Europe is launching a comprehensive initiative to reduce its reliance on American and Asian technology, announcing plans to strengthen domestic capabilities in semiconductors, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence while maintaining greater control over data and critical digital services.
EU technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen is scheduled to present the strategy on Wednesday, potentially escalating tensions with Washington, which has repeatedly opposed EU regulations and fines targeting major U.S. technology companies.
According to a draft strategy document referenced by French news agency AFP, over 80 percent of the bloc’s digital products, services, infrastructure, and intellectual property currently originate from foreign providers, based on a 2023 official report.
Brussels emphasizes that the initiative is not designed to exclude foreign companies, but rather to bolster European industry and ensure the continent remains competitive in the artificial intelligence landscape.
The policy package represents part of a broader EU effort to enhance domestic manufacturing across multiple sectors and close the gap with U.S. and Chinese competitors.
The proposal includes new legislation for cloud computing and artificial intelligence aimed at encouraging the development of data centers within the EU, with Brussels projecting the bloc’s capacity could triple within five to seven years.
A separate semiconductor law is planned to increase demand for European-made chips, coupled with incentives for public sector adoption of open-source software and a unified EU system for evaluating data center sustainability.
Cloud computing in Europe remains predominantly U.S.-dominated, with Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud collectively holding approximately 70 percent market share.
EU expenditures on U.S. cloud software are estimated at 264 billion euros annually, according to a 2025 analysis by French consultancy Asteres.
The EU is expected to implement sovereignty requirements for public procurement in cloud and AI technologies, mandating governments conduct “sovereignty risk assessments” to identify suitable European alternatives when necessary.
This push is partly motivated by concerns regarding the 2018 U.S. Cloud Act, which enables Washington to access data from U.S.-based providers regardless of storage location, as well as recent supply chain disruptions involving semiconductors and rare earth materials from China.
There are also worries that former U.S. President Donald Trump could potentially restrict access to American cloud services through emergency measures.
Matthias Ecke of the Socialists and Democrats parliamentary group stated that European policy should be guided by domestic needs rather than U.S. pressure, asserting: “We set our rules in Europe, according to the needs and the demands of the European citizens.”
Despite the EU initiative, U.S. providers are anticipated to maintain significant market presence, he added.
Support for the strategy has been voiced by European technology companies, legislators, and civil society organizations. Thirteen European cloud providers collaborating with lawmakers and advocacy groups endorsed the Commission’s proposal in an open letter seen by Reuters.
The initiative defines technological sovereignty as Europe’s capacity to independently design, comprehend, select, construct, operate, and regulate the digital systems essential to societal and economic functioning.
Participants include French cloud provider OVHcloud, Germany’s Nextcloud, Switzerland’s Proton privacy software company, and Netherlands-based quantum chip manufacturer QuantWare.
Green MEP Alexandra Geese emphasized the collective message: “Build European, buy European, protect European.”
These developments signify a strategic pivot in Brussels from regulating large technology platforms toward actively promoting European technological solutions. Recently, the European Commission announced intentions to allocate a portion of mobile satellite frequencies currently utilized by U.S. operators to European enterprises.
As EU lawmaker Oliver Schenk noted, chips, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence constitute the foundational infrastructure of the modern economy, underpinning sectors from defense to healthcare. “Europe therefore cannot afford to remain merely a consumer of critical technologies developed elsewhere,” he observed.
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