The European Commission has unveiled a strategy to put the EU on a path to digital sovereignty. The rationale for such a move is compelling. The EU is heavily reliant on US multinationals for large swathes of its tech infrastructure, particularly in sensitive areas such as semiconductors, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, he has weaponised this dependency in everything from trade talks to EU regulation of the tech sector. There are also legitimate concerns that the EU is being squeezed by the US and China as the two superpowers compete for global hegemony.
The Commission’s Cloud and Digital AI Development Act is the centrepiece of the strategy to achieve tech sovereignty. The aim is to build European data centres – including some with massive capacity – and favour EU cloud and AI technologies. As with much that the EU does, it is being criticised from both sides. The move is being assailed for not going far enough, while at the same time being depicted as a lurch towards protectionism.
Some MEPs from both centrist and left wing groupings in the European Parliament have criticised the strategy for what they describe as objectives that are far too limited. The basis for their disaffection is that even though the Commission is ostensibly pushing for tech sovereignty, it still envisages a role for US tech companies in most parts of EU infrastructure. However, US lobby groups based in the EU have decried the proposals as unfairly targeting American corporations.
RM Block
The reality lies somewhere between these two positions. The EU does need to develop strategic autonomy not only in technology, but also in defence, energy and other key sectors. There is a lot at stake for Ireland as Dublin is the EU headquarters for Google, Microsoft and many of the big US companies affected by the move. There is a balance to be struck. An EU that achieves tech sovereignty will be good for Ireland and the broader European economy, but it cannot become a cover for introducing protectionist policies.
