The European Commission’s digital sovereignty strategy, presented on 3 June, has been welcomed by some as a long-overdue step towards technological independence. But many experts are not convinced that it will reduce Europe’s reliance on American technology giants.
Escape routes, not control
One of the main criticisms is that the plan focuses on preparing for a sudden cut-off of foreign services, rather than on reducing the power of the dominant companies. Economists who study the tech industry point out that US firms are already setting up European subsidiaries with local boards and data centres, designed to meet sovereignty requirements while keeping control of the technology and the business.
Some European cloud companies also warn that the rating system could have the opposite effect to that intended: because few European firms can meet the highest levels, public bodies may end up choosing US providers that meet the lower ones.
“AI first”
The strategy embraces artificial intelligence as central to Europe’s economic and security future, and aims to triple the continent’s data centre capacity within five to seven years. Member states are asked to designate “acceleration zones” where data centres can be built more quickly.
Who will use the capacity?
Sceptics, including advocates of a European technology stack, warn that building data centres is not enough. Without strong European demand for computing power — and European AI models and software to run on it — new facilities could simply be rented to the same American companies the EU wants to depend on less.
Europe also relies heavily on chips designed in the United States and manufactured in Asia, making full independence unrealistic in the short term.
The environmental question
Data centres use vast amounts of electricity and, in many cases, water for cooling. Plans to speed up permits by loosening some environmental rules have alarmed environmental groups, who also point to a lack of transparency about the energy use of existing facilities. In water-stressed regions of southern Europe, including Spain, the siting of data centres has already become a source of local controversy.
The verdict
Supporters argue that the strategy is a realistic starting point that sets out a framework Europe has lacked. Critics believe that without much greater public investment, a strong market for European providers and stricter rules on foreign control, the plan will change little. The coming years will show which view is right.
