Digital Sovereignty on the Horizon 🇪🇺💻

By Matthias Ecke (LI)

EP's ITRE committee adopted an Initiative Report on European technological sovereignty and digital infrastructure.

What are our main points?

1. Technological Sovereignty and Infrastructure:

There is an urgent need to reclaim digital sovereignty by reducing dependency on foreign technologies and vendors, particularly in critical sectors like semiconductors, AI, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure.

A robust industrial policy, reinforced by coordinated EU-wide legislation, is essential to secure strategic autonomy and protect Europe’s competitiveness.

This includes a strong focus on public procurement favouring European solutions, investment in digital public infrastructure, and binding rules to ensure key infrastructure remains under EU jurisdiction.

2. Digital Market Competitiveness and Governance:

We have concerns about the dominance of non-European tech giants, which undermine innovation, fair competition, and legal autonomy.

The EU is urged to adjust its competition rules, prevent market capture, and enforce strategic autonomy criteria. Proposals include impact assessments for digital laws, a focus on SME-friendly legislation, and regulatory sandboxes.

The Digital Single Market should be deepened to ensure scale, and foreign investment screenings should prevent strategic takeovers.

3. Cloud, Data, and AI Leadership:

Cloud infrastructure is key to economic resilience, and Europe must establish sovereign cloud services with clear definitions, interoperability, and data protection.

The development of AI “made in Europe” should be our priority, including AI cloud spaces and dedicated infrastructure like AI factories. We urge the Commission to reduce regulatory uncertainty and support ethical, competitive AI development.

The Chips Act should prioritize advanced AI chips, while semiconductor and quantum strategies should be scaled up through coordinated public-private investment.

4. Connectivity, Telecom, and Cybersecurity:

Achieving the Digital Decade goals requires investments in high-quality digital infrastructure such as fibre, 5G/6G, and satellite networks.

Europe needs a streamlined regulatory and investment framework that ensures rapid deployment, universal access, and security. A new Digital Networks Act should rebalance telecom markets, while spectrum and submarine cable policies must be modernized.

Cybersecurity legislation should be swiftly implemented.

5. Investment Strategy

Bridging the EU’s investment gap (estimated at €150 billion) requires mobilizing both public and private funds, for example by strengthening the IPCEI framework and expanding tools like InvestEU.

The report also recommends sovereignty clauses in procurement.
Source : (LI)