Report from the Financial Times
In Brief – The European Union appears set to prevent the largest US tech giants from participating in a new system of consumer financial data sharing. The EU’s Financial Data Access (FiDA) regulation is intended to give consumers the ability to allow third party businesses to view financial information held by their banks and insurers, opening the way for the development of new digital financial services such as budgeting tools and financial advice. However, banks across Europe have argued against extending this access to the biggest American tech firms. Germany has led the effort to keep the digital “gatekeepers” regulated by the EU’s Digital Markets Act, who are mostly US tech giants, from being part of the new data-sharing regime. They argue that this will promote the development of a European digital finance sector, tech competition, and EU digital sovereignty. Tech industry critics aligned with the digital giants argue that the effort is designed to protect incumbent banks who “hold ‘gatekeeper’ power over customer data” from robust competition and will reduce consumer choice. Negotiations on the final text are expected to conclude later in 2025.
Context – Dramatic changes in US policies in the first year of the second Trump Administration have energized calls in Europe to reduce reliance on foreign technology companies, especially from the United States and China, to ensure strategic autonomy, long-term security, and economic resilience. Nearly 100 European companies and trade groups called on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and digital chief Henna Virkkunen to take “radical action” for Europe to become more technologically independent. Digital sovereignty is also a priority of the Franco-German Economic Agenda and the European People’s Party Group Digital Policy. The Eurostack Initiative calls for strengthening EU-based capabilities across all levels of the digital ecosystem, including chips, computing, connectivity, applications, and artificial intelligence.