At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, European tech leaders shared concerns about the push for digital sovereignty. They warned that overemphasizing independence from US technology could slow down Europe’s digital progress and harm its competitiveness. While sovereignty is important, they emphasize the need for a balanced approach that allows innovation to thrive.

The Risks of Overreaching on Digital Sovereignty

Aiman Ezzat, CEO of French IT services firm Capgemini, cautioned against aggressive policies that cut European companies off from US technology providers. He referenced a 2024 report by Mario Draghi, which linked Europe’s sluggish productivity growth to low tech adoption. Ezzat argued that strict regulations aimed at enforcing sovereignty might actually hinder technological progress and make European industries less competitive.

He emphasized the importance of rapid technology adoption, even if it means sacrificing some aspects of sovereignty temporarily. “We have to go for technology adoption as fast as possible. And, yes, sometimes it is going to be at the expense of sovereignty,” he said. This approach aims to keep Europe competitive in an increasingly digital global economy.

Dependence on US Technology and Europe’s Cloud Challenges

During a Bloomberg interview, Börje Ekholm, CEO of Swedish telecom company Ericsson, called recent sovereignty debates “dangerous.” He warned that trying to develop homegrown alternatives to US tech could lead to higher prices and less innovation. Meanwhile, Ezzat pointed out Europe’s heavy reliance on US technology, which exposes the region to risks.

The dependency is partly due to Europe’s weak domestic cloud sector. During the 2010s, limited investment slowed the growth of local cloud providers. A 2025 report from Synergy Research shows that European cloud providers now only hold about 15% of the regional market. Ezzat explained that early underinvestment prevented Europe from building a strong cloud ecosystem, making the continent more dependent on US giants.

He called for a balanced approach, highlighting that sovereignty isn’t a simple binary. While data, operational, and regulatory control are already well managed, technological sovereignty across all layers remains a challenge. Europe can control most aspects but needs to make compromises on some technology layers as it works to develop its own infrastructure.

Building a European Tech Stack and the Role of Global Partnerships

Mati Staniszewski, CEO of Polish AI startup ElevenLabs, discussed the complexity of technological sovereignty. He explained that energy, computing power, foundational models, and their application all play roles in Europe’s independence. While building local models is important, partnering with global providers makes sense for foundational AI models. European firms can then focus on developing data and AI applications on top of these models.

Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, added that the emotional aspect of sovereignty makes the topic even more complicated in Europe. While dependence on US hardware is unavoidable in some areas, Klein stressed that Europe can still maintain control over critical infrastructure. The key is finding a middle ground that allows collaboration while safeguarding core interests.

Overall, European leaders agree that a nuanced approach is needed. Focusing solely on independence may hurt innovation, but complete reliance isn’t sustainable either. Europe must find ways to foster local talent and infrastructure while leveraging global technology to stay competitive in the digital age.

Inspired by

• https://www.computerworld.com/article/4121625/european-tech-leaders-advise-caution-on-tech-sovereignty-drive.html

Sources

• weforum.org
• capgemini.com
• europa.eu
• bloomberg.com
• ericsson.com