European tech group demands 'radical action' for digital sovereignty
Including establishment of a sovereign infrastructure fund
Europe faces the risk of becoming almost entirely dependent on foreign technology within three years unless it radically changes its approach to supporting the domestic tech sector, a coalition of more than 80 organisations has warned.
In an open letter [pdf] addressed to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and Tech Sovereignty EVP Henna Virkkunen, the group – including Airbus, Proton and IONOS – has called for sweeping action to secure Europe's digital future.
The letter cited recent events, including the Munich Security Conference, to highlight "the stark geopolitical reality Europe is now facing," saying there is urgent need to build strategic autonomy in key sectors.
The core proposal is the establishment of a sovereign infrastructure fund, designed to support public investment in capital-intensive sectors like semiconductors.
The signatories propose that this fund be bolstered by "significant additional commitment of funds allocated and/or underwritten" by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and national public funding bodies.
Furthermore, the letter advocates for a formal "buy European" policy for the public sector, mandating that IT requirements be sourced from European-led and -assembled solutions – though, as we learned recently, that is much easier said than done.
While acknowledging the complexities of modern supply chains, which often involve foreign components, the group stressed the need to prioritise European-centric development.
Further, the letter highlights the European tech landscape’s structural fragmentation, as outlined in the Draghi report on EU competitiveness, which has contributed to the region lagging behind the US and China.
This fragmentation has resulted in multiple tech dependencies that pose security and reliability risks, "compromise our sovereignty," and necessitate immediate action.
The signatories, which also include open source business Nextcloud and the European startup Network, called upon the EC to "mobilise industry to actively help coordinate and validate a continent-wide strategy to power a European digital sovereign effort."
This initiative builds upon previous efforts to address US tech dominance, such as the DARE project, which is developing hardware and software based on the open RISC-V architecture with EuroHPC JU funding.
The letter also referenced the EuroStack initiative, a precursor group comprised of many of the same signatories, which had previously raised similar concerns about European digital sovereignty.
However, not everyone is convinced that focusing on a sovereign technology stack is the right solution.
Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK, warns that this approach could backfire by stifling innovation and fragmenting the open-source ecosystem.
"I am deeply concerned by all of these consequences of geo-political shifts driving the development of so-called 'European technology'," she told The Stack, having made similar comments to Computing last week.
"This concept of localising a sovereign software stack risks bifurcating underlying open source, and operating in silos is absolutely counter intuitive to what makes open source work."
She said that collaboration and interoperability are essential for successful tech and AI development and warned against isolating Europe's digital ecosystem from global innovation.
Despite the debate, there is growing consensus that Europe's technological future hangs in the balance. Without urgent investment and a strategic shift, the continent could find itself locked into a position of long-term dependence on external powers for its most critical digital infrastructure.
As EuroStack's letter makes clear, Europe still has the potential to lead in the global tech landscape – but time is running out.