The European Commission has set out a new “European Technological Sovereignty Package” with measures covering semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and open-source software.
The package includes two draft laws — a Chips Act 2.0 and a Cloud and AI Development Act — alongside an Open Source Strategy and a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the Energy Sector, the Commission informed on Wednesday.
Europe “cannot afford to depend on others for the technologies that keep our hospitals running, our energy grids stable and our services secure”, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
The Commission added the initiative comes as the EU remains heavily dependent on suppliers outside the bloc for “core digital technologies”, while demand for computing capacity is rising with the spread of AI.
Chips, cloud and open source
Semiconductors are essential for AI and other everyday technologies, and the Commission said the existing EU Chips Act has been in force since 2023 after vulnerabilities emerged in global supply chains.
Europe still relies heavily on countries outside the EU for advanced chip production and chip design, the Commission pointed out, adding that AI-related components are expected to account for more than 70% of the semiconductor market by 2030.
The proposed Chips Act 2.0 would build capacity in “cutting-edge” chip technologies used for AI applications, the Commission said, including faster permitting and deeper cooperation with “like-minded partners”.
The Commission also proposed a Cloud and AI Development Act, which it said would seek to triple data centre capacity in Europe over the next five to seven years.
It would also introduce an EU-wide framework to assess “cloud and AI sovereignty”, while keeping “most” of the market open to like-minded partners.
On open-source software — code that can be used, modified and shared publicly — the Commission said Europe has more than three million open-source contributors and that its Open Source Strategy would scale up open-source alternatives in areas including cloud, AI, cybersecurity and semiconductors.
The Commission said it also plans procurement guidelines and best practice to encourage greater use of open source in public administrations.
In energy, the Commission’s roadmap sets out how AI and other digital tools could be used in the sector while integrating data centres into energy systems “in a sustainable and transparent manner”, it said, including cooperation between the energy and digital sectors to support grid integration and clean energy supply.
The Commission said the two legislative proposals will now be negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union before they can be adopted and enter into force.
