BRATISLAVA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Economic affairs committee representatives from the parliaments of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia on Monday called for closer integration of industry, energy and emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), to strengthen the region's economic competitiveness.
"We see artificial intelligence as a major opportunity to boost productivity and modernize our economies. However, its use must be safe, transparent, responsible and human-centred," declared Robert Puci, who chairs the Slovak Parliament's Economic Affairs Committee.
Representatives from the four countries, members the Visegrad Four (V4), agreed at a meeting in Kosice in eastern Slovakia that their strong industrial bases should be increasingly combined with research, innovation, digitalization and AI to maintain competitiveness.
Puci, whose country is holding the presidency of V4, noted that the development of AI is also increasing demand for computing capacity, digital infrastructure and secure and resilient energy supplies. "It is also important that the technological transformation benefits not only large companies but also small- and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, we must invest in education, digital skills and preparing people for a changing labour market," he said.
At the European level, the V4 countries aim to coordinate their positions more closely on AI and competitiveness policies, so that the needs and specific characteristics of the region are better reflected in EU policymaking, Puci said.
Ivan Adamec, chairman of the Czech Parliament's Economic Affairs Committee, said the Czech side values the Visegrad grouping and its common interests, stressing the importance of joint action at the European level. "If we manage to maintain and drive the Visegrad Four as we did at today's meeting, so that it works like a well-oiled machine, Europe cannot overlook us on the issues we discussed here," he said.
