Policy paper: "The European Way - A Blueprint for Reclaiming Our Digital Future"

After months of coordination and preparation, my co-authors and I present a bold, values-driven strategy to restore the EU's strategic autonomy by aligning innovation, competitiveness, and democratic principles under one overall vision of digital policy. On top, we propose six concrete reform packages - from digital infrastructure to digital talent - that together chart a path away from dependency and toward global leadership through trusted international cooperation.

Europe is at a crossroads. Once a frontrunner in technological advancements, its digital ecosystem and innovation economy has fallen behind. Moreover, the EU became largely dependent on foreign hardware, software, and infrastructure. But there is good news! The EU holds all the ingredients to reverse that situation: a vast internal market, a highly skilled workforce, world-class research, a striving start-up ecosystem, and a pioneering sense of ambition.

What is blocking us? Here comes our paper into play. It offers the European Commission and the new German Government a strategic turnaround. Our paper presents the so far missing coherent overall vision and combines it with a call to action by prioritising on six ambitious reform packages (i.e. digital infrastructure, Digital Single Market, Geopolitics, Good Governance, energy supply, digital skills & talent), spanning the entire tech stack.

Our blueprint is not about isolationism, nostalgia, or economic nationalism. It is the opposite of protectionism. It recognises the global nature and complexity of today’s digital value chains - where even a single chip crosses multiple borders - and firmly values international cooperation. But cooperation must be based on trust and reciprocity. We call for stronger partnerships with like-minded democracies and trusted international partners to secure the EU's digital foundations, diversify its supply chains, and lead globally in open, rule-based innovation. Strategic autonomy does not mean doing everything alone - it means being able to choose freely and act confidently.

📖 Read the full paper here or download it below:

2025.05.20 European Way.pdf

Download PDF • 4.87MB

It featured already in several newspapers and -sides:

• Financial Times ‘Europe Express’ newsletter on 'Can the EU build a digital Airbus'.

• Euractiv 'Tech Pro Brief' newsletter on 'Another call for strategic thinking on tech'

• MLex database under 'EU policymakers, experts set out 'European Way' for tech sovereignty'

• Tagesspiegel Background zu 'Digitale Souveränität: Initiative fordert optionalen EU-Club'

• Handelsblatt 'Gastbeitrag: Wie Europa nicht zur Digitalkolonie verkommt'

• Web.de Beitrag in 'Meine Meinung' zum Thema 'Die digitale Schicksalsfrage Europas – Ein Appell an die neue Bundesregierung'

Huge thanks to my co-authors, who helped to shape this blueprint: Robin Berjon, Cristina Caffarra, Francesco Bonfiglio, Sebastiano Toffaletti, Eline Chivot, Dimitar Lilkov, Nathan Shepura, Gonçalo Carriço, Dr. Pencho Kuzev, Clark Parsons, Felix Styma, Claudio Minutillo Turtur, Zach Meyers, Gautam Kamath, Dr. Katja Muñoz, Philipp Hacker, Andrea G. Rodríguez, Cornelia Kutterer, LL.M., Emmanuel Kahembwe, Sebastian Hallensleben, Philip Piatkiewicz, Dr. Miriam Meckel, Dr. Léa Steinacker, Carlos Muñoz Ferrandis, Dr. Till Klein, Dr. Frauke Goll, Rasmus Rothe, Jörg Bienert, Fabian J. G. Westerheide, Marian Glaeser, Prof. Dr. Rolf Schwartmann, and Björn Ommer.

Many, many thanks also to all contributors & reviewers, in particular Maria Koomen, Carla Hustedt, Daniel Mügge, J. Scott Marcus, Axel Voss as well as various colleagues and researchers at the TUM Think Tank (Hochschule für Politik München / Technical University of Munich in Germany)!

And finally to Johannes Urban (urbanberlin.studio) for all our late night exchanges, his hard work and the amazing design! 🙏