Europe defends itself: defend digital sovereignty now!

Europe defends itself: defend digital sovereignty now!

Wien, Österreich - On June 1, 2025, Austrian Economic Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer emphasized the urgency to actively defend the digital sovereignty of Europe. In a current statement, Hattmannsdorfer asked the introduction of clear rules in order to bind public orders to European infrastructure and thus avoid dependencies. The central elements of this demand aim to strengthen European independence in an increasingly geopolitical and technology -dependent world. This necessity is underpinned by the fact that over 80% of digital technologies in Europe come from abroad and 70% of the world-based AI-base models from the USA come, as the Eurostack Report shows, which was commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation and presents important recommendations for digital sovereignty.

Hattmannsdorfer sees the awarding of cloud services to European companies not only as a security measure, but also as an important industrial policy opportunity. He received support from Digitization Secretary Alexander Pröll, who drives the introduction of a sovereign clause in EU giving rights. In order to achieve the goal of digital independence, three key points are required: First, memory and processing of sensitive public data within the EU should take place. Second, access by third countries, in particular such by the US cloud act, must be excluded. Third, a preference for public cloud and digital service awarding to providers with infrastructure in the EU.

new award criteria of the EU Commission

The EU Commission is currently working on new rules for public procurement that are intended to promote more efficiency and innovation. It is also about promoting European products in strategic sectors to ensure security of supply. An official position will be developed by the end of the year, with votes from business and civil society into account. The industry association Digitalurope, which represents companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Apple, defends itself against the preference of European products and services. Nevertheless, initiatives such as the Euro-Stack initiative support the strengthening of European digital industries and appeal to the authorities to buy more in Europe to secure the competitiveness of European companies.

The Euro-Stack initiative not only demands a purchase of products from the EU, but also makes it clear that it is about the entire digital supply chain, not just software. The lobby association of European open source companies advocates that open software becomes a duty in public orders to further strengthen digital sovereignty.

The Eurostack Report

The Eurostack Report, which was developed in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Foundation and other partners, is divided into three main parts. He deals with the vision for a common digital infrastructure, the analysis of digital sovereignty and concrete recommendations for prioritization of European solutions. A central concern of this initiative is the creation of a digital internal market that is intended to strengthen innovative strength and make European companies more competitive.

In the context of geopolitical fault, it is crucial that Europe redefines its digital independence and develops strategies in order to counter the challenges of the future. The entrepreneurial dependence on foreign technologies is a permanent construction site that needs to be remedied in order not only to secure innovative strength, but also to strengthen your own digital infrastructure. Therefore, the call for a sustainable and independent European technology and service country landscape becomes aloud, which is essential for the future of Europe.

Information about these developments can be found in the reports of OTS href = "https://netzpolitik.org/2025/digitale-souveraenitaet-eu-kommission-an-vergabekriterien/"> Netzpolitik and Reframetech .