Commission proposes tech sovereignty package to strengthen Europe’s digital autonomy and resilience
The European Commission today presented the European Technological Sovereignty Package, a set of measures to strengthen Europe’s capacity in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and open source.
Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen said: “We cannot afford to depend on others for the technologies that keep our hospitals running, our energy grids stable and our services secure. This is about protecting our citizens, defending our interests and making our own choices. Europe has the talent, the research excellence, the industrial base and the Single Market. Together, we must turn these strengths into technological sovereignty.”
The package includes two legislative proposals – the Chips Act 2.0 and the Cloud and AI Development Act – as well as the Open Source Strategy and a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in Energy.
Together, these measures support Europe’s ambition to become an AI continent, strengthen its digital autonomy and help build a more sustainable digital future. They will help widen choice in core technologies for EU businesses, citizens and public administrations.
The move comes as Europe remains heavily dependent on suppliers outside the European Union for core digital technologies and as demand for computing capacity rises sharply with the spread of AI. It is designed to reduce structural dependencies and make sure Europe can develop, deploy and secure the technologies Europeans rely on. It signals a major shift in the EU’s approach to technology.
Securing the semiconductor base for Europe’s AI ambition
Semiconductors are essential for AI and for technologies Europeans use every day.
The Chips Act, in force since 2023, was the EU’s first response to critical vulnerabilities in the global semiconductor supply chain. But Europe still relies heavily on third countries for advanced production and chip design. AI-related components are expected to drive future growth and make up over 70% of the semiconductor market by 2030.
The Chips Act 2.0 will build on Europe’s strengths, including in mainstream chips, and build capacity in cutting-edge semiconductor technologies that power AI applications.
It will speed up permitting, deepen cooperation with like-minded partners and introduce a new excellence label for Europe’s semiconductor regions. Also, by adopting an ecosystem approach, it will bring European chipmakers closer to their customers and build on the demand of growth sectors, such as data centres, cloud providers and AI Gigafactories. Finally, it will support investment and strategic projects, while addressing vulnerabilities that could put supply at risk.
Building Europe’s cloud and AI capacity
The Cloud and AI Development Act is a central part of the Commission’s AI Continent Action Plan. It aims to triple data centre capacity in Europe over the next five to seven years and strengthen the role of the Apply AI strategy to boost adoption.
The Act will support research and innovation in cutting-edge and sustainable technologies, while balancing AI ambitions with climate commitments. It will streamline conditions for deploying data centres across the EU, with a focus on highly sustainable and innovative facilities at the scale needed for the green and digital twin transition. It will also introduce a single EU-wide framework to assess cloud and AI sovereignty, while keeping most of our market open to like-minded partners.
This will help protect critical applications and sensitive data, and support the development and roll-out of advanced cloud and AI technologies. It will also support a more coordinated approach to AI uptake across Member States, including through the Experience and Acceleration Centres for AI that act as local hubs to support AI integration and scaling.
Strengthening digital autonomy through open source
Europe is home to over three million open-source contributors. They deliver digital solutions made in Europe, for Europe, based on European principles and values.
The Open Source Strategy builds on this strength to develop and provide more sovereign solutions. It will scale up open source alternatives in priority areas such as cloud, AI, internet technologies, cybersecurity and semiconductors. It will also promote a stronger open source ecosystem by investing in skills, supporting open source start-ups, and improving the long-term maintenance and security of Europe’s open-source digital infrastructure.
The strategy will also support greater use of open source in public administrations through procurement guidelines and practical best practice. It will encourage uptake of European solutions and support standards and interoperability, including through initiatives such as the Open Internet Stack.
Digitalising Europe’s energy system while ensuring sustainable digitalisation
The digitalisation of Europe’s energy sector is more urgent than ever as high energy prices put pressure on industrial competitiveness and households’ budgets. At the same time, the growth of digital infrastructure across our continent is expected to increase demand for electricity. The Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the Energy Sector addresses both aspects and sets out how AI and other digital solutions can ensure the sustainable integration of digital infrastructure in our energy system, while at the same time help make Europe’s energy system more efficient.
This roadmap will ensure that data centres are integrated into our energy system in a sustainable and transparent manner. The Commission will facilitate cooperation between the energy and digital sectors to ensure their efficient integration into the grid as well as the necessary clean energy supply, while safeguarding water and energy resources.
This roadmap will also accelerate the deployment of digital and AI solutions to improve and smarten Europe’s electricity infrastructure while supporting a faster roll-out of smart meters which are key to give European consumers more control over their energy use and ultimately lower energy bills.
Furthermore, it will help build sovereign and secure AI models for the energy sector, trained on European data and developed by European companies. By simplifying the exchange of cross-border energy data, it will ensure the uptake of smart energy services and flexibility which can bring about savings for millions across Europe.
Next steps
Before adoption and entry into force, the legislative proposals will be negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
The Commission will continue its work to make Europe an AI continent and is expected to launch a call for AI Gigafactories in July, following the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking Governing Board’s agreement in principle on 1 June.
The Commission will also launch a consultation with the Member States, the European Investment Bank Group and other key stakeholders to set up a European equity capacity at scale to finance Europe’s tech sovereignty ambitions.
Background
The Commission’s AI Continent Action Plan positions Europe to become an AI continent by focusing on boosting computing infrastructure, data, skills and AI adoption in Europe.
The Technological Sovereignty Package fasts-tracks this action, signalling a new approach for Europe. It also builds on and complements existing initiatives such as the Competitiveness Compass and the Economic Security Strategy.
