Europe Declares Digital Independence: EU Unveils Tech Sovereignty Package

The European Commission drops its most ambitious tech autonomy plan yet — Chips Act 2.0, a Cloud and AI Development Act, and an Open Source Strategy that reframes the continent's relationship with Big Tech.

The European Commission has tabled the European Technological Sovereignty Package, a sweeping set of proposals designed to pull the continent out from under its structural dependency on non-EU technology suppliers. Published on June 3, the package lands at a moment when demand for computing capacity is exploding with the spread of AI — and when Europe's reliance on foreign chips, cloud infrastructure, and proprietary software has become an acute strategic vulnerability.

The package contains four pillars. The Chips Act 2.0 extends the EU's semiconductor push with new capacity targets, R&D incentives, and supply-chain resilience measures. The Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) aims to reduce concentration risk in the cloud market, where a handful of non-European hyperscalers dominate, by establishing interoperability standards, portability requirements, and procurement preferences for European providers. A formal Open Source Strategy elevates open source from a niche procurement preference to an explicit instrument of digital sovereignty — encouraging public administrations to default to open solutions and funding open-source AI infrastructure. Finally, a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in Energy ties the package to the green transition, targeting AI-driven grid optimisation and energy system digitalisation.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen framed the move in stark terms: "We cannot afford to depend on others for the technologies that keep our hospitals running, our energy grids stable and our services secure. This is about protecting our citizens, defending our interests and making our own choices."

The package signals a doctrinal shift in Brussels. Where previous digital policy — from GDPR to the AI Act — focused on regulation and risk mitigation, the Tech Sovereignty Package is explicitly industrial: it aims to build, not just constrain. Whether the ambition translates into on-the-ground capacity before the next geopolitical shock is the question Europe now has to answer.

Sources: European Commission, Noerr Analysis, Global Government Forum