The European Commission’s recently published documents – the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) and a strategic roadmap for digitalisation and AI in the energy sector – have identified Poland as one of the continent’s key “hotspots” for data centre investment. According to the Polish Data Center Association (PLDCA), this official recognition provides a real chance to accelerate the country’s digital infrastructure development and attract significant foreign capital.
The documents set an ambitious target: the EU aims to triple its computing power within the next five to seven years, fully meeting the growing demand for cloud and artificial intelligence services by 2035. Poland, together with Spain, Italy and the Nordic countries, is highlighted as a market where demand for new digital investments is already concentrated. PLDCA managing director Piotr Kowalski notes that this push coincides with Poland’s own energy transformation. – We are facing a major transformation. Poland is Europe’s largest energy construction site, and the EU plans clearly show that this process must go hand in hand with digitalisation. Without our own gigawatts of power, there can be no sovereign AI or a robust economy resistant to crises – he said.
EU’s regulatory push for data centres
CADA introduces several concrete mechanisms to accelerate infrastructure buildout. Member states will be required to designate special Data Centre Acceleration Zones where consistent sustainability requirements and non-discriminatory access to resources apply. These zones must take into account energy availability, telecommunications connectivity, potential for reusing brownfield sites and the ability to recover waste heat. The most innovative and sustainable investments can apply for a “competitiveness seal” under Article 14 of the act, unlocking financing from the European Competitiveness Fund and enabling targeted state aid. This is a clear signal that Brussels sees the strategic intersection of technology and energy as a priority.
Poland’s strategic position
The strategic roadmap also emphasises the need for a more geographically balanced distribution of computing capacity across Europe, moving away from the traditional FLAP-D hubs (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin). – The official recognition of Poland in EU documents of this rank, combined with the target to triple computing power, is a strong signal for our market. It confirms that our country has unique geopolitical and economic conditions to build a regional base for AI systems. The proposed CADA regulations give us real tools to remove the infrastructure barriers that have so far limited the inflow of foreign technology capital – said Piotr Kowalski. The topic will be further discussed at the CYBERSEC Expo & Forum in Katowice on June 15-16, where industry leaders will explore the evolving role of human skills in the digital future.
Źródło: wnp.pl, Fot. FOTOGRIN / Shutterstock
