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Meta’s open-source Canopy Height Maps helped the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre improve its 2020 Global Forest Cover map, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can strengthen Europe’s ability to monitor forests and advance climate and biodiversity goals. Developed with the World Resources Institute, the maps use Meta’s DINO self-supervised computer vision model to estimate tree height from satellite imagery. This helped researchers apply the five-metre threshold used in many international forest definitions and better distinguish forests from other tree-covered land, including agricultural tree crops. The resulting product, available through the EU Forest Observatory, provides one of the most comprehensive open views of global forest cover. Read more on Invested in Europe.

Ireland will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026 at a decisive moment for Europe’s competitiveness agenda. With the EU seeking to advance simplification, strengthen the Single Market and shape the next Multiannual Financial Framework, the Presidency will have a critical role to play in turning ambition into action. Its programme spans competitiveness, values and security. However, none of these priorities can succeed without a strong economy that fosters innovation and growth. In this context, AmCham EU’s Recommendations to the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU sets out concrete actions to advance a competitive and resilient EU economy. These proposals aim to help shape Europe into an attractive place for businesses to invest, operate and grow.

Predictability in EU-US relations, Europe’s competitiveness agenda and the future of the Single Market were centre stage during AmCham EU’s Executive Council Spring Plenary on Monday, 8 and Tuesday, 9 June. Our senior business leaders met with EU, US and Member State policymakers to discuss the pressures shaping investment decisions in Europe. The group engaged with the following officials: Tomas Baert, Trade Adviser in the Cabinet of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; Thomas Hans Ossowski, German Ambassador to the EU; Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space; Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament and Andrew Puzder, US Ambassador to the EU.