They’ve decided to get serious.
The European Union has just approved a bold new action plan for technological independence. It includes €20 billion to build gigafactories—advanced production facilities for batteries, semiconductors, and other critical components. But the real game-changer? The creation of a unified European data market.
Right now, data flows across Europe are fragmented. Every country has its own rules, infrastructure, and companies. The result? American and Chinese tech giants have the home-field advantage, while Europe struggles to keep up. This plan aims to change that.
Called the Continent Action Plan, the strategy is designed to reduce reliance on non-EU suppliers and build a fully European industrial supply chain for artificial intelligence, cloud services, clean energy, and advanced technologies.
The goal: to have everything built in-house—from tech to energy to manufacturing.
A single European data market would allow companies across the continent to share and use data in a secure, transparent, and interoperable way. Common rules and shared infrastructure—much like the EU’s single market for goods—could finally create a level playing field.
But who will lead this transformation? According to the European Commission, it will be driven by member states, supported by industrial consortia and public funding. Still, if it all remains just words in policy documents, nothing will really change.
This requires simple rules, real money, and quick execution. It needs a practical mindset, not an ideological one.
Digital independence won’t be achieved through summits and speeches, but with servers online, factories up and running, and top talent choosing to stay in Europe.
