Europe Holds the Only Leverage to Halt the Global AI Arms Race

A growing chorus of leaders—including Bernie Sanders, Bill Gates and several tech insiders—has warned that the rapid advance of AI threatens environmental collapse, economic turmoil and authoritarian misuse. Calls for a slowdown or outright pause are gaining traction, but voluntary industry measures are considered insufficient and a worldwide accord seems improbable. The article identifies the European Union as the sole actor with a practical lever: control over ASML, the Dutch firm that manufactures the $400 million EUV lithography machines essential for the most advanced chips.

Without these tools, semiconductor fabs and the massive data-center build-out projected to reach $7 trillion by 2030 would stall, forcing a de-facto pause in AI development. An EU-led export ban could trigger a chip shortage, giving policymakers the breathing room to devise regulations and societies the time to debate AI’s role. While the move would also serve Europe’s own economic and geopolitical interests, it risks retaliation from the United States, which currently restricts ASML sales to China. Nonetheless, the article contends that leveraging this choke-point is the only realistic path to curbing the AI arms race.