What Does Sovereign Tech Actually Mean For Europe

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 28, 2025, 4:55 PM

what does sovereign tech actually mean for europe

Europe's quest for technological sovereignty unfolds--from AI chips to cloud services. Ambitious strategies shape a new digital paradigm. homegrown firms but also transfers taxpayer-funded benefits—such as education and research—abroad, as American investors capture the gains. Sovereign tech is having a moment in Brussels. But beyond the usual policy platitudes and industry jargon, what does it really mean? And why is Europe suddenly so obsessed with controlling its own digital infrastructure?

Let’s start with the basics. Technological sovereignty is the ability to produce, manage, and maintain your own tech stack without needing to ask permission from Washington or Silicon Valley. Digital sovereignty is slightly broader: it’s about controlling the data, software, and standards that shape your digital life. Add in economic sovereignty and strategic autonomy, and you’re looking at a full-spectrum shift in how Europe wants to position itself in a world dominated by US and Chinese tech giants. The European Commission frames sovereignty as “the power to be able” — a useful reminder that this is less about GDP metrics and more about agency. The EU is taking steps towards digital sovereignty.

Image: Unsplash/Guillaume Périgois Back in March 2021, leaders of four European countries wrote a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen making proposals for the accelerated achievement of European 'digital sovereignty'. "Now is the time for Europe to be digitally sovereign,” then German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, and former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin wrote. “We have to foster the Digital Single Market in all its dimensions where innovation can thrive and data flow freely. We need to effectively safeguard competition and market access in a data-driven world. Critical infrastructures and technologies need to become resilient and secure.

It is time for the digitization of governments in order to build trust and foster digital innovation.” Since then, the EU has established the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), which collectively aim to regulate the digital economy and emerging technologies... Discover the results of Wire’s survey of 270+ European tech and policy leaders on digital sovereignty. Learn the blockers, solutions, and steps organizations can take today toward a secure, EU-native digital future. Based on insights from over 270 surveyed technology, policy, and security leaders across Europe, this report explores the challenges, blockers, and breakthroughs shaping the continent's path toward tech independence. European digital sovereignty is at a crossroads.

While regulation has laid the groundwork, the reality on the ground is defined by persistent dependencies on U.S.-based hyperscalers, complex integration landscapes, and a fragmented vendor ecosystem that hinders practical adoption of sovereign technologies. According to Forrester’s global cloud survey, over 50% of public cloud decision-makers cite digital sovereignty regulatory constraints as a top obstacle to public cloud adoption. Despite NIS2, DORA, and GDPR, many organizations still struggle with executing on sovereignty due to jurisdictional ambiguity, legacy infrastructure, and a lack of alignment between policy and procurement. Furthermore, Forrester reports that 84% of decision-makers consider digital sovereignty a critical factor in vendor selection, yet only a minority feel confident their current stack complies with regional mandates. The gap between strategic ambition and operational implementation remains wide, underscoring the need for EU-native, secure-by-design platforms that integrate seamlessly and respect European legal sovereignty by design, not exception. In an era where technology shapes everything from global power dynamics to personal privacy, who controls the digital infrastructure we rely on has never mattered more.

Technology sovereignty — the ability for nations or regions to independently control their technological destiny — has emerged as a crucial goal for governments across the world. For Europe, this is both a challenge and a golden opportunity. Long reliant on foreign technology providers, Europe is awakening to the risks of digital dependence — from vulnerabilities in cybersecurity to the erosion of data privacy and democratic oversight. But with rising investment, bold regulatory moves like the GDPR, and new initiatives such as GAIA-X and the European Chips Act, the EU is signalling its intent to carve a more autonomous path forward. Could this be the moment for European tech companies to thrive? Can sovereignty become more than a defensive posture, and instead fuel a renaissance in European innovation?

Europe’s digital infrastructure has, for decades, been heavily reliant on non-European technologies — from American cloud giants to Chinese hardware providers. While globalisation has brought efficiency and innovation, it has also created vulnerabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain crises, and rising geopolitical tensions have all exposed the fragility of this dependency. Managing Director EU Affairs Intel Corporation Can technological sovereignty secure Europe’s future? While the United States is using trade tools to foster economic security, the European Union is pursuing “technological sovereignty” to boost its global competitiveness.

