June 2026
Europe must set its own robotics agenda. While public fascination focuses on folding laundry or choreographed humanoid dancing routines, European citizens, industries, and institutions face urgent challenges that only capable robotic systems can address. These range from sustaining food and energy security, supporting an ageing population, reshoring manufacturing at scale, to maintaining critical infrastructure, securing space assets, and intervening in deep-sea emergencies.
Building on the Tallinn Statement (December 2025), this paper articulates the euRobotics community’s position on three questions: Where are robots mission-critical for European sovereignty and resilience? How should AI contribute to these systems, and where should it not? And what must we do next to convert European strengths into a strategic global position?
Our answer is grounded in three principles: robots should work with and for people, not only instead of them; economic viability and sustainability are design requirements, not an afterthought; and the robotics community bears responsibility for the societal and environmental consequences of its work.