Only an Innovative Europe Is a Sovereign Europe

Europe regulates artificial intelligence. Europe regulates platforms. Europe regulates data. But Europe builds too little. And that is a geopolitical problem — not just an economic one.

Sovereignty in the Digital Age

Technological sovereignty is not an end in itself. It is the precondition for Europe remaining capable of action in a world where technology defines power. Those who do not control the AI infrastructure, who do not produce the semiconductors, who do not operate the satellites — they can become coercible in a conflict. This is not theory. These are concrete dependencies that have become painfully visible in recent years.

The answer cannot be to retreat from global markets. But it must be: Europe has to build its own competence in critical technologies, sufficient to remain non-coercible.

Why Regulation Alone Is Not Enough

Europe has a strength: it regulates. The AI Act, the Digital Markets Act, the GDPR — Europe sets standards globally. This is not trivial. When European rules become global standards, that is soft power.

But regulation without innovation capacity is defensive. Setting rules is necessary but not sufficient. A Europe that regulates but does not build is, over time, dependent on the technologies it attempts to regulate. „We must free ourselves from this defensive posture,“ I have said repeatedly — and I mean it just as much today.

What „Innovation made in Europe“ Actually Means

This is not about developing everything ourselves. Global division of labour is real and sensible. It is about having our own competence in strategically decisive technologies:

• Artificial Intelligence: Own language models, training data, and inference infrastructure — grounded in European values, languages, and regulatory requirements. „We need AI that is researched and developed in Europe based on European values.“
• Semiconductors: The European Chips Act is a right step. Europe must gradually reduce its dependence on Taiwan and the US — not through protectionism, but through its own excellence.
• Space: New Space is no longer a hobby market. Satellite communications, earth observation, and navigation systems are security-critical infrastructure. Europe needs its own launch vehicles, satellite constellations, and launch capabilities.
• Energy: Hydrogen, nuclear fusion, new storage technologies — the energy transition is also a technology question. Europe can and must lead here.

The European Tech Deal

Together with MEP Sergey Lagodinsky, I published the concept of a European Tech Deal in April 2024 — a continent-wide innovation strategy analogous to the Green Deal. The core thesis: just as the Green Deal created a coherent European framework for climate objectives, Europe needs an equally coherent framework for its technological future. Coordinated financing, shared objectives, European governance for strategic technology sectors.

„Technological innovation and democracy belong together.“ This is not merely a normative statement. It is an empirical one: open societies that permit and promote innovation are more resilient in the long run than closed ones. Europe has both — democracy and innovation potential. It must use both.

What This Means for Companies

Those who are today tech companies, startups, or associations in the innovation space are operating in a political environment that is changing rapidly. European defence spending is rising — that is an innovation opportunity. AI regulation is coming — that is a positioning opportunity for European providers. Public procurement is opening to innovation — that is a market opportunity for scale-ups.

SAI Europe helps to read these political dynamics and use them strategically.

„Owning competencies in artificial intelligence means having international agenda-setting power in today’s world.“— Dr. Anna Christmann