BRUSSELS / EuroWire / — The European Commission unveiled a technology sovereignty package aimed at strengthening Europe’s control over critical digital infrastructure, as policymakers warned that dependence on foreign cloud, artificial intelligence and semiconductor suppliers could expose essential services to disruption. The package, announced on June 3, includes the Cloud and AI Development Act, Chips Act 2.0, an EU Open Source Strategy and a roadmap for digitalisation and AI in energy.
The measures target sectors that underpin public services, business operations and security systems, including healthcare, banking, energy and government administration. The European Union said the package is intended to widen access to trusted technology, expand domestic capacity and reduce strategic dependencies in areas where non European suppliers dominate key parts of the digital stack. Officials framed the initiative around resilience, data control and secure operation of essential services.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe cannot depend on others for technologies that keep hospitals running, energy grids stable and services secure. EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen said the bloc must ensure that critical services and data remain controllable in Europe, referring to concerns that external actors could disrupt access to digital systems through so called kill switches or legal control over infrastructure.
Cloud rules take center stage
The Cloud and AI Development Act proposes a single EU wide framework to assess cloud and AI sovereignty, alongside a public sector adoption mechanism for trusted services. The proposal also aims to expand energy efficient data centre capacity across the bloc and support deployment of next generation cloud and AI technologies. The Commission said the act complements AI factories and AI gigafactories by increasing cloud and data infrastructure needed by European companies and researchers.
The package includes sovereignty requirements for cloud services used in sensitive sectors and critical public contracts, with emphasis on where data is processed, how services are controlled and whether suppliers can ensure continuity under European oversight. Microsoft, Amazon and Google are among the dominant cloud providers operating in Europe, while several companies have introduced localized or sovereign cloud offerings designed to address public sector and regulated industry requirements.
Chips and open source added to package
Chips Act 2.0 builds on the earlier European chips framework by seeking to boost semiconductor manufacturing, design capacity, supply chain resilience and demand for European made chips. The proposal focuses on both mainstream chips and cutting edge technologies, with measures intended to reduce vulnerabilities in advanced chip production and related supply chains. The EU has set a target of reaching 20 percent of the global semiconductor market by 2030.
The EU Open Source Strategy places open source software in the package by promoting European alternatives to proprietary non EU systems in critical technology domains. The proposals must be negotiated by EU member states and the European Parliament before they can become law. The package comes as Europe seeks greater autonomy in cloud computing, AI infrastructure, semiconductors and public sector digital systems while maintaining access to global technology markets.