As the global digital landscape evolves, Europe is strategically positioning itself as a key competitor by fostering a robust ecosystem of homegrown technology. This movement toward European digital sovereignty is not about isolation, but about building a resilient, innovative, and values-driven digital infrastructure that offers credible alternatives in the global market. For organizations navigating this shift, the focus is on leveraging technology that is not only powerful but also trustworthy and compliant by design—especially when it comes to sensitive data, data residency, and data sovereignty.
The push for a more autonomous European digital stack is driven by a confluence of factors, including a heightened focus on data privacy, the strategic importance of AI, and the need for resilient digital supply chains. In EU policy circles, this pursuit is increasingly framed as a path toward a Sovereign Europe that strengthens European and regional resilience across the 27 EU Member States, while reducing dependency on foreign vendors and some of the US tech giants for critical cloud services and core digital technologies.
Initiatives like EuroStack are bringing together a coalition of over 260 businesses, SMEs, and startups to build a complete digital ecosystem made and supplied in Europe. This collaborative effort aims to federate existing assets and coordinate public and private investments to create a suite of digital infrastructures—from cloud computing and AI to productivity and communication tools—supporting long-term technological control and pragmatic European control where it matters most (especially for public administration and regulated industries). In parallel, landmark commitments from institutions and industry leaders are helping accelerate a shared ambition for interoperable, trustworthy platforms and a stronger digital commons.
This strategic direction is further underscored by initiatives like the German Sovereign Tech Fund, which has invested €33.4 million in 95 critical open-source technologies, treating digital infrastructure as a critical public good. Such investments are crucial for building the foundational layers of a sovereign digital economy, ensuring that the technologies we rely on are transparent, secure, and aligned with European values. All this while also protecting intellectual property, improving long-term security, and strengthening the ability to audit the underlying code and supply chain of widely used open-source tools.
Across every layer of the digital stack, European companies are emerging as strong contenders, offering solutions that prioritize privacy and security. In the critical area of cloud infrastructure, providers like OVHcloud, Scaleway, and Hetzner are offering robust and scalable alternatives, including deployment models designed for strict data residency requirements. In the rapidly advancing field of AI, companies such as Mistral AI and Aleph Alpha are developing powerful foundation models with a focus on transparency and ethical considerations, a key aspect of regulating artificial intelligence.
This momentum is also reinforced by EU regulatory and market-shaping instruments—such as the Digital Markets Act—and adjacent compliance considerations that touch everything from cross-border data handling to e-commerce law for consumer-facing services.
This trend extends to a wide range of other services:
| Collaboration & Productivity | Nextcloud, Proton, OnlyOffice | Secure, self-hosted, and privacy-focused |
| Search & Browsing |
Qwant, Ecosia, Vivaldi | Privacy-respecting search and browsing |
| Cybersecurity | NordVPN, WithSecure | Strong encryption and data protection |
For businesses, this growing ecosystem provides a wealth of options for building a technology stack that is not only compliant with regulations like GDPR but also aligns with a commitment to data sovereignty and robust cybersecurity standards like ISO/IEC 27001. This is particularly relevant for European enterprises operating across multiple jurisdictions, where international partnerships and multi-cloud strategies must still preserve sovereignty outcomes for high-value or regulated workloads.
As Europe continues to build out its digital infrastructure, the emphasis on trust and verification becomes paramount. For governments and public sector organizations, the move towards European digital sovereignty is intrinsically linked to the ability to ensure the security and integrity of their digital services, including how they govern sensitive data, vendor access, and operational resilience. This is where frameworks for AI trust for governments and independent verification become critical, especially at the current digital sovereignty crossroads where procurement choices can either reinforce or erode sovereignty outcomes.
At Nemko Digital, we believe that trust is the cornerstone of a successful digital future. Our work in providing AI trust frameworks and certification helps organizations adopt technology with confidence, ensuring that their digital solutions are not only innovative but also responsible, transparent, and secure. As the European tech landscape matures, we are committed to helping businesses navigate this new era of digital independence, turning the principles of European digital sovereignty into a tangible competitive advantage.