‘Technological sovereignty must put people at its heart’: The EU's advisory body says public funding and new legislation are not enough to achieve digital independence
TL;DR:
- In order to achieve a cross-sectoral EU digital sovereignty, the EU and Member States have to invest in ‘Made in the EU’ digital infrastructure and prioritise open-source solutions and European alternatives through ‘EU first’ and ‘comply or explain’ public procurement principles, the EESC says.
- Public funding and new legislation are not enough to achieve this, the EESC says. It is important to encourage private investment, education, and lasting high-quality jobs across the continent as competitiveness and quality jobs go hand in hand.
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The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative EU body the European Commission isn't obliged to follow. Often, the Commission doesn't, and so the body's recommendations rarely make it into the news.
The EESC's latest opinion - expressed in its plenary held on 21 and 22 October - is worth reading, however, not in the least as the body consists of employers, trade unions, and civil society. All sides of Europe's industry and society - which often express contradictory statement - have shown what they can all live with.
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First the numbers: only around 5% of global AI capacity is currently located in the EU. In addition, Europe produces less than 10% of the world’s chips and depends on the USA and Asia for the most advanced ones.
The EU intends to fix this with the Chips Act 2.
The EESC welcomes the move, but expressed an important opinion on its implementation across the bloc.
‘Europe cannot achieve technological sovereignty through legislation and public funding alone. We need competitive companies, private investment and a strong industrial ecosystem. We should not try to copy the United States or Asia, but build on Europe's own strengths — its knowledge, talent and industrial expertise,’ said rapporteur Gonçalo Lobo Xavier.
‘The real success of Chips Act 2 will be measured not by the ambitions we announce, but by the investments we attract, the businesses we strengthen and the opportunities we create.’
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Dirk Bergrath focused on investing public money to deliver lasting industrial capacity, good jobs and stronger regions in Europe and added: ‘Competitiveness and quality jobs go hand in hand. Chips Act 2 must help Europe keep and develop its talent, invest in skills across the whole value chain and involve workers and their representatives in shaping the transformation. That is how we turn ambition into real value for our economy and our society.’
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3 replies
Europe will never be China. 🙄
This is what we all hope.
China is the future, finally taking its rightful place after centuries of being brutalized by European colonialism.
Europe is nothing without its parasitical hold on the developing world.