Several European companies are warning that the EU’s increased focus on technological sovereignty could hurt both profitability and competitiveness and argue it will be difficult to quickly reduce dependence on US tech firms, the Financial Times reports.
The European Commission is currently working on a new package for technological sovereignty aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on US players in areas such as cloud services, software, and AI. The initiative has gained increased political momentum following concerns that geopolitical conflicts or sudden shifts in US policy could affect European companies’ access to critical technology.
However, companies across sectors ranging from banking to manufacturing warned that a rapid technological shift risks being both costly and complicated. For decades, many organizations have built their systems around platforms from companies like Microsoft and Google and many believe US providers still lead European alternatives in several areas.
