EU Unveils Tech Sovereignty Package to Reduce U.S. Tech Reliance

The European Commission unveiled its Technological Sovereignty Package on June 3, 2026, aimed at reducing the European Union's dependence on American and Asian technology. The initiative centers on two primary legislative proposals: the Cloud and AI Development Act and the Chips Act 2.0. Together, these measures seek to triple Europe's data center capacity within five to seven years and increase the EU's global semiconductor market share to 20% by 2030.

A key component of the strategy involves restricting foreign cloud providers from public tenders in sensitive sectors, including defense, healthcare, banking, and energy. The Commission intends to implement mandatory non-price award criteria that favor EU-developed software and hardware. This shift is driven by concerns over the 2018 U.S. Cloud Act and the potential for foreign entities to exercise a kill switch over critical infrastructure. Officials cited a recent incident where Microsoft canceled the email account of the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor following U.S. sanctions as a primary motivator for the push.

In addition to legislative acts, the EU announced plans to prioritize European companies for the 2GHz mobile satellite spectrum and a new Open Source Strategy. While U.S. firms like Microsoft and Amazon have introduced sovereign cloud solutions to address these concerns, the Computer and Communications Industry Association warned the plan is a recipe for market shutdown. The proposals now move to negotiations within the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.