Dependent on foreign technologies, Europe is weakening its autonomy. Integrating digital sovereignty is essential to preserve its independence.
While geopolitical tensions once again threaten the stability of our energy supplies, another bill is growing in the silence of the balance sheets: that of our digital dependence. We have long favored immediate comfort, thinking that the origin of our tools did not matter. Today, this period of carelessness collides with the reality of digital colonization which does not speak its name.
The observation is firstly economic. The recent episode of the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom, leading to sudden price increases for captive companies, acted as a warning signal. This dependence results in massive capital outflows: each year, Europe invests around 264 billion euros in non-European cloud services and software. These are all resources that do not irrigate our own capacity for innovation.
Learning from our successes: strategic autonomy
However, we can build on our successes. In the past, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has guaranteed our food security in the face of fierce global competition. Likewise, France has preserved an autonomous defense industry, giving us a unique voice on the international stage.
Digital is the new front of this autonomy. Contrary to popular belief, choosing sovereignty is not a renunciation of modernity, but access to more agile and sustainable technology. The success of our European champions — whether they are publishers of sovereign proprietary solutions or open source players — proves that the barrier is not technical, but psychological. Favoring a European solution is a prudent management rule, an insurance premium against the cost of inaction, service disruption or soaring prices with no alternative.
Native AI: avoiding a new dependency
This urgency is increased tenfold by artificial intelligence. AI is no longer an option, it is becoming the very matrix of our services and our decisions. By relying exclusively on closed non-European models, we are setting our dependence in stone.
Without sovereign, transparent and auditable AI, we lose control of our tools. Europe faces a paradox: we are world leaders in technological talents, but we are struggling to transform them into industrial giants. The diversity of our solutions, in particular thanks to the transparency of open source and the reliability of our sovereign publishers, is our best lever for breaking down technological “black boxes” and remaining in control of our assets.
Federate stakeholders to create sovereignty
To catch up, we can no longer move forward in scattered order. The challenge requires bringing together the three pillars of our ecosystem: public authorities, technology suppliers and end customers. Only this coordination will make it possible to design a technological plan capable of bringing out alternatives of the same level as American solutions.
One of the first steps is to change our purchasing processes. As we did for CSR, it is time to integrate a criterion of digital sovereignty. This involves promoting a pragmatic European preference: with equal skills, favoring solutions guaranteeing immunity to extraterritorial laws and control of the source code. The more of us there are, the more our solutions will gain in maturity and competitiveness, allowing us to once again become exporters of technologies rather than simple consumers.
The awareness is there. In a context of multiple crises, digital sovereignty is our life insurance. Let’s not wait for the next disruption to secure our foundations: by becoming engaged buyers, we are building the next global technological power.
