Across Europe, the idea that critical digital infrastructure should not depend on a handful of American platforms has shifted from abstract concern to concrete policy. Governments and EU institutions are now sketching out what a homegrown stack for cloud, communications, payments, and even satellites could look like, and how quickly it can be built. The push is less about cutting ties with Silicon Valley overnight than about ensuring that, in the next crisis or technological shock, Europe has options of its own.
That ambition is colliding with hard realities: entrenched US incumbents, fragmented national markets, and the sheer cost of building competitive alternatives. Yet the direction of travel is clear. From new cybersecurity rules to a proposed “EuroStack” of shared infrastructure, the bloc is trying to turn digital sovereignty from a slogan into a system.
From buzzword to blueprint: Europe’s digital sovereignty turn
European policymakers have spent years debating “digital sovereignty”, but the concept has now hardened into a strategic goal to reduce dependence on foreign technological powers. Recent assessment work, described in an Executive Summary that explicitly flags its methods as an assessment, frames this shift as a response to geopolitical risk and extraterritorial laws that can reach into European data centers. The argument is straightforward: if cloud platforms, collaboration tools, and core networks are controlled by companies subject to US legislation, then European states cannot fully control how that infrastructure behaves in a crisis.
In that same assessment, the authors draw a historical analogy, noting that just as Europe once created its own monetary union, it is now exploring a digital equivalent that would give it more leverage over data, platforms, and standards. The document, which references entities such as Jan and Where as part of its structure, stresses that political ambition is outpacing technical capacity, and that legal and technical hurdles remain substantial for any attempt to rebuild the stack on European terms. A follow up analysis underlines that the journey from vision to viable infrastructure will be long, even if the direction is now set.
Regulation with teeth: privacy, cybersecurity and AI rules
One of the most immediate levers Europe is pulling is regulation, particularly in privacy and cybersecurity. Multiple Member States are expected to complete the transposition of the NIS2 Directive this year, tightening security obligations for operators of essential services and large digital platforms. That process, described in detail in guidance on how Multiple Member States will implement the Directive, is designed to force both European and foreign providers to harden their systems if they want to keep serving critical sectors.
At the same time, Brussels is preparing to operationalize its landmark AI rulebook. Key developments include the Publication of Commission guidance on high risk AI systems, expected to clarify how companies must document, test, and monitor algorithms that affect everything from hiring to healthcare. From September 11, 2026, the bloc will also move to a new “single point” incident reporting model for cyber breaches, according to a detailed overview of upcoming rules. I see these measures as more than compliance exercises: they are a way to set global norms that foreign tech giants must follow if they want to keep access to Europe’s market.
Building a European stack: cloud, comms and satellites
Regulation alone will not loosen US firms’ grip on Europe’s digital backbone, so policymakers are starting to sketch out what a European alternative might look like. A widely discussed EuroStack Plan, highlighted in social media posts about how the EU Pushes for Tech Independence from U.S. Giants, envisions a coordinated investment drive in cloud, data, and digital infrastructure. Advocates argue that such a Plan could give Europe shared platforms that match the scale of US Giants, rather than relying on a patchwork of national champions.
On the ground, some of the most visible moves are happening in communications and space. In France, David Amiel, Minister for Civil Service and State Reform, has announced that the administration will replace Zoom and Microsoft Teams with domestic tools so that sensitive communications remain under national control. That decision, detailed in a report on how In France the government is rethinking its software stack, is both symbolic and practical, signaling that off the shelf US collaboration apps are no longer the default for state business. In orbit, the EU is rolling out the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite, known as IRIS², its most ambitious satellite constellation to date. Officials concede that the project cannot yet replace Elon Musk’s Starlink, but argue that the IRIS system is putting Europe on the right track to be stronger in priority areas like secure government communications.
Money, markets and the digital euro
Europe’s reliance on US technology is not limited to software and satellites, it also runs through the financial system. Card networks and payment processors headquartered in the United States still handle a large share of European transactions, which has raised concerns in Brussels about resilience and strategic autonomy. In response, The European Union is accelerating work on a central bank digital currency, with officials arguing that a digital euro could Reduce Reliance on US Payment Firms and ease pressure on Europe’s financial independence. That case is laid out in detail in a policy push that urges the bloc to Pushes for Digital as part of its broader sovereignty agenda.
At the same time, European leaders are trying to channel more capital into homegrown tech firms that can compete with entrenched American platforms. One analysis notes that Europe has little control when its cloud and software are dominated by foreign providers, and that the bloc needs to invest in Europe’s tech industry if it wants to change that balance. The argument, which appears in a detailed look at why Europe is Seeking to reduce its dependency on US tech, is that regulation must be paired with industrial policy. Without sustained funding, the risk is that European rules simply make it harder for smaller local players to scale while US incumbents absorb the compliance costs.
National experiments and the road ahead
Some of the most revealing tests of Europe’s strategy are happening at the national level, where governments are turning abstract principles into procurement decisions. France has become a bellwether. In a bold turn of policy, officials there have argued that Americans’ own laws make the risks of foreign control over data concrete, and that it is time for Europe to govern itself in the digital realm. That sentiment is captured in a profile of how French leaders are reframing digital sovereignty, which notes that the government’s decision to move away from US collaboration tools is part of a broader shift toward domestic platforms. The piece, which opens with the prompt to Sign up for updates, underscores how quickly this agenda has moved from think tank papers into ministerial portfolios.
Other countries are experimenting with new infrastructure models that treat technology as a digital public good that can be moved between different clouds and operated under sovereign conditions. One detailed examination of Europe’s efforts to end its dangerous reliance on US internet technology describes how this approach is attracting governments and companies looking for sovereign digital alternatives. The analysis argues that such technology could allow public bodies to avoid lock in, shifting workloads between providers without losing control of data. I see these pilots as crucial: if they prove that sovereignty and usability can coexist, they will give Brussels a template to scale up.
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