Austria Wants Anthropic Inside EU Borders as US Blocks Foreign Access to Advanced AI Models

Austria is urging the EU to host Anthropic's AI systems within its borders following a U.S. export-control order restricting foreign access to its advanced models. The move signals a dramatic escalation in the transatlantic AI rivalry. On June 12, the U.S. issued an export-control directive blocking all foreign nationals from accessing Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5, prompting a global shutdown of those models. The U.S. Commerce Department has since allowed limited restoration, but the incident underscores geopolitical risks tied to centralized AI development. In a letter to EU Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, Austria's State Secretary for Digitalization Alexander Proell wrote it was important that Europe was not cut off from major innovations. He did not say how the step could be taken and acknowledged there would be skepticism about whether it was possible. Earlier this month, the European Commission proposed laws to boost domestic cloud, AI, and semiconductor industries and cut reliance on U.S. Big Tech. Anthropic did not immediately reply to a request for comment.