Over 100 European companies and lobby groups, including Airbus and Dassault, are urging the European Commission to prioritise homegrown technology in the bloc’s digital infrastructure, according to Politico.
In a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and tech sovereignty chief Henna Virkkunen, the signatories called for greater technological independence across all layers of Europe’s critical digital infrastructure.
The letter, released on Monday, proposes several measures to reinforce Europe’s tech sector. These include introducing “Buy European” requirements for governments to increase demand for locally produced technology and establishing a “sovereign infrastructure fund” to support investments in capital-intensive industries such as microchips and quantum technology.
The signatories highlighted the risks posed by Europe’s reliance on US technology, particularly in light of deteriorating EU-U.S. relations. They cited US Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference as evidence of growing tensions.
The EU is currently locked in a stand-off with Washington over tariffs on aluminium and steel, while disagreements over tech regulation have further strained relations.
In addition to Airbus and Dassault, the letter was signed by the French public investment bank Bpifrance, European cloud companies such as Scaleway, OVHCloud, and Nextcloud, and several tech industry alliances, including France Digital, the European Digital SME Alliance, and Connect Europe. Smaller European tech firms like Proton and Ecosia also endorsed the initiative.
Europe’s tech dependence
Europe remains heavily reliant on US technology, with the majority of European data stored on US cloud services. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google dominate over two-thirds of the European cloud market.
Europe also accounts for just 10% of the global microchips market, and US firms like OpenAI have taken the lead in developing artificial intelligence applications, such as chatbots.
The letter calls on the Commission to “mobilise industry” for a “continent-wide strategy” to ensure Europe has its own alternatives in these critical sectors. Frank Karlitschek, CEO of German file storage provider Nextcloud, one of the signatories, emphasised that the goal is not complete independence from the US but rather having sufficient assets to negotiate from a position of strength.
The initiative builds on an earlier industry effort called EuroStack, which aims to develop a core European tech infrastructure across three layers: hardware, intermediary services (such as cloud services), and applications. The goal is to reduce Europe’s dependence on US Big Tech and create a more self-reliant digital ecosystem.
