AFP, BRUSSELS
Wary of being vulnerable to the whims of foreign governments, the EU is preparing far-reaching new moves to ditch US digital companies and Chinese chips in favor of European alternatives.The EU’s technological sovereignty package is among many measures taken by Brussels to slash dependence on foreign firms and boost local manufacturing — but risks opening up a new front in transatlantic tensions.The hotly awaited package of new rules on chips, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) would be presented on Wednesday as part of the EU’s effort to “reclaim its place in the global race for geoeconomic power,” a draft strategy document said.Of particular concern is how much the EU relies on US cloud providers, which account for about 70 percent of Europe’s market.Since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, Europeans worry that critical digital infrastructure could be brought to a halt by a US “kill switch” if tensions ever reached fever pitch.
Top EU officials do not directly name their target, but US tech dominates, from cloud computing to social media to e-commerce.“We need to develop our own capacities. We cannot allow someone trying to influence our own decisions, our own values, our own well-functioning economy and services,” European Commissioner for Competitiveness Teresa Ribera said this month.EU officials often point to Washington’s sanctions against International Criminal Court judges to illustrate the grip of US firms. Judge Nicolas Guillou has described how he lost access to his Visa card since it is a US system.However, US envoy to the EU Andrew Puzder has warned against any protectionist moves, while US companies have urged Europe not to keep them out.“Europe will not be able to pull itself into the AI economy by bringing other people down,” Puzder said.The package is to include the “Cloud and AI Development Act,” aimed at speeding up the deployment of data center infrastructure.A “Chips Act” proposal to reinforce the security of supply for semiconductors by reducing dependence on foreign providers would also be part of the package, as well as a push to use more open-source software solutions to gain greater control and flexibility, and avoid being locked in.
