The European Commission has announced a new European Technological Sovereignty Package, designed to further reduce reliance on foreign technology. The EU wants to focus on building European capacity in areas such as semiconductors, AI, cloud computing and open source projects.
The package contains two legislative proposals. The first is the Chips Rule 2.0, a renewal of the rule introduced in 2023 that was then a response to what the Commission called “significant risks to the global semiconductor supply chain.”
With the growth of AI driving the market, the Chips Act 2.0 will introduce a new label of excellence in the European semiconductor regions, using an ecosystem approach for both AI-related and conventional chips. The EU wants to bring chip makers closer to their customers so they can take advantage of growth sectors such as data centers and cloud providers.
Also part of the proposals is the Cloud and AI Development Act, which underpins Europe’s plan to triple data center capacity on the continent over the next five to seven years. The law is another arm of the EU’s Apply AI Strategy, which promotes AI adoption and innovation across its member states.
The Commission says the Act will “support cutting-edge and sustainable technological research and innovation, while balancing AI ambitions and climate commitments.” The conditions for the deployment of data centers across the EU will be regulated, while a new EU-wide framework built around cloud and AI sovereignty will, it says, protect sensitive data while supporting the rollout of advanced AI and cloud technologies.
The new proposals also place a greater burden on open source projects in growth sectors such as AI and cybersecurity. The EU says it will support open source startups and invest in skills, while expanding initiatives such as the Open Internet Stack.
The final part of the package is the Strategic Roadmap for Digitalization and AI in the Energy Sector, which outlines the Commission’s commitment to promoting cooperation between the energy and digital sectors, and to ensure that any new data centers added to the grid are done in a sustainable and transparent manner. AI models “trained on European data and developed by European companies” will be key to improving Europe’s electricity infrastructure, and the Commission will promote the rapid roll-out of smart meters.
“We cannot rely on others for the technology that keeps our hospitals running, our electricity grids stable and our utilities secure,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “This is about protecting our citizens, protecting our interests and making our decisions. Europe has the talent, the best research, the industrial base and the Single Market. Together, we must turn this power into a technological empire.”
A list of new proposals will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The Commission also intends to consult with member states, the European Investment Bank Group and other stakeholders on how its technological independence package will be financed.
Throughout 2026 we have seen many EU member states, especially France, starting to move away from over-reliance on countries like the US and China for their technological needs. Back in January, the French government announced that it would ditch the Zoom and Microsoft teams in favor of a home-grown solution that will be available to all public sector departments next year. A few months later, the country also unveiled plans to switch from Windows to open-source Linux in its operating systems.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the European Parliament is also taking steps to keep Google out of internal computers. In accordance with Politicsaddress bar searches in Firefox and Edge will soon be handled by French alternative Quant. Employees can choose to use a search engine website or change the default settings on their computer if they wish.
