In the area of digital products, services, infrastructure and intellectual property, the European Union relies more than 80% on supplies from 3rd countries. For example, data on the cloud infrastructure marketplace indicate that Community countries are heavy dependent on imports, as indicated last year's study by Mario Draghi on the threats to EU competitiveness. According to Euro-Parliamentarian Michał Koboski, joint efforts by European companies, institutions and politicians are needed to reverse this trend.
"We are all talking very widely present about security, our sovereignty and resilience to external threats, and digital safety is simply a very crucial component of this full ecosystem. Today, we are heavy dependent on the supply of digital solutions – on the 1 hand, the American side, due to the fact that we all usage services, services, software packages of American digital companies on a regular basis. On the another hand, we have a clear expansion of Chinese online shops, e-commerce, where we see that products from respective platforms are flooding the European marketplace – says Newseria Agency Michał Kobosko, associate of the European Parliament, Poland 2050, Renew Europe.
As the European Parliament noted in its study on European technological sovereignty and digital infrastructure, adopted in June this year, the engagement of European companies in global software, online technologies and electronic devices investigation and improvement is insignificant, especially as compared to the US and China, which are leaders in these areas. It was stressed that the full possible of the Digital Single marketplace remains unused. Intra-EU digital services trade accounts for only 8% of GDP, much little than digital goods trade (25% of GDP). For example, the study shows that 69 percent of the European cloud infrastructure marketplace is owned by US operators. In comparison, European suppliers account for little than 13% of the shares in this sector.
"We have a lot to do as the European Union. These are technological solutions on the 1 hand. There is no reason why we do not have cloud solutions in Europe, or data storage. present we give this field to American suppliers. I believe that European solutions request to be supported, that there is simply a marketplace for them – says Michał Kobosko. – Today, many cloud users are following the line of least opposition and simply choose the cheapest, most accessible solutions of companies from across the Atlantic, and this is simply a peculiar place to support European solutions.
The European Parliament stressed in its study that the EU's ambitions in the field of industrial technologies should focus on key strategical technologies of the future, specified as semiconductors or quantum ones, which are essential for our ecological, digital and defence transformation. 1 specified initiative is the Chip Act, which was intended to aid meet any of the challenges of semiconductor deficiency and which was planned for September 2026. The EP called for the highest political importance to be given to ensuring adequate supply of artificial intelligence chips in the European Union and to make it the central point of EU policy in the digital industry.
– A year ago a celebrated Draghi study appeared, which, among others, showed that present we are more than 80% dependent on non-European technological solutions and this is definitely a fewer steps besides far away – reminds Euro MPs from Poland 2050. – This means that we, as Europe, a rich, prosperous continent, with more than 400 million customers, with strong businesses, including start-ups, should guarantee that dependence on suppliers outside Europe is importantly reduced. This is not a momentary trend, it is simply a decision towards ensuring us a much higher level of independence, sovereignty and safety of our data.
The study besides assesses that, in a time of fast technological development, expanding Europe's technological sovereignty requires strengthening innovation and commercialisation to build the essential capacities. Europe needs to turn into a world-wide attractive and flexible business environment to aid reduce bureaucracy, increase regulatory predictability and support entrepreneurship and risk-taking. A comprehensive industrial policy for the digital ecosystem is besides needed to combine all applicable policies specified as marketplace access, standardisation, investigation and development, investment, trade and global cooperation.
The European Digital Sovereignty Summit was held in Berlin on 18 November. It discussed, among another things, simplification of regulation in peculiar in the context of SMEs and start-ups, public procurement as an component of strengthening digital sovereignty in Europe or strengthening financing for innovation and technology. According to the draft of the fresh multiannual EU budget presented in July this year, the European Commission sees the request to increase its investment in competitiveness, investigation and innovation. This appropriation is intended to cover, inter alia, the European Competitiveness Fund worth EUR 409 billion, which will invest in strategical technologies for the benefit of the full Single Market, as recommended in the Letty and Draghi reports. Support is to focus on 4 key areas: pure transformation and decarbonisation; digital transformation; health, biotechnology, agriculture and bioeconomy, defence and space. In close association with the Fund, innovation will besides be financed under the flagship programme Horizon Europe, for which EUR 175 billion is foreseen for the period from 2028 to 2034.
