Europe aims to bolster homegrown tech solutions as transatlantic relations strain

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: As President Donald Trump becomes increasingly unpredictable and transatlantic relationships hit new lows, there is a growing chorus in Europe urging for a shift towards technological independence from US companies.

The continent’s daily technology usage is largely dominated by American firms, including Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Uber. The risks associated with this reliance were already under scrutiny prior to Trump’s return to office, but now Europe is intensifying its efforts.

Initiatives are underway to prioritise European companies in public contracts and develop alternatives to popular US services. In light of Trump’s tariffs and the threat of a trade war, Europe feels a pressing need to act. Discussions of tech sovereignty in the EU have ramped up recently, with strategies introduced to enhance its position in the global AI arena and the potential creation of a European payment system to compete with Mastercard.

According to Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s tech chief, Europe must strengthen its capabilities in key technological areas: AI, quantum computing, and semiconductors. A significant concern is the risk of Washington leveraging its digital dominance against Europe, especially as Trump’s administration has previously targeted the EU’s tech regulations. This reality has fuelled calls from industry experts and EU lawmakers to enhance Europe’s tech infrastructure and reduce dependence on US firms.

EU lawmaker Stephanie Yon-Courtin underscored the vulnerabilities associated with reliance on foreign technologies, citing US restrictions on semiconductor exports as a pertinent example.

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Currently, around two-thirds of Europe’s cloud market is controlled by American giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, while the share held by European cloud providers has steadily diminished, dropping to 13 percent in 2022.

In 2023, 23 percent of the EU’s total high-tech imports originated from the United States, second only to China, spanning various sectors from aerospace to pharmaceuticals. While the notion of establishing a European social media platform to rival Facebook or X has not gained traction, officials believe that the race in the vital field of AI is ongoing. The EU has advocated for a preferential purchasing policy favouring European technologies in critical sectors.

Benjamin Revcolevschi, CEO of French cloud provider OVHcloud, welcomed this initiative, emphasizing the importance of incentives for purchasing European products. Alison James from the electronics industry association IPC articulated the need for Europe to ensure it has access to necessary technologies for critical industries.

There’s also momentum for greater independence from US financial technology, with Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, proposing a distinctly European alternative to American and Chinese payment systems. In response, EU capitals are exploring the development of a “truly European payment system.”

However, industry experts note that achieving tech sovereignty will require substantial investment, particularly as the EU prioritizes funding for defense. Digital policy specialists estimate that creating a comprehensive European tech ecosystem, including AI, could cost around 300 billion euros ($340 billion) by 2035, while the US trade group Chamber of Progress suggests the figure could be over five trillion euros.

US Vice President JD Vance has criticised Europe’s tech regulations, claiming they stifle innovation and unfairly target US companies, many of which align with Trump’s administration. Nonetheless, advocates for European technological independence argue that the EU’s regulatory framework, shaped by its values, is essential for safeguarding users’ interests.

In response to past abuses by major US tech firms, the EU has enacted significant laws to regulate the digital landscape, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU also implemented stringent data protection rules in 2018 and established comprehensive AI safeguards last year. Supporters of the DMA claim it encourages consumers to explore European platforms, offering choices beyond the defaults provided by US companies like Apple and Google.

Bruce Lawson from the Norwegian web browser Vivaldi noted a substantial increase in downloads across Europe, largely attributed to the DMA. He emphasized that the movement towards tech independence is not an anti-American stance, but rather a step toward reducing reliance on infrastructures that fundamentally differ in their data protection values. He pointed out that many users prefer their data to be processed by European companies, which align more closely with European regulations.