The European Commission intends to harness “power of open source to develop European alternatives and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in critical digital infrastructure areas where it currently remains dependent”, as part of its new Tech Sovereignty Strategy.
The package, which it is expected to adopt on 3 June, includes four initiatives: a draft regulations on semiconductors (Chips Act 2.0), a draft regulation on cloud and AI development (Cloud and AI Development Act), an open source software strategy, as well as a roadmap on digitalisation and artificial intelligence in the energy sector, with the aim of creating a European technology stack, according to a draft text seen by Agence Europe.
The strategy proposes combining “public funding with market- and demand-based measures, focusing on co-production with Member States, open source communities and the private sector” in order to strengthen “EU capacity across the value chain”, while “managing technological interdependencies through trusted partnerships”. “The EU must strike a balance between openness and autonomy and ensure its technological base remains competitive, secure and grounded in its values”, states the draft, which could still be amended before adoption.
Among measures envisaged in the package, which is without prejudice to the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the Commission “will mobilise European programmes and public procurement to help open source initiatives become sustainable businesses”, notably by setting up dedicated support actions and open source business accelerators, “in their transition to a level of commercial maturity and in scaling up their uptake”, through the European Competitiveness Fund. The public procurement-related actions should enable “suppliers, integrators and open source providers to access reference customers”.
“The stakes are high. Without decisive action and rapid implementation, Europe risks falling further behind in the global technology race”, the Commission warns.
Semiconductors illustrate the urgency of the challenge posed to European technological sovereignty, the Commission stresses in its draft Chips Act 2.0, which will place “greater emphasis on demand-side measures”. Despite more than €52 billion already committed in public and private investment, EU produces less than 10% of semiconductors globally and remains almost entirely dependent on the United States and Asia for the most advanced chips of less than 5 nanometres, including chips intended for artificial intelligence. “These structural dependencies increase the risk of supply disruptions, coercive pressure and systemic shocks affecting key EU industries, from automotive and energy to aerospace and defence”, the text warns, mentioning Nexperia in particular.
The strategic projects aimed at strengthening key segments of the European semiconductor value chain will be supported as a priority through a co-ordinated combination of public and private investment, covering sovereign and advanced production, advanced chip design and supply chain resilience. Under the Competitiveness Coordination Tool (CCT), a strategic project dedicated to advanced manufacturing will receive the highest level of priority in order to support the production of AI chips and other semiconductors. The initiative aims to establish the first European semiconductor facility combining cutting-edge node manufacturing with chiplets integration capabilities and advanced 3D packaging. Pilot production could be envisaged between 2030 and 2033.
In order to encourage regional leadership in the semiconductor value chain, the Commission is also proposing the creation of a ‘European Region of Semiconductor Excellence’ label for regions with a robust regional investment plan aligned with strategic priorities.
The Commission is also considering integrating “a criterion linked to security of supply, alongside price considerations” into public procurement involving semiconductors used in infrastructure, equipment or systems intended for essential services or critical infrastructure.
In its proposal, it also suggests carrying out a cybersecurity risk assessment to analyse both technical vulnerabilities and non-technical factors affecting the cybersecurity of semiconductors used in public procurement falling within certain critical sectors. The Commission will also set up a ‘Business-to-Business Semiconductor Supply Chain Platform’ in order to improve preparedness for risks affecting the supply chain.
At same time, by second quarter of 2027, it will draw up an ‘EU Blueprint for Semiconductor Crisis Management’.
Data centres: balanced geographical deployment across Member States and sustainable integration. As part of this package, the draft Cloud and AI Development Act aims to triple European data centre capacity over the next five to seven years and achieve required capacities by 2035, while ensuring “balanced geographical deployment across Member States”. To support this objective, the Commission is proposing a mechanism to identify and support strategic data centre projects incorporating a high level of innovation and sustainability, and contributing to balanced distribution of computing capacity.
At present, three non-European hyperscalers control more than 70% of European cloud market, a dependency that exposes the Union to “unilateral decisions by actors from third countries” liable to disrupt these services. In order to reduce these risks, the Commission is proposing a single framework and harmonised criteria across different levels of sovereignty for cloud computing services.
The Commission proposes requiring Member States to carry out “sovereignty risk assessments in order to determine which sub-sectors should be served by services corresponding to different levels of sovereignty”. This is to ensure adequate data protection, operational autonomy, and to avoid any infringement liable to compromise public order.
According to details provided by European sources to Agence Europe, this involves defining a methodology for public sector based, a priori, on four levels of sovereignty. Cloud services covering the most sensitive sectors, such as health, justice or financial sector, should be provided by sovereign providers.
The proposal also provides for “a framework enabling contracting authorities to take informed purchasing decisions and use their purchasing power to reduce existing dependencies”, notably through “sector-specific award criteria with European added value and joint public procurement” aimed at boosting innovation and growth, with particular attention paid to creating concrete opportunities for smaller European providers.
Lastly, the package will be complemented by a strategic ‘roadmap’ on digitalisation and AI in the energy sector, which should in particular address sustainable integration of data centres into energy systems and propose measures aimed at deploying digital and artificial intelligence solutions across the entire energy system. (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernández)