Europe needs to decouple from Big Tech USA: Here’s 5 ways it can be achieved

The fallout from “Liberation Day” has reignited a critical conversation across Europe: how long can the EU, UK and other European nations afford to tie their digital future to American tech monopolies? For years, Europe has depended on US hyperscalers to power its infrastructure, manage its data, and now, fuel its AI ambitions. But with America’s erratic leadership casting fresh doubt over the future of Europe’s tech sector, businesses are being forced to confront the real risks of over-reliance.

New research from Civo found that 84% of UK IT leaders are concerned that geopolitical developments could threaten their ability to access and control their data. As US tech giants scramble to offer reassurances, including recent pledges from Microsoft to uphold Europe’s digital resilience, the bigger question remains: can Europe afford to deepen its dependencies on the US?

In the midst of all this doubt, Europe has a window of opportunity to reclaim its technological sovereignty and reduce its exposure to the political and commercial whims of US. tech giants. There has never been a better time to build a more balanced, competitive, and resilient digital economy - one that hands back control to businesses.

Here are five key actions Europe must take to make that vision a reality:

1. It’s time to take sovereignty seriously

According to Civo’s research, 61% of UK IT leaders say that sovereignty is s strategic priority. But while European governments have talked a good game on sovereignty, action has been inconsistent. Take the UK, for example: while outside of the EU and operating under different data and competition laws, earlier this year it unveiled its AI Opportunities Action Plan.

Within this, Starmer’s government promises to build sovereign datacenters and AI Growth Zones. Yet at the same time, the UK has courted massive investments from US. hyperscalers like Microsoft and AWS to expand their UK footprints.

This contradiction underlines the urgent need for clear policy guardrails. Sovereignty is about so much more than just data localization; it’s about ensuring full legal, operational, and technical control over the UK’s critical digital infrastructure. That means building and backing a domestic cloud and AI industry that operates under European law with shared European values.

2. Close the loopholes created by the US. CLOUD Act by avoiding it altogether

The US. CLOUD Act grants American authorities sweeping access to data held by US. hyperscalers, no matter where in the world that data is stored. This reality undermines Europe’s data protection laws, including GDPR, and puts sensitive public and private sector information at risk of unwanted foreign interventions.

Europe needs to strengthen legal frameworks that guarantee immunity from extraterritorial laws like the CLOUD Act. That means recognizing and supporting providers headquartered in Europe, fully subject to European jurisdiction, that offer complete transparency about where data is stored and who has access to it.

3. Build a sovereign AI ecosystem

The rush to adopt AI has only deepened Europe’s dependency on US. firms. Most AI models today are trained, deployed, and monetized by a small handful of US hyperscalers. As a result, European businesses feeding data into these models often have no visibility into how their information is used, stored, or commercialized. So it’s not surprising that 68% of UK IT leaders now say they will only use AI services where they have complete certainty over data ownership.

Europe must invest in an open, sovereign AI ecosystem. One that gives users full control over their data and AI workloads. By championing sovereign AI, Europe has an opportunity to empower organizations to develop innovative AI on their own terms, without surrendering control to black-box systems operated overseas.

4. Reform the economics of cloud

The European cloud market has been stifled by opaque pricing structures, restrictive egress fees, and aggressive credit lock-ins that keep customers tied to US hyperscale platforms. This has made it difficult for new entrants and challengers to compete and for customers to switch providers without facing significant financial and technical penalties.

Encouragingly, 60% of UK organizations say they are no longer reliant on a single cloud provider, showing that many are already moving towards multi-cloud and hybrid models to regain choice and control.

The public sentiment is overwhelmingly clear: Europe must establish economic policies that level the playing field. This could include mandating pricing transparency, regulating unfair egress fees, or incentivizing organizations to migrate to sovereign providers. A competitive market benefits everyone. It drives innovation, reduces costs, and gives businesses genuine choice.

5. Build bridges, not barriers: Uniting Europe’s digital strengths without shutting out the world

Underinvestment remains one of Europe’s biggest barriers to digital progress. As Mario Draghi’s landmark report on European competitiveness makes clear, the status quo is no longer sustainable. Without coordinated action, Europe risks falling behind in the race to build productive, secure, and globally competitive digital industries.

While the EU and the UK have taken different regulatory paths, from evolving data governance frameworks in Brussels to post-Brexit policies in Westminster, both face the same challenges: underinvestment, regulatory misalignment, and a shortage of skilled talent are holding back sovereign cloud and AI projects across the continent.

The Draghi report calls for a new era of sustainable competitiveness and open strategic autonomy, one where Europe builds the foundations to compete globally while staying true to its values of fairness, resilience, and collaboration.

Digital sovereignty must be part of this vision, but it cannot be achieved in silos. It needs harmonized regulations, shared investment in skills and infrastructure, and cross-border collaboration to scale European alternatives that are open where it counts and protected where it matters.

But there are signs of progress. Initiatives like EuroStack, a growing coalition of policymakers, businesses, and researchers, are working to open the European market to support local digital industries to clear the path to achieving digital sovereignty.

Similarly, projects like Open Euro LLM are advancing open-source, GDPR-compliant AI models that align with Europe’s values, while still remaining open to international contributions and partnerships.

Sovereignty starts now

Let’s be clear: digital sovereignty does not mean closing the door on international partnerships or shutting out global innovation. As one of the world’s leading economic regions, the continent of Europe will always need to collaborate with partners around the world, but that collaboration must happen on Europe’s terms and not in ways that compromise control, economic, or geopolitical resilience.

Building genuine digital sovereignty means strengthening Europe’s digital foundations so that it can engage with the global tech ecosystem from a position of strength, not dependency. It means creating an environment where businesses have real choice, where data stays protected by local laws and values, and where European innovation isn’t at the mercy of foreign policy shifts or opaque corporate interests.

We have a chance to rebalance the market, encourage competition, and put fairness and transparency at the heart of Europe’s digital future. But that window won’t stay open forever. The time for action is now.

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