A coalition of European cloud providers, technology companies, lawmakers, and civil society groups has thrown its support behind a major European Union initiative aimed at reducing the bloc’s dependence on American technology firms, highlighting growing concerns in Europe about digital sovereignty, strategic autonomy, and control over critical infrastructure.
Thirteen cloud providers joined a broad alliance of European technology firms, lawmakers, and advocacy groups in backing the European Commission’s efforts to strengthen domestic technology capabilities and give local providers a larger role in supplying critical digital services across the continent.
The move comes ahead of a package of measures expected from the Commission that could reshape the competitive landscape for cloud computing and semiconductor production in Europe. The proposals are expected to prioritize European providers in sensitive public-sector cloud contracts while simultaneously encouraging greater investment in domestically produced semiconductors.
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At stake is far more than government procurement. The initiative represents one of the clearest signs yet that Europe is seeking to build an independent technology ecosystem at a time when geopolitical tensions are increasingly influencing decisions about digital infrastructure.
In an open letter, the coalition argued that Europe must strengthen its ability to control the technologies underpinning its economy and public services.
“Technological sovereignty means that Europe has the capacity to freely design, understand, choose from different home-grown sources, build, operate and effectively regulate the digital systems on which its society and economy rely,” the signatories said.
Among the companies supporting the effort are OVHcloud, Nextcloud, Proton, Ecosia, QuantWare, as well as social platforms Mastodon and Monnett Social.
The campaign reflects mounting unease within Europe over the dominance of U.S. technology giants across critical sectors, including cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, operating systems, and social media.
Today, the European cloud market is overwhelmingly controlled by American hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google. Their platforms host large portions of Europe’s government, corporate, and industrial data, creating concerns among policymakers about dependency on foreign providers for essential digital services.
Those concerns have intensified amid rising geopolitical tensions and growing uncertainty about the future of transatlantic relations. European officials view cloud infrastructure, AI computing, and semiconductor production through the lens of national and economic security rather than purely commercial competition.
The push also underpins fears that Europe risks falling further behind both the United States and China in strategic technologies. While American firms dominate cloud computing and frontier AI development, China has accelerated efforts to build self-sufficient technology ecosystems through massive state-backed investment programs.
Europe’s challenge is particularly acute in cloud computing because the sector serves as the foundation for AI deployment, data analytics, cybersecurity, and digital government services. Without strong domestic cloud providers, European policymakers worry that the continent could struggle to establish leadership in the next generation of AI-driven industries.
Supporters argue that public procurement can play a critical role in strengthening local providers. By directing sensitive government contracts toward European vendors, policymakers hope to create demand that enables domestic firms to scale and compete more effectively against larger international rivals.
The Commission’s parallel focus on semiconductor manufacturing follows a similar logic. Europe has already launched major initiatives to expand chip production, recognizing that access to advanced semiconductors has become a strategic imperative in an era defined by AI, defense technologies, and industrial digitization.
The coalition’s message was encapsulated by European Parliament lawmaker Alexandra Geese, who summarized the campaign’s objective in stark terms.
“Our message is simple: Build European, buy European, protect European,” Geese said.
Whether the EU can substantially reduce its dependence on foreign technology remains uncertain. American cloud providers benefit from enormous scale, advanced infrastructure, and vast AI ecosystems that European competitors have struggled to match.
However, the growing political support behind digital sovereignty suggests that technology policy in Europe is increasingly moving beyond regulation and toward active industrial strategy. That shift is expected to create significant opportunities for European cloud providers and chipmakers, while it signals that one of the U.S. technology giants’ largest overseas markets is becoming more determined to cultivate domestic alternatives.