Europe is standing at a strategic crossroads. We can continue to regulate connectivity as if it were a narrow technical sector. Or we can finally treat it for what it is: the backbone of Europe’s economic security, industrial competitiveness and technological sovereignty. The Digital Networks Act (DNA) must be the moment Europe chooses the second path. Unless we fix key parts of the current draft law — while maintaining its objectives and spectrum measures — this will not happen.
For too long, Europe’s connectivity debate has been framed through yesterday’s questions: more obligations, more fragmentation, more sector-specific rules, more intervention in markets already struggling to generate the scale and returns needed for long-term investment. But the world around us has changed dramatically.
Europe cannot afford to be the continent that speaks the language of digital sovereignty while weakening the infrastructure on which sovereignty depends.
DNA as the European response to a global competitiveness challenge
South Korea, Japan, the United States, China and India are aligning regulation, industrial policy and capital markets to mobilize massive investment in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence. They understand that networks are not just pipes. They are the foundations of productivity, innovation, cybersecurity, defense resilience, cloud, advanced manufacturing and the green transition.
