‘Tech sovereignty’ for Europe: op-ed by the President of the European Commission

In an opinion piece, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stressed the notion of European ‘tech sovereignty’. She expressed hope that technological progress will ‘become the norm right across our society: from farming to finance, from culture to construction, from fighting climate change to combating terrorism’. She noted that Europe needs ‘European solutions to global challenges’, and its own ‘digital capacities – be it quantum computing, 5G, cybersecurity or AI’. These technologies will be treated as areas for strategic investment, with increased funding from both national and regional levels and across sectors. Additionally, more regulation is not the aim, but ‘better safeguards, accountability and possibility of human intervention’ are, von der Leyen wrote.