The geopolitical dimension of digital sovereignty

Overview

EU operates within an open and interdependent system shaped by supply chain shocks, standardization rivalries, and regulatory competition. To foster digital sovereignty, it is crucial to understand when and how EU norms extend beyond its borders and when they remain bounded by institutional, market, or technological limitations. Comparative analysis of global innovation and governance models can shed light on how different configurations of public, private, research actors and civil society generate strategic leverage. Science for policy work could help to better understand systemic exposures, such as the effect of disruptions in semiconductor supply chain or restrictions on cross-border data flows and explore how technological open-ness and autonomy can be balanced through adaptive design rather than isolation.

Expert Investigation

A pool of experts is to investigate digital sovereignty and data sharing, focused on identifying approaches, challenges, and opportunities related to the development and implementation of Digital Sovereignty in the European Union. The work will contribute to a better understanding of how Europe can strengthen its capacity to act independently and responsibly across the digital stack, covering people, markets, infrastructures, and governance, while maintaining openness, interoperability, and alignment with EU values.

They will assess the geopolitical implications that different approaches to Digital Sovereignty may have within the EU by analysing governance models, dependencies, and enablers that shape the EU’s ability to exercise digital sovereignty, as well as to assess their implications for innovation, security, rights, and inclusion.

Publication

PUBLICATION AVAILABLE (MAY2026) - access the policy brief via the links below:

Digital Sovereignty as a Geopolitical Strategy  

and

JRC Publications - Digital Sovereignty as a Geopolitical Strategy