The European Parliament has adopted a cross-party report pushing for strategic digital sovereignty, emphasizing reduced dependence on US tech and the buildup of European cloud, AI, and open-source infrastructure.

This push argues for prioritizing EU-based cloud, AI, and open-source ecosystems to strengthen Europe’s technological capacity and lessen reliance on U.S. tech giants.

Greens shadow rapporteur Alexandra Geese warns that data stored with US providers under laws like the Cloud Act undermines European security, calling for EU data control and governance that stays within European jurisdiction.

Geese stresses Europe’s readiness to control its digital future and highlights the security risks of data being stored with US providers under extraterritorial laws.

Critics caution against ‘sovereign-washing,’ where US hyperscalers claim ‘sovereign clouds’ but retain final control in the US; the strategy favors open-source solutions from the European economic area to ensure autonomous, value-aligned digital Europe.

The package includes bold reforms like a Cloud and AI Development Act and a firm stance on EU sovereignty, enforcing European laws such as the Digital Services Act, while opposing US travel bans on civil society groups.

Core measures center on European Tech First, reforming public procurement, and the Public Money, Public Code principle to reduce single-provider risk and strengthen EU digital sovereignty.

Experts warn that 2025 marked a turning point where the US treats digital infrastructure as a national security asset, risking Europe becoming a market dependency and urging a radical shift in public IT procurement toward European tech leadership.

The compromise text allows member states to favor European tech in strategic sectors, with Greens pressing for stronger rules that favor EU-made products and EU-only cloud infrastructure under EU jurisdiction.

There is a push to define cloud infrastructure that operates fully under EU jurisdiction, with allowances for European providers while limiting third-country dependencies.

Open standards and interoperability underpin a European digital public infrastructure financed by expanded public-private investment, including the potential 10 billion euro European Sovereign Tech Fund.

The plan envisions a European Sovereign Tech Fund of about 10 billion euros to fund strategic infrastructures and promote Public Money, Public Code and open license software developed with public funds.