The rapid development of AI is beginning to affect the entire global technology supply chain, according to George Malekkos, president of Cyprus Information Technology Enterprises Association (CITEA), who has called for the creation of a European RAM Index to monitor memory prices, supply and strategic dependencies.

Malekkos pointed to the memory chip market as a characteristic example, noting that increased demand created by investment in AI infrastructure is absorbing enormous quantities of DRAM and SSDs, limiting available supply for smartphones, PCs and other devices.

The impact, he noted, is already significant. Citing recent forecasts, Malekkos said IDC expects global smartphone shipments to decline by 16.7 per cent in 2026, while the average selling price is expected to increase by 27.6 per cent.

At the same time, he referred to Gartner forecasts showing that DRAM and SSD prices could increase by approximately 130 per cent by the end of 2026, with corresponding increases in PC and smartphone prices.

For technology businesses, Malekkos argued, these figures are particularly significant, as the growth of AI is creating new pressures on GPUs, memory, data centres, energy and advanced semiconductors.

“Every new AI Factory and every new AI data centre increases demand across this entire ecosystem,” he said.

Malekkos noted that the European Union has already recognised the strategic importance of semiconductors.

He referred to the European Commission’s June 2026 proposal for Chips Act 2.0, which aims to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor industry, develop advanced manufacturing capacity and reduce strategic dependencies on third countries.

“In my view, the same strategy should also extend to memory,” Malekkos said, arguing that RAM, HBM, DRAM and NAND are critical components of modern digital infrastructure and will become increasingly important as investment in AI grows.

He added that Europe needs a continuous overview of global production capacity, its dependence on specific manufacturers and geographic regions, memory prices and availability, the impact of AI growth on demand, delivery times and risks for SMEs and other European businesses.

Malekkos also stressed the importance of monitoring whether the European market can support the projected growth of AI infrastructure.

It is against this background that CITEA has submitted a proposal to DIGITALEUROPE to explore the creation of a European RAM Index.

“Our proposal concerns a European mechanism for monitoring the memory market and the strategic dependencies associated with it,” he explained.

According to Malekkos, such an index could monitor DRAM, NAND and HBM prices, global and European supply levels, concentration of production by country and manufacturer, European consumption and demand, AI-related demand, lead times and capacity allocated to AI infrastructure.

It could also track the impact on PCs, servers, smartphones and enterprise infrastructure, while functioning as an early-warning system for the European Union, the technology industry and businesses.

“The value of such an index lies in providing timely information,” Malekkos said.

He explained that if prices begin to rise sharply, if global production becomes concentrated among a small number of providers, or if AI-driven demand creates pressure in other sectors of the economy, Europe needs to know as early as possible.

Malekkos linked the proposal more broadly to the issue of European technological sovereignty, arguing that AI sovereignty also requires a detailed understanding of the entire technology stack.

He noted that the European Commission is planning the creation of AI Gigafactories and has announced the mobilisation of €20 billion for their development, with the aim of significantly increasing computing power available to European businesses, startups, researchers and public organisations.

These infrastructures, he said, require enormous quantities of hardware, including accelerators, chips, memory, energy, cloud infrastructure and data.

“Europe’s technological sovereignty is directly linked to how well it understands, monitors and manages these dependencies,” Malekkos said.

He added that the European Commission itself now recognises that growing demand for computing capacity and dependence on suppliers outside Europe are important issues for European competitiveness and resilience.

Turning to Cyprus, Malekkos acknowledged that it is a small market, but stressed that its technology community participates in the same global market as Europe’s largest economies.

Cypriot companies, he noted, purchase hardware, use cloud infrastructure, develop AI solutions and face the same international changes in technology prices and availability.

“At CITEA, we believe it is important to participate actively in European discussions and put forward practical proposals,” he said, adding that the European RAM Index is one such proposal.

CITEA wants DIGITALEUROPE to examine the idea together with the European technology industry and assess whether it can evolve into a European tool for market monitoring and strategic planning.

With Europe investing billions in the development of AI, Malekkos argued that it must at the same time develop a deeper understanding of the infrastructure and resources on which that expansion depends.

“Whatever we consider strategic for Europe, we must also be able to measure,” he concluded, adding that the European RAM Index could become another tool towards achieving this objective.