The US-China rivalry over technology has reshaped geopolitics, driving securitization, selective decoupling, and the creation of technological spheres of influence that now threaten Europe’s democratic space and economic sovereignty. As the US leverages the EU’s technological dependencies to pressure regulatory change, the European Union faces an existential challenge that demands an integrated strategy combining long-term industrial policy, resilience, and deterrence[4]. The EU is now racing to develop Eurostack, a sovereign technological and industrial base in sectors like supercomputing, semiconductors, AI, and quantum computing, to reduce external risks[4].
Regulatory leadership alone is insufficient to defend European sovereignty in an increasingly hostile geopolitical environment. Guaranteeing technological security requires capabilities to reduce dependencies, safeguard democracy, and strengthen technological sovereignty—capabilities that the EU has yet to fully develop[4]. The mission letter from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to the new portfolio head clearly identifies these critical sectors, signaling a shift from regulation to capability-building as the core of EU strategy[4].
To mitigate vulnerability, the Union must use trade policy strategically, strengthen competition policy to reduce the market power of major tech platforms, advance common fiscal instruments for strategic investments, and explore national security tools like European preference clauses[4]. Private firms now provide critical security infrastructures, making the EU’s ability to protect its democratic space against digital interference a matter of national security[4].
As the world the EU faces is no longer shaped by familiar certainties, the bloc must navigate a hostile geopolitical environment where technology is a central dimension of international power[7]. The race for tech sovereignty has become a strategic imperative, with the European Investment Bank emerging as a key enabler of the EU’s push for technological independence[1]. Without a robust Eurostack, Europe risks becoming a victim of digital coercion and losing its democratic autonomy in the face of US-China rivalry.
