BRUSSELS — The European Commission has unveiled a major policy package designed to strengthen the region’s technological sovereignty. The initiative’s primary goal is to foster domestic high-tech development and reduce a critical reliance on American IT giants and Chinese manufacturers.
Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen emphasized that, in the modern world, geopolitics is inextricably linked with technology. She noted that those who lead in innovation will define the global future, and Europe must therefore reclaim its status as a leading player.
Key pillars of the new EU initiative
The new set of measures focuses on developing domestic infrastructure and supporting European providers across several critical sectors:
- Cloud Computing: Currently, American corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google control approximately 80% of the European market. A new bill introduces four levels of digital sovereignty for public procurement. The highest level will block foreign companies from defense and healthcare contracts to eliminate the risk of critical infrastructure being suddenly disconnected.
- Microchips and Semiconductors: Since the initial Chips Act failed to fully bring factories back to Europe via subsidies, Brussels is shifting its strategy. The focus is now on stimulating internal demand. Industries like the automotive sector will be required to diversify their supplies to reduce dependence on inexpensive Chinese chips.
- Artificial Intelligence and Open Source: The AI sector is currently dominated by American and Chinese players such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek. The EU plans to prioritize European developers like Mistral AI for large-scale defense contracts. Additionally, an open-source technology strategy will be used to overcome the fragmentation of the European market.
Structural challenges and barriers
Experts point out that regulation is far from the only tool needed, as the EU faces significant economic obstacles:
- Capacity Deficits: Europe lags far behind in the pace of data center construction due to lengthy bureaucratic procedures, high energy prices, and land shortages.
- Infrastructure Traps: In the short term, the EU cannot fully abandon advanced American chips, specifically from Nvidia, creating a risk of being locked into a single supplier’s ecosystem.
- Startup Brain Drain: Due to the lack of a single scalable market and limited access to venture capital, promising European projects often move overseas. This issue is intended to be addressed through the EU Inc. initiative.
Geopolitical context and the risk of retaliation
The need for technological autonomy has intensified against a backdrop of Washington’s hardline trade policies and Beijing’s readiness to use economic dependencies as leverage. A significant warning for Brussels was the recent move to cut off International Criminal Court staff from American payment and service systems, such as Visa, Uber, and Amazon, following US sanctions.
Nevertheless, the European Commission expects the Thornberry agreement to help smooth over relations with the US. Regarding China, the situation is teetering on the edge of an open trade war. However, European politicians are confident that no superpower will want to completely sever ties with the EU, as it remains one of the world's largest and most profitable markets. Additionally, Europe retains control over a crucial supply chain node—the Dutch company ASML, which holds a monopoly on chip-making equipment.
According to Henna Virkkunen, the main goal of the package is to achieve tangible results by 2030. Currently, 80% of technology enters the region from abroad, and while it is impossible to change this situation overnight, the course toward reducing dependence has been set.
