German and French leaders unite to reduce EU dependence on US tech giants, focusing on AI, cloud computing and digital market competitiveness.
BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron will jointly advocate for greater European digital sovereignty at Tuesday’s summit.
The leaders of Europe’s largest economies seek to reduce dependence on American technology titans amid accelerating artificial intelligence competition.
Their call comes as European officials respond to growing concerns about US tech dominance following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger emphasised that Europe must shape its own digital future through collaboration.
“We can make better progress by working together,” he stated during a groundbreaking ceremony for an €11 billion data centre near Berlin.
The summit will host CEOs from prominent European firms including French AI company Mistral and German software giant SAP.
European Union officials face criticism for lagging behind the United States and China in the artificial intelligence race.
The EU plans to propose regulatory rollbacks on AI and data protection later this week to enhance competitiveness.
Cloud computing sovereignty will feature prominently in discussions about protecting European data from US corporate dominance.
Proponents argue European cloud infrastructure would better safeguard citizen data currently managed by Google, AWS and Microsoft.
Fostering competition between industry and governments forms another key summit agenda item.
Merz and Macron will deliver keynote addresses before dining with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Multiple announcements regarding new digital initiatives are expected throughout the event.
Europe’s hardware dependency extends beyond America to include Chinese and Asian semiconductor manufacturers.
A Bitkom survey revealed 90% of German companies importing digital goods consider themselves dependent on foreign suppliers.
Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst urged significant European investment in digital technologies.
“Europe must not fall behind—today’s investments secure tomorrow’s competitiveness and jobs,” he told AFP.
The continent faces substantial challenges with computing capacity lagging significantly behind global rivals.
European data centres possess just 16 gigawatts of capacity compared to 48 in the US and 38 in China.
Recent German investments from Google and an Nvidia-Deutsche Telekom partnership highlight ongoing American reliance.
A French presidential official clarified the summit focuses on protecting core sovereignty rather than confrontation.
The official described establishing appropriate European-level rules as the primary objective. – AFP
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