Yet the complexity of the technology supply chain poses significant challenges to both approaches. “Sovereignty” is a means to an end – Europe’s ambition should be to grow and lead in technological innovation. These sovereignty approaches should not result in isolation or redundant efforts but should instead focus on strategic investments to promote innovation and global partnerships. As a US semiconductor firm with long-standing investments in Europe, we recognize the EU ambition to strengthen its digital ecosystem. Although finding European alternatives could lead to some increased regional investments in the short term, we believe a more pragmatic and collaborative approach would better serve Europe’s long-term competitiveness. Instead of aiming to build the technology stack independently, in particular for semiconductors, Europe can accelerate its innovation capacity through trusted partnerships in areas where domestic capabilities are currently limited.

Leveraging its own strengths (e.g., excellence in semiconductor R&D and machinery) and combining these with the advanced manufacturing capabilities of partners, such as Intel in Ireland, would help the EU achieve its resilience goals,... Technological leadership goals in the EU go beyond sovereignty and aspirational self-reliance. They require excellence across the entire industry, from research and innovation to advanced manufacturing, and active participation in shaping global tech ecosystems. By building on local strengths, investing in world-class talent, and fostering globally integrated value chains, the EU can establish itself as a competitive tech leader. Francesca Bria is a fellow at Stiftung Mercator and honorary professor at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. On September 24th, we convened in Brussels to address one of the most urgent challenges of our time: securing Europe’s digital independence.

Our mission is clear—to invest in public goods and infrastructures that protect citizens' rights, ensure European autonomy and security, support the growth of European businesses, and serve the public interest. By envisioning a trajectory towards technological sovereignty, the new European Commission—led by an Executive Vice President tasked to pursue Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy—presents us with a unique opportunity: the creation of a robust... Today, sovereignty extends beyond traditional geopolitical and economic spheres—it has a critical digital dimension. Unlike Washington and Beijing, Brussels has been slow to recognize the urgency of digital sovereignty. As digital services become integral to sectors like healthcare, energy, transportation, and public administration, the ability to control and govern these infrastructures is now of strategic importance. The concentration of power among a few Big Tech companies poses a serious threat to Europe's digital sovereignty.

These companies dominate the entire technology stack—from chips and cloud infrastructure to operating systems, applications, and developer tools—amassing vast amounts of data and solidifying their market position through network effects and economies of scale,... This stifles innovation, limits opportunities for European businesses, and undermines Europe’s economic security and industrial competitiveness. Despite its strength as a regulatory power, Europe remains highly dependent on digital technologies from outside the continent, with over 80% of its digital products and services being imported. This dependency threatens Europe’s autonomy, industrial resilience, and economic stability, especially as the U.S. and China bolster their digital supply chains. Glad to see you back!

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Let’s help you find the right starting point. Choose the service that fits what you need, and we’ll get you set up. The European Union (EU) is striving for tech sovereignty to reduce reliance on US technology giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, to achieve its EU tech independence through massive investment, projected at as much... Europe relies heavily on US cloud services, with over two-thirds of the continent’s cloud market dominated by American firms. Europe also lags behind when it comes to microchip production, at just 10% of world production, while American firms dominate the AI revolution. The reliance has been for some years but rising political tensions and shifting priorities of the US, brought on by President Trump’s approach to trade, mean EU technology regulation movement is now a priority.

EU tech policy increasingly highlights on formulating indigenous substitutes to reduce reliance on foreign powers. To address this issue, European politicians are adopting the idea of an “EuroStack,” a vision for a sovereign European tech stack based on three fundamental layers. Microchip infrastructure, digital platforms, such as cloud services, digital identity, the digital euro, as well as AI applications. The goal is to produce chips locally, and the plan will require good investment but offers a way to EU tech sovereignty and a strong digital future. “Mounting friction across the Atlantic makes it clearer than ever that Europe must control its own technological destiny,” said innovation professor at University College London and former president of Italy’s National Innovation Fund, Francesca...

What Does Sovereign Tech Actually Mean For Europe

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