The European Commission has announced a new European Technological Sovereignty Package, designed to further reduce its reliance on foreign tech. The EU wants to focus on building out Europe’s capacity in areas such as semiconductors, AI, cloud computing and open-source projects.
The package consists of two legislative proposals. The first is the Chips Act 2.0, a refresh of legislation introduced in 2023 that at the time was a response to what the Commission called “critical vulnerabilities in the global semiconductor supply chain.”
With the AI boom driving growth in the market, the Chips Act 2.0 will introduce a new excellence label for Europe’s semiconductor regions, adopting an ecosystem approach for both AI-related and mainstream chips. The EU wants to bring chip manufacturers closer to their customers so they can capitalize on growth sectors such as data centres and cloud providers.
Also part of the proposals is the Cloud and AI Development Act, which reinforces Europe’s plan to triple data centre capacity on the continent within the next five to seven years. The legislation is another arm of the EU’s Apply AI Strategy, which encourages AI adoption and innovation across its member states.
The Commission says the Act will “support research and innovation in cutting-edge and sustainable technologies, while balancing AI ambitions with climate commitments.” The conditions for deploying data centres across the EU will be streamlined, 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 tech.
The new proposals also put a big onus on open-source projects in growth sectors like AI and cybersecurity. The EU says it will support open-source startups and invest in skills, while amplifying initiatives like the Open Internet Stack.
The final component of the package is the Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the Energy Sector, which outlines the Commission’s commitment to nurturing cooperation between the energy and digital sectors, and ensuring that any new data centres being added to the grid are done so sustainably and transparently. AI models “trained on European data and developed by European companies” will be key to improving Europe’s electricity infrastructure, and the Commission will encourage a faster rollout of smart meters.
“We cannot afford to depend on others for the technologies that keep our hospitals running, our energy grids stable and our services secure,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “This is about protecting our citizens, defending our interests and making our own choices. Europe has the talent, the research excellence, the industrial base and the Single Market. Together, we must turn these strengths into technological sovereignty.”
The suite 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 tech sovereignty package will be financed.
Throughout 2026 we’ve seen a number of EU member states, particularly France, begin to shift away from an overreliance on countries like the US and China for its technology needs. Back in January, the French government announced that it was ditching Zoom and Microsoft teams in favor of a home-grown solution that will be in place across all of its civil service departments by next year. A few months later, the country also outlined plans to switch Windows to the open-source Linux on its workstations.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the European Parliament is also taking steps towards shunning Google on its in-house computers. According to Politico, searches made via the address bar on Firefox and Edge will soon be hosted by French alternative Quant. Workers can still opt to use another search engine’s website or change the default systems on their computer if they prefer.