The European Commission has presented a new package of proposals designed to reduce Europe’s dependence on foreign digital technology, especially services supplied by major U.S. firms. The plan, unveiled Wednesday, is part of a broader effort to give European companies a stronger position in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, chips and other critical parts of the digital economy.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen framed the initiative as a matter of security and self-determination. Europe cannot afford to rely on others for the systems that support hospitals, energy networks and public services, she said in a statement.
While the package responds to long-running concerns about U.S. dominance in technology, the Commission stressed that it is not intended as a direct attack on American companies. Instead, Brussels says the goal is to build up European capacity over time so the bloc can depend less on outside providers and eventually compete more effectively.
The centerpiece of the proposal is the Cloud and AI Development Act, which would give the Commission a role in judging whether foreign countries are trustworthy enough to supply services to Europe’s most sensitive public sectors. The plan is aimed at areas where data security, continuity of service and control over infrastructure are considered especially important.
The Commission also wants national governments to conduct sovereignty risk assessments for the digital services they use. Those assessments would examine foreign control, possible access to sensitive data and the chance of service disruption. Based on the results, governments would have to choose the appropriate level of protection for each public-sector use case within a year, unless they can show that stricter requirements would be too costly.
Brussels would still have the final word in future legislation if it believes governments have underestimated the risks.
According to the Commission, only about 1 percent of Europe’s public services are so sensitive that they would need to meet the toughest certification standard, which would exclude foreign technology entirely.
The package goes beyond screening suppliers. It would direct public spending toward products that support Europe’s economy and autonomy, ease rules for building data centers, and expand research and innovation through what the Commission calls leadership initiatives.
It also includes plans for a new “Eurocloud” forum to encourage countries to pool digital capacity, along with requirements for EU governments to draw up national strategies to speed adoption of advanced technologies such as AI.
Another strand of the plan targets semiconductors. The Commission wants to boost demand for advanced chips and revise the bloc’s 2023 chips law through new industrial measures, reflecting industry criticism that Europe has fallen behind in turning policy into results.
The proposals come against a backdrop of heavy European reliance on U.S. providers. The Commission says EU countries spend about €264 billion a year on American technology. Microsoft, Google and Amazon dominate the cloud market, which underpins email, data storage, data processing and many government tools.
That dependence has become more politically sensitive in recent years, and especially since President Donald Trump’s use of Europe’s reliance on American firms as leverage. Even so, some EU governments have said a full break from U.S. technology is neither realistic nor desirable.
The Commission’s plan now moves to negotiations with the European Parliament and national governments. The final shape of the rules, and how strictly they are enforced, will determine how far Europe moves toward digital independence without cutting itself off from key U.S. technologies.