For several months, Europe has been facing a series of hybrid attacks combining drones, cyberattacks and digital interference. Many European cities have been flown over by drones, notably in Copenhagen and Munich, defeating our security systems. Several European airports have recently been the target of attempts to hack their air traffic control systems, leading to massive disruptions and reminding us of the fragility of our critical infrastructure. In the healthcare sector, hospitals continue to be crippled by repeated cyberattacks, exposing patient data and putting lives at risk. With the recent blockage of a boat off the coast of Saint-Nazaire, suspected of belonging to the Russian ghost fleet and probably at the origin of the drone overflights mentioned above, we understand the urgency for Europe to strengthen its security, to equip itself with reliable and certified applications, capable of diverting or neutralizing these threats upstream.
Because European security is not only at stake in military armor or sophisticated radars, but also in the reliability of the digital tools that accompany this defense. Artificial intelligence is at the heart of this equation. But without certification, without recognized standards, trust will remain fragile, and dependence on foreign solutions will continue to expose the continent.
Today, three countries perfectly illustrate this tension between innovation and supervision: France, Belgium and Switzerland. Three approaches, three regulatory cultures, but the same observation: without a credible framework, artificial intelligence will remain suspect, to the detriment of those who need it most: SMEs.
Few organizations have become aware, on the old continent, of the urgency
In France, the race for innovation is spectacular: a thousand AI start-ups, a doubling in four years, billions raised and tens of thousands of jobs created. But this vitality is constrained by an avalanche of rules coming from Brussels, where the AI Act is advancing in stages. Result: SME managers find themselves caught between the obligation to comply with a still uncertain future and immediate pressure from clients, who are already demanding solid guarantees. Without certification, many will see doors close before they even knock.
Belgium, faithful to its pragmatism, has chosen a different path: experimenting under control, with its regulatory “sandboxes”. Laudable on paper, this strategy nevertheless creates a vacuum in the short term. Because major customers, Belgian and foreign, will not wait until 2026 to demand proof of reliability. Here again, a voluntary certification framework would offer the best lifeline to SMEs, by allowing them to show their credentials before the State has set its own rules.
As for Switzerland, it is capitalizing on what has made it strong for decades: its neutrality and its image of reliability. Outside the European framework, but never completely isolated, it builds a flexible, sectoral and interoperable system. However, even for the Confederation, a crucial question remains: how to remain attractive on the regulated markets of the European Union without certification recognized beyond its borders?
Few organizations on the old continent have become aware of the emergency. Recently, the very young Geneva AI Governance Institute (GAIGI) set itself the mission of producing a certification system with a universal vocation from Switzerland, a reference in the field. With a progressive and exportable system, this certification does not just reassure: it opens markets. It makes compliance not a constraint, but a competitive advantage. In a few months, an SME can display clear governance, an independent audit and, above all, a passport of trust among customers and insurers. At a time when artificial intelligence is everywhere – from health to finance, including defense, media and energy – it is no longer enough to produce efficient algorithms. You have to prove that they are trustworthy. Voluntary certification is therefore more than an option: it is the condition for the survival of SMEs on the international market.
Faced with regulatory fog, the best weapon is not wait, but anticipation. First certified, first served: this is the rule of the game. And in this race, it is better to transform uncertainty into strategy than to stay at the dock. Because drones, cyberattacks and malware remind us every day that the technological war is already here, and that only the best armed, in terms of reliability and governance, will be able to resist it.
*Sébastien Boussois is a doctor in political science, researcher in the Arab world, geopolitics and international relations, director of the European Geopolitical Institute (IGE), associated with the CNAM Paris (Security-Defense Team) and the Geostrategic Observatory of Geneva (Switzerland). Media consultant and columnist.
