Political risk / Jun 26, 2026 / 5 min
France Called Pax Silica Colonization as Brussels Signed On
On June 25, the European Commission joined Washington's Pax Silica chip alliance — the same week it unveiled a tech-sovereignty package and begged the White House to restore Anthropic's Mythos — proving Europe's AI future runs through an American stack it cannot build alone.
Europe spent June selling tech sovereignty — then signed Washington's AI chip pact the same week Commerce kept Anthropic's Mythos offline. Brussels doesn't control frontier AI anymore. It petitions for access and buys the American stack.
Why this week: On June 25, the European Commission signed the Pax Silica Declaration on behalf of the EU at the second Pax Silica Summit in Washington. The same week, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen flew to DC to beg for Mythos access. Commerce said no. The contradiction is the story.
What Pax Silica is: A U.S. State Department initiative to coordinate AI semiconductor supply chains, critical minerals, energy, and export controls among allied nations. Architect: Under Secretary Jacob Helberg. Non-binding on paper. Binding in practice if you need American chips and models.
The timing insult:
- June 3: EU ambassadors authorized joining Pax Silica via COREPER
- Same week: Brussels unveiled its Technological Sovereignty Package and Chips Act 2.0
- June 25: Commission signed Pax Silica while Mythos and Fable stayed dark
- June 26: 35 nations signed a Joint Statement on AI Opportunity at the summit
What Brussels bought:
- A seat at Washington's AI supply-chain table — after the UK, Japan, South Korea, India, and Australia already shaped the rules
- A political commitment to reduce dependence on China
- Per the EU-US trade framework, at least $40 billion in American AI chip purchases
- PaxPass: a $50 million U.S.-funded platform for expedited customs on trusted AI shipments
France's verdict: Paris was the loudest skeptic. Euronews reported French officials framing Pax Silica as an attempt to "colonise Europe" — a direct contradiction of the sovereignty agenda Brussels was simultaneously selling. Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands carried the vote anyway.
The leverage gap: Central and eastern European member states sought explicit U.S. guarantees against AI chip export restrictions before signing — an option Washington had actively considered in 2025. When allies need written promises not to be cut off, they already know who holds the kill switch.
What Washington said:
- Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau: Advanced semiconductors and AI infrastructure are "too consequential to be left vulnerable to coercive policies and markets."
- Landau: "Pax Silica exists to keep these technologies and the future growth of all of us in trusted hands."
- Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed EU accession to Reuters on June 25.
The Mythos mirror: Two weeks after Commerce forced Anthropic's frontier models offline worldwide, cybersecurity expert Alex Stamos told The Verge: "One of America's champions is being kneecapped by the U.S. government while we're in a race with the Chinese. It's just incredibly stupid." Brussels learned the same lesson from the other side of the table — then signed the pact anyway.
Convina's view: Pax Silica is not a partnership. It is Washington's operating system for the AI stack — and Europe just installed it while filing sovereignty paperwork. The EU cannot fabricate leading-edge AI accelerators, cannot unilaterally restore Mythos, and cannot pretend Chips Act 2.0 changes who writes the export-control rules. Joining Pax Silica is Brussels admitting that in the AI age, sovereignty means negotiating inside America's chokepoints — not escaping them.