The European Commission plans to boost the European Union's capacity in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services to cut the bloc's dependence on foreign tech providers.
"We cannot afford to depend on others for the technologies that keep our hospitals running, our energy grids stable and our services secure," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
"This is about protecting our citizens, defending our interests and making our own choices," she said.
The move comes amid concerns that the US or China could restrict services offered by their tech giants to European customers and that the EU's tech industry could be left permanently behind.
As the rapid proliferation of AI applications is leading to a sharp rise in demand for computing capacity, the commission has put forward a list of measures to secure more capacity within the EU.
The measures, which have to be approved by the member states and the European Parliament, include faster permit processes and deeper cooperation with partner countries to build more data centres and super-computing facilities for AI.
The commission aims to triple the capacity of data centres in Europe over the next five to seven years.
The EU's executive arm also wants the member states to use more EU-made microchips in public procurement to incentive expanding domestic production.
The EU is currently falling short of its long-term goal to increase its share of global semiconductor manufacturing to 20% by 2030.
Reliance on US cloud providers raises concerns
Additionally, the public sectors in the EU are to exercise greater care when storing sensitive data in the cloud services and are urged to rely more on European solutions. The EU is currently greatly dependent on US cloud providers.
The dominance of US hyperscalers in the EU has been seen as unproblematic, but President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has sparked concerns that the EU is at the mercy of his political whims.
In early 2025, judges at the International Criminal Court were cut off from their Microsoft accounts overnight because they had suddenly been placed on a US sanctions list.
