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Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare

INFN

The Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) is the Italian research agency dedicated to the study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the laws that govern them, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR).

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Elena Donazzan (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

18 Nov 2025 · Incontro e scambio di vedute su Space Act

Meeting with Giorgio Gori (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

24 Sept 2025 · Space Act

Response to European Data Union Strategy

19 Jul 2025

The proposal is clear, focused, and overall of high quality. INFN wishes to underscore the following points: - To prevent this, there is a growing need for a coordinated approach that considers the whole EU internal market This is really a key point, and while we cannot appreciate the legal difficulties, it should be the first goal. Currently the fragmentation of policies is a major obstacle to cross-national data exchanges, and is a burden for researchers who want to collaborate internationally and need to ensure the compliance to many different regulations - Digital infrastructures should be developed and deployed to enable automatic compliance with reporting obligations.. This is a second essential point: the process of ensuring compliance should be a single-step one, done at the start of the research. Today, compliance needs to be checked at all steps, making the research activities cumbersome, and certainly slower. An a-priori assessment of the compliance (for example by using certified data silos) which guarantees the compliance throughout the process would be a necessary step, but light enough not to need continuous revisions. How this can be done technically is beyond our current understanding, but the INFN would certainly welcome such a process.
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Response to Cloud and AI Development Act

3 Jul 2025

The INFN thinks that having a functional and performing private sector-driven ensemble of data-oriented centers is a must for a fruitful utilization of future AI system in Europe, and, in particular, not to have the current persistent delay with respect to other regions. At the same time, it is strategically convenient to expand existing large data centers, or at least avoid a proliferation of sites, to profit from the infrastructure and the expertise developed over the years. It is important that these centers (data centers, AI oriented silos, edge data providers) will be well connected to the research network (namely, Geant and its national peers) in order to build a system which can profit from the large processing power deployed via systems like the EuroHPC JU and the EOSC; at least partially host or help to host research data. Private-owned data centers should peer also with Geant to allow access to research facilities. Among the options presented in the accompanying document, we advise option (3) "the regulatory approach", where binding measures could be defined in the form of a Regulation. This is, in our opinion, needed in order to have an efficient implementation, with fewer technical and political implementations from the member states. We all have experience on how hard it is to operate an heterogeneous system (for example, that from the ensemble of all EU national states); in some cases it is a necessity, but in a case like this where we are allowed to design ground-up a new system, would at least introduce delays we cannot afford as continent. Finally, we want to stress again how important it is not to build "private silos" vs "public silos": Europe has a chance to rival more advanced continents only by joining forces between industry and academia.
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Response to A European Strategy for AI in science – paving the way for a European AI research council

4 Jun 2025

The proposal seems straight to the point, and the INFN believes it is appropriate. There are a few points worth commenting: "Policies for AI in science, at EU and national level, are coordinated to maximize impact." One limiting factor in the EU with respect to global leaders is the number and scope of regulations a researcher must understand and comply with, even before starting his/her research. Moreover, national regulations are on top of EU regulations, and they are not easy to navigate. There are scarce support / help / tools for the researchers, like a (ONE) single place where to -- for example -- compile a checklist which is authoritative and comprehending, and after which the regulation part can be considered "done". That would help enormously the researchers. As of today, the abundance of different sources, regulations, and certifications is really a limiting factor which can discourage the researcher. "Specific AI tools for science, like scientific foundation models, are developed and accessible." This is less limiting as of today, but of course the foundational models are NOT from the EU; they are accessible upon payment, but the lack of sovereign technologies is a (big) different problem to be tackled. "Scientists acquire AI skills and increase interdisciplinarity (e.g. collaboration between AI and domain scientists to build new AI tools and models for science)." The AI foundational (CS) side of research is very healthy in Europe and not limiting. Still, the above factor (lack of clear regulations) is a big obstacle for new models. "Scientists are better informed and equipped to tackle AI limitations and potential ethical, privacy and security risks." Today this task is on the single RPO, which is a problem for those not technically aware / savvy / equipped. At least at the national level, general guidelines should be provided; even better if at the European level. In attach: INFN position paper on AI
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Response to Apply AI Strategy

30 May 2025

The INFN believes that Europe should strive to have a first-class role in AI, especially when applied to the productive system and thus to the (future) well being of its citizens. To achieve this, several strategic actions are proposed. Given the challenge of competing with leading commercial providers like Google and Microsoft in terms of hardware resources, Europe should adopt a focused and tailored approach to AI: * Push on foundational research through academia: better algorithms and models can overcome fewer resources. * Deploy quality AI resources, available to academia, the productive system and the public administration. The AI factories and the GigaFactories are a good step in this direction. The EuroHPC JU has proved as an effective method to deploy and operate such resources, and it should remain the operational arm for future initiatives. * Investing in AI infrastructure at this stage largely translates into funding U.S. tech giants like Nvidia, and indirectly, Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturing. While this dependency is currently unavoidable, it is essential to simultaneously initiate the development of sovereign technological capabilities. The EPI initiative is a positive move, though it lacks sufficient funding for its ambitious goals. Europe now has a prime opportunity to advance research on open architectures like RISC-V. Over the medium to long term, priority should be given to the deployment and optimization of these systems, particularly in light of recent global developments. * Involve non-foundational research academic fields in the design and operation of AI systems: there is incredible potential in the utilization of AI from domains like Physics and Chemistry, with top-class scientists and facilities across Europe. While a CERN for AI has been proposed recently, the INFN believes that a more distributed approach is relevant, and would help more the contamination between industry and research. A good example is the Italian National Center for Big Data, HPC and Quantum Computing funded by the NRRPwhich has demonstrated the value of collaboration between academia and industry working together on common / similar problems. * Introduce dedicated EC grants under the theme 'AI in Science and Industry' to foster cross-pollination between academic research and industrial application. Scientific initiatives could serve as experimental grounds for developing AI solutions, which can later be adapted and scaled for industrial use. Facilitating two-way secondment opportunities between academia and industry has proven particularly effective in accelerating this transfer of knowledge and innovation. * Provide grant opportunities in the directions where there is currently space for effective research (non mainstream), like quantum AI and neuromorphic AI. See also the position paper on AI by INFN (in attach)
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Meeting with Silvia Bartolini (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen)

14 May 2025 · Italian and European Quantum Strategies

Meeting with Nicola Zingaretti (Member of the European Parliament)

14 May 2025 · Scientific research

Response to Establishment of the scientific panel of independent experts under the AI Act – implementing regulation

15 Nov 2024

The proposal seems reasonable since: 1 it seems that a public selection is being opted for, which is more transparent than a top-down selection of experts; 2 explicit reference is made to applied research: it is in fact important that the experts are not only foundational AI experts. The expected impact comes from the applications (in the research, production and social fields) and therefore it is also important to avoid a monocultural panel. Some comments: 1) It would probably be preferable to specify more clearly the minimum level of qualification required to be appointed as an AI expert. 2) Up to three experts per country is reasonable but be careful not to create an imbalance between small and large countries: it would be fairer to do so based on the number of inhabitants (~1 expert per 10 million citizens). 3) In addition to the gender balance criterion, it would be important to also have an "age balance", also enlisting young researchers.
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Meeting with Elena Donazzan (Member of the European Parliament)

11 Nov 2024 · Incontro conoscitivo, ruolo della Commissione ITRE in tema di ricerca

Meeting with Roberto Viola (Director-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

15 Nov 2021 · RRF

Meeting with Roberto Viola (Director-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

12 Nov 2021 · Innovation and digital technologies

Meeting with Roberto Viola (Director-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

9 Jun 2021 · PNRR