EU advances digital sovereignty to reduce US, China tech dependence

France and Germany have urged the European Union to cut critical dependencies on U.S. and Chinese digital technologies. A joint Franco‑German paper released on 17 June calls for reduced reliance across the whole stack – from semiconductors and software to data handling and artificial intelligence – framing sovereignty as both economic security and cyber resilience.

The European Commission responded with a tech‑sovereignty package that includes a revised Chips Act 2.0, a Cloud and AI Development Act, an EU Open‑Source Strategy and a roadmap for AI in the energy sector. The proposal aims to mobilise up to €120 billion over ten years to stimulate domestic semiconductor production and to require the internal market to consume European‑made chips. Parallel initiatives target AI, with €1 billion earmarked for an Apply‑AI programme and national projects in France and Germany to develop home‑grown AI platforms and chips.

EU officials acknowledge that complete digital autonomy is not yet feasible. France’s AI minister Anne Le Hénanff said the goal is to decide which dependencies are unacceptable, while President Emmanuel Macron warned Europe must avoid becoming a “tech vassal” of the United States and China. The drive is motivated by security concerns and the desire to keep future technology spending within Europe rather than flowing to foreign providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google or Chinese AI firms.