Europe's push to loosen Big Tech's grip runs into Europe's own divisions

The EU Tech Sovereignty Package is scheduled for publication on Wednesday afternoon, aiming to reduce European reliance on American cloud, AI, and chip infrastructure. The package is expected to include a Cloud and AI Development Act, an update to the Chips Act, and the first formal EU-level definition of digital sovereignty. The Cloud Act would limit EU member states from using US cloud providers to process sensitive public-sector data in healthcare, finance, and judicial systems, while leaving private-sector usage largely unaffected. Internal debate focuses on whether sovereignty requires an exclusively European supply chain or can be achieved through interoperability and managed dependency. Member states differ, with France and Germany favoring stricter European preference and the Nordics and Ireland supporting a softer approach.

"The package, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday, has been visibly tempered by internal debate over how aggressive the bloc's sovereignty stance should actually be. The published documents are expected to include the Cloud and AI Development Act, an update to the original Chips Act, and the first formal EU-level definition of "digital sovereignty", a phrase the bloc has used for years without legally defining."

"The Cloud Act would restrict EU member states from using US cloud providers to process sensitive public-sector data in healthcare, finance and judicial systems. Private-sector usage is, on current drafts, untouched. The internal debate centres on whether sovereignty requires an exclusively European supply chain or whether it can be achieved through interoperability and managed dependency."

"EU digital commissioner Henna Virkkunen told Euronews last week that "technological sovereignty is not about isolation, " framing the project as building European capacity in critical sectors rather than retreating from US technology. That framing is doing work; the original drafts of the Cloud Act, several outlets have reported, were significantly more restrictive on US vendors than the version commissioners will see on Wednesday."

"Member states are split. France and Germany have pushed for a stricter European-preference posture, particularly on data hosted by hyperscalers like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. The Nordics and Ireland, where US cloud companies have most of their European operations and tax bases, have argued for a softer reading."

Read at TNW | Eu