Tech Sovereignty ≠ Protectionism: What the “European Way” Really Stands For
- kaizenner
- Jun 5
- 2 min read
The European Commission is about to unveil its International Digital Strategy - and already, old myths are resurfacing. Today’s POLITICO MorningTech newsletter warns against “unrealistic decoupling” and calls for continued global cooperation. But let’s be clear: this is not a rebuke of Europe’s tech sovereignty agenda. As our European Way paper outlines, striving for sovereignty is not about isolation or protectionism - it’s about resilience, fairness, and trusted partnerships. Europe must shape its digital future without being naïve about geopolitical dependencies.

Today's POLITICO Europe 'MorningTech Newsletter' reports on the upcoming International Digital Strategy of the EU. Two paragraphs got my attention: >> (...) “Decoupling is unrealistic and cooperation will remain significant across the technological value chain” (...) Why is that a reality check? In the past year, the pitch for a more technologically sovereign Europe, built on European alternatives to U.S. Big Tech, has garnered so much attention that (!) one could start to believe Europe no longer needs the outside world. (!) The strategy is a reminder that global collaboration is still the name of the game." << (here)
From the beginning, this was one of the most cited arguments against the EU's Tech Sovereignty movement. Yet, the frequent use does not mean it is correct; the statement is actually used strategically to discredit our push as "unrealistic" or "nationalist". Since the European Commission presents its strategy today, I want to make crystal clear what Eurostack and similar initiatives are advocating for - let's have a look at our recent 'European Way' paper (here):
"Before describing what the “European Way” could be, it is worth mentioning what it does not stand for, namely isolationism, protectionism and support for market concentration or subsidising national champions. On the contrary, the EU represents a sovereign, values-driven, and human-centric approach to digital transformation with a free, fair and open digital market; and the “European Way” mirrors just that. At a time when geopolitical tensions are rising and excessive unilateral technological dependency is becoming a critical vulnerability ready to be leveraged by adversaries, the EU should not fall for quick fixes such as protectionism. Protectionism is not only at odds with European values but it is also not realistic as digital supply chains became notoriously globally interconnected (e.g. a single semiconductor chip requires components that have crossed several national borders multiple times)."
🛑 Fighting for TechSovereignity DOES NOT mean to advocate for protectionism and NO credible actor from our movement does so. To quote again our latest paper: "This vision (= European Way) is not about closing the EU off from the world — quite the opposite. It is about building an EU that leads by example, shaping global technical standards, fostering trusted international partnerships, and advancing its interests alongside like-minded partners." I hope this finally settles it and the European Commission's strategy today will initiate a genuine discussion based on facts.

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