EU draft plan backs European cloud and AI to reduce US reliance

In short: The EU is drafting a new strategy to rely less on US tech by supporting European alternatives in cloud services, AI, data centres, and chips.

What happened

The European Commission is preparing a draft “tech sovereignty” strategy, according to the Financial Times. The idea is to reduce Europe’s dependence on US technology and to encourage more European-owned services.

A central piece is a proposed Cloud and AI Development Act. It would aim to speed up the building of data centres in Europe by simplifying and aligning approval processes across countries. Data centres are large buildings full of computers that store and process data, like a warehouse for the internet.

The Commission’s goal is to triple the EU’s data centre capacity over the next five to seven years. The draft also calls for “sovereign” cloud and AI, meaning services that Europe can control and rely on in a crisis. Governments would be asked to do “sovereignty risk assessments” to spot weak points and identify European alternatives.

The plan would also define four levels of “cloud sovereignty” to avoid “sovereignty-washing”, where a service looks European but is still mainly controlled by a foreign company. Today, more than 70 percent of the EU cloud market is dominated by Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

The draft mentions a second version of the EU’s chips law to strengthen semiconductor manufacturing in Europe. Semiconductors, often called chips, are the tiny parts that power phones, cars, and data centres.

Why it matters

Cloud services and chips are basic plumbing for modern life, from banking and healthcare to public services. If most of that plumbing depends on a few foreign suppliers, it can create risks if politics or business disputes disrupt access. The EU says the plan is not about shutting out others, but about having stronger backup options.

Source: Financial Times