Digital sovereignty: key to Europe's future and economic power!

Digital sovereignty: key to Europe's future and economic power!

On September 3, 2025, the A1 CEO Lunch took place as part of the European Forum Alpbach 2025, where the central topic of data sovereignty and digital independence for Austria and Europe was discussed. Decision makers from business and politics came together to talk about the challenges and opportunities of these crucial questions. Thomas Arnoldner, Deputy CEO of A1 Group, underlined the need to gradually expand digital sovereignty in order to preserve European values. This is even more important as Europe relies on non-European cloud providers in many areas, which shows the potential risks to data security and independence, such as IONOS reported.

Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, the Minister of Economic Affairs, emphasized that digital sovereignty is crucial for the competitiveness and resilience of the European economy. He pointed out the relevance of storing data in clouds and the obligations that data centers have to bear in this context. The participants in the discussion agreed: cooperation, education and targeted initiatives are essential to strengthen digital independence. Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller, CEO of Erste Bank, highlighted the central role of digitalization for banks and also mentioned the importance of digital literacy as a key competency in today's world.

Strategic importance of data sovereignty

The discussion participants recognized that digital sovereignty is not just a technical issue, but also a strategic and geopolitical issue for Europe and Austria. Christoph Neumayer, Secretary General of the industrial association, described sovereignty as crucial for national security and technological innovation. This is underlined by the fact that more than two thirds of the German cloud market is dominated by non-European providers, which shows the dependency in which many European companies and authorities find themselves Cloud Computing Insiders added.

In addition, Patricia Neumann, CEO of Siemens, described the connection between digitalization, automation and data sovereignty as fundamental. Michael Strugl, CEO of Verbund AG, emphasizes the importance of stable digital infrastructures for society and the economy. This is particularly relevant in a context where critical infrastructures controlled by providers outside the European jurisdiction are not fully regulated.

Necessary steps for digital independence

In order to increase European data sovereignty, several steps are required. This includes checking existing cloud contracts for relocation clauses and basing infrastructure decisions on criteria such as compliance, transparency and reversibility. Over 80% of IT decision-makers in medium-sized companies have already recognized that data sovereignty is a central aspect of their strategic considerations. This is particularly evident in regulated industries such as healthcare or defense.

Projects such as IPCEI-CIS, the EU-funded initiative to create secure European cloud infrastructures, and EuroStack, which aims to create an open, interoperable cloud ecosystem, show that work is being done to strengthen digital sovereignty. Experts also demand that companies proceed gradually when switching to European cloud solutions and thoroughly review their security systems. A multicloud approach can be helpful to minimize risks and optimize costs.

The discussion in Alpbach made it clear once again that digital sovereignty is not just a question of technology, but also of political and social participation. Intensive cooperation at European level is required in order to be able to meet the challenges of the digital world and to ensure that Europe remains independent in the digital sphere in the future.