Governments should give European companies priority in tenders, as many technology companies are pleading with the European Commission to do.
Airbus, Dassault Systèmes and more than 90 smaller European technology companies and lobby groups are calling on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to establish a sovereign infrastructure fund to strengthen public investment in advanced technologies.
The companies and groups argue that recent developments in the U.S. and the EU and U.S. actions underscore the urgency of European steps to maintain strategic autonomy in key sectors. And boost its industry.
Security risks in current situation
In a letter seen by Reuters, the companies write that Europe must regain the initiative. And reduce dependence on non-Eruopean companies. This strengthens technological independence in every area. So, from critical digital infrastructure, from logical infrastructure – applications, platforms, media, AI frameworks and models – to physical infrastructure – chips, computing, storage and connectivity. According to the industry, Europe’s current dependencies pose security and reliability risks and erode sovereignty. And harm Europe’s growth.
According to the letter, a sovereign infrastructure fund is essential to finance this ambitious goal, especially in capital-intensive parts of the value chain, such as quantum technologies and chips.
Encouraging investment
In addition, the senders want governments to adopt a Buy European policy in procurement. This is to stimulate demand and encourage companies to invest.
The goal here is not to exclude non-European players but to create an environment where European suppliers can compete fairly and justify investment.
The letter’s signatories include French cloud provider OVH Cloud and its counterparts in other EU countries, as well as the European Software Institute, the European Startup Network, the German AI Association, the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), and the French public investment bank BPI France.
Earlier, Von der Leyen indicated that the European Commission wants to strengthen the European economy. One initiative launched is the Clean Industrial Deal.