Towards a Common Understanding of EU Digital Sovereignty

EU digital sovereignty is understood as the EU capacity to exercise its independence in the digital domain while remaining open and connected to global networks. It focuses on the ability to decide, invest, and innovate according to European values of democracy, openness, and the rule of law. Rather than implying isolation or protectionism, digital sovereignty refers to strengthening EU skills, infrastructures, and governance to ensure that digital transformation support.

Excessive reliance on non-EU technology providers coupled with the limited capacity to independently control and govern data, exposes vulnerabilities that could threaten EU democratic institutions and processes, compromise privacy protections and other fundamental rights, and weaken the resilience of critical infrastructures.  The EU approach to digital sovereignty has evolved over time, shaped by enduring structural dependencies. Despite sustained regulatory and investment initiatives, the EU continues to depend on non-EU providers for key technologies such as design and production of semiconductors, cloud infrastructures, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), with implications for its strategic autonomy and capacity for innovation. 

The Digital Sovereignty Framework

Despite growing recognition of its importance, the conceptualisation and perceived vision of digital sovereignty continue to be fragmented across stakeholders and contexts complicating efforts to establish cohesive policies and strategies that effectively address current and future EU vulnerabilities. To address this gap, we support a multi-layered framework for digital sovereignty with the objective of bringing together different perspectives, in a consistent and strategic manner.

The proposed framework works across four interconnected layers: 

1. Digital Governance

2. Digital Infrastructures Software and Data

3. Digital Products and Markets 

4. People 

By incorporating these multiple layers, the framework allows evaluating their various implications from a balanced perspective that acknowledges both the opportunities offered by EU strategic shift and the potential risks if sovereignty is pursued in a narrow or reductionist manner. Moreover, the framework recognises a two-way relationship between accountability and governance: while sovereignty is built from the bottom up, governance decisions flow downward and shape every layer beneath them. Therefore, EU digital sovereignty is not only a matter of technology or markets but also of legitimacy and democratic accountability.

The Backbone of Digital Sovereignty

Digital Governance constitutes the overarching layer, shaping the entire system through regulations, the rule of law, and policy coordination. Governance is not confined to formal institutions: it also determines EU ability to protect democratic values internally while projecting values internationally, balancing industrial and societal priorities, and ensuring that sovereignty does not become synonymous with protectionism.

Digital Infrastructures, Software, and Data includes secure connectivity, interoperable systems, software and hardware, data ecosystems, cloud and edge infrastructures, and resilient cybersecurity. Control over data flows and security of infrastructures is vital to reduce vulnerabilities and protect both economic and democratic resilience. Opportunities. EU has taken decisive steps to strengthen this layer. The Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 commits Member States to universal gigabit connectivity and 5G coverage across all populated areas (Decision (EU) 2022/2481, OJ L 323, p. 7) making high-speed access a baseline right. 

Digital Products and Markets translates into digital sovereignty as the capacity to foster innovation, ensure fair competition, and prevent dependency on non-European providers. Competitive markets and a robust industrial base are crucial to sustain EU capacity to act independently.

People form the foundation of the framework, as digital sovereignty ultimately rests on the ability of individuals, communities, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders to exercise their rights, build digital skills, and place trust in the technologies and institutions that govern the digtal space. Without empowered and digitally literate citizens, sovereignty risks remaining a purely top-down project.

Infrastructures and data ecosystems represent the most strategic layer of digital sovereignty; they are the foundation on which governance, markets, and individual rights depend. Yet digital sovereignty here is not only about ownership of infrastructures but also about the capacity to generate, store, process, and govern data in line with European values.