Cloud, AI and digital skills: why Europe's tech sovereignty depends on capacity in every region
Cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence and semiconductors have become central to Europe's plans for strengthening technological sovereignty. These technologies are also becoming increasingly important for Europe's competitiveness. Building this capacity, however, requires more than investment in infrastructure. It also depends on skilled people, strong research organisations and innovation ecosystems that can develop, test and apply new technologies across Europe.
Speaking at the Winning the global race: Why it matters to choose Europe conference in Zagreb, Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, described reducing Europe's dependence on non-EU providers as one of the European Commission's strategic priorities__. The objective, she explained, is to strengthen Europe's technological capabilities while remaining open to international cooperation and fair competition. This broader approach is also reflected in the recently presented Tech Sovereignty Package, which brings together initiatives on semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence and other strategic digital technologies. Together, these measures aim to strengthen Europe's technological capacity and support long-term innovation and competitiveness.
Technology also needs people Infrastructure is only one part of the equation. Europe also needs researchers who can develop new technologies, businesses that can bring them to market and professionals with the skills to use them. Demand for digital and ICT professionals continues to grow, while digital skills are becoming increasingly important across almost every sector. Education, lifelong learning and stronger collaboration between research organisations, industry and public institutions are therefore becoming an important part of Europe's digital agenda.
For Widening countries, this also means continuing to strengthen research and innovation capacity. Participation in European initiatives helps organisations build expertise, establish long-term partnerships and gain access to advanced research infrastructures and knowledge networks. These connections make it easier for researchers and businesses to contribute to European innovation and benefit from new opportunities as they emerge.
Building Europe's digital capacity Quantum technologies illustrate how Europe is building capacity across research, infrastructure and policy. Alongside research projects, Europe is investing in research infrastructures, high-performance computing, skills and collaboration between academia, industry and policymakers. Together, these activities support the development of technologies expected to play an important role in Europe's future digital landscape.
The Quantum & Digital Infrastructures innovation ecosystem is one of several thematic innovation ecosystems developed within the EURICE Group. It brings together news, project results and policy developments related to quantum technologies, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and other digital infrastructures, providing an overview of how these fields are evolving across Europe. Within this ecosystem, RISE contributes to Horizon Europe projects including PASQuanS2 and OpenSuperQPlus , which support Europe's quantum research and computing capabilities. The ecosystem also regularly publishes news and insights on developments across the field. Recent examples include the establishment of the Quantum Computing Advisory Board, which will provide independent advice to the European Commission on the future of quantum computing in Europe, and preparations for the European Quantum Act, expected to further strengthen Europe's long-term strategy for quantum technologies
Building Europe's future Europe's technological sovereignty will depend on more than cloud infrastructure, AI or semiconductors. Building the knowledge, skills and partnerships needed to develop and apply these technologies will be equally important. For Widening countries, continued investment in research capacity and stronger participation in European initiatives will help ensure that researchers, businesses and public institutions can actively contribute to Europe's digital future.