ‘dubious’ credentials

The ban was a big blow to the airline, which was already under scrutiny across the world due to recently uncovered pitfalls within Pakistan’s aviation industry, such as pilots possessing “fake” licences as put by the aviation minister.

The startling revelations came as the aviation minister presented the interim report on the probe into the May 22 PIA plane crash.

Following the report, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had expressed concern over the “serious lapse in-licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator”.

Subsequently, on June 24, the aviation minister announced that the qualifications of 262 pilots in Pakistan are “dubious” and thus they will be barred from flying.

The pilots that were in the line of fire included 141 from PIA, nine from Air Blue, and 10 from Serene Airline.

The rest of the 262 belonged to flying clubs or chartered plane services, the aviation minister had said. 

He said all the airlines and the clubs had been conveyed that: “Their credentials are dubious, and they shouldn’t be allowed to fly.”

With the back to back developments causing an international uproar, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) had grounded all Pakistani pilots working in the country.

Vietnam had licensed 27 Pakistani pilots, and 12 of them were still active at that time, while the other 15 pilots’ contracts had expired or were inactive due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the CAAV.

EIB Group provides €150 million to support artificial intelligence companies

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EIB Group provides €150 million to support artificial intelligence companies
©Getty

Today at the Web Summit 2020, the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) launched a new financing instrument to support artificial intelligence companies across Europe. The co-investment facility of up to €150 million will allow the EIB Group to invest alongside funds backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) in companies that are active in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector and in technologies that directly complement AI, such as Blockchain, the Internet of Things and robotics.

Europe’s artificial intelligence sector has a multibillion-euro funding gap compared with the United States and China. The facility launched today targets this gap. It complements and builds on EIB and EIF expertise in the sector, developed through the existing €100 million Artificial Intelligence/Blockchain pilot under InnovFin Equity and direct EIB financing for AI companies through its venture debt instrument. The new instrument is part of a larger initiative of the EIB Group and the European Commission to support the development of Europe’s digital future in areas such as high performance computing, quantum technologies and cybersecurity, to name a few.

“The potential of AI is enormous. Today we can already see the initial impact of AI in many areas of our day-to-day lives, but it will be the defining factor for the way we work, study and live in the future,” said EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska, responsible for innovation and digitalisation. “If Europe wants to stay competitive and shape the conditions of AI development and use, while ensuring European values are respected, it needs to embrace AI and lead its development. That is why I am very proud of the new instrument we have launched today. By using our resources and combining the expertise and market access of the EIB and the EIF we are pioneering new ways of financing AI, and helping to encourage more investment in this important sector.”

EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard said: “Artificial intelligence is a key component in a technological revolution that we are already witnessing. There is strong market demand for co-investments in this sector. The EIB’s expertise in assessing individual equity-type investments and the EIF’s market reach and ability to leverage strongly on the fund managers in our portfolio active in the AI domain will ensure that the facility is deployed efficiently.”

European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “Europe has all it takes to become a hub for cutting-edge developments in Artificial Intelligence. We have the talent and a wealth of industrial data – both of which will give us an important comparative advantage in AI if we use them wisely. We are putting a framework in place to leverage our strengths and build trust – including through clear and predictable rules. The co-investment facility announced today will further support companies so that they can grow in the EU thanks to the design and the deployment of trustworthy AI.”

The new funds will be available in the European Union and in Horizon 2020 associated countries and are expected to be deployed during the next four years. By collaborating with private investors, the EIB Group expects to support approximately 20-30 small and medium-sized companies. The focus will be on early and growth-stage companies investing in the development of breakthrough AI applications. The resource allocation to potential co-investments in companies will be considered on a first come, first assessed basis and on the merits of the proposal. By assisting fund managers investing individual tickets of over €1 million in high-growth European companies the new instrument will complement the EIF’s existing fund activities. Additional information on the AI Co-Investment Facility can be found here.

InnovFin Equity is part of InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators, a generation of EU financial instruments and advisory services developed under Horizon 2020 to help innovative firms access finance more easily. InnovFin Equity provides equity investments and co-investments to or alongside funds focusing on early-stage financing of enterprises operating in innovative sectors covered by Horizon 2020, located or active in the European Union or in Horizon 2020 associated countries.

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