Report from Courthouse News
In Brief – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron headlined the Summit on European Digital Sovereignty in Berlin, signaling the commitment of the two largest EU member states to advance European digital and AI technology and companies so that the continent is not dependent on foreign platforms for critical digital infrastructure. Macron said Europe must not be a “client” of outside tech providers or a “vassal” to the US or China. Merz said that while investing in sovereignty is costly, remaining dependent is ultimately more expensive. A consistent theme was the need to shift away from heavy EU digital regulation that most industry leaders argue has slowed innovation. Macron said Europe must “innovate before regulating,” while Merz urged radical simplification of rules to encourage faster AI development. Companies committed €12 billion in new digital and AI investments, and 18 corporate tech and AI partnerships worth €1 billion were announced.
Context – The huge disruptions in US-EU relations that quickly emerged in the first months of the second Trump presidency boosted European “digital sovereignty” efforts that were already well underway. In March, nearly 100 European companies and trade groups signed a letter called on the EU Commission to take “radical action” for Europe to become more technologically independent. The Eurostack Initiative details actions to promote European offerings across the digital ecosystem, including chips, computing, applications, and AI, but the “AI race” is clearly the focal point for industry backers long frustrated with EU regulation and bureaucracy. The Berlin summit was one day before the Commission released its Digital Omnibus initiative that proposes changes to GDPR rules to ease AI training that are backed by industry but lambasted by privacy advocates. They will make their voices heard in the EU Parliament. On the other hand, the Digital Markets Act, which regulates the mostly US and China-based digital “gatekeeper” giants, has broader backing, with the Commission announcing investigations of the Amazon and Microsoft cloud services businesses at the Berlin event.