European industry demands EuroStack to power EU competitiveness
Gathering an unprecedented coalition of nearly 100 industry leaders, the European DIGITAL SME Alliance has supported issuing an open letter to the European Commission, calling for decisive action on the EuroStack initiative to ensure Europe’s technological sovereignty. Signatories are digital SMEs, tech associations, and renowned industry champions such as Airbus, Dassault Systèmes, NextCloud, Proton, OVH Cloud and Grün Group. The letter highlights the need for a robust industrial strategy to reduce Europe’s dependence on foreign digital infrastructure and to strengthen its position in the global technology landscape.
The letter, addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President Virkkunen, warns that Europe is at risk of losing control over its critical digital infrastructure. The signatories stress that without immediate and radical action, the continent will face near-total dependence on non-European technologies within three years.
Key demands for a sovereign digital future
The industry leaders urge the European Commission to work closely with businesses to create a pragmatic industrial policy focused on:
- Stimulating Demand for European Solutions – Implementing public procurement policies that prioritise European-led and assembled digital solutions, creating incentives for private sector investment in homegrown technology.
- Building a Viable European Supply Chain – Supporting open-source solutions, common industry standards, and interoperable infrastructure to consolidate Europe’s technological assets into a competitive digital ecosystem.
- Developing Secure and Sovereign Cloud Services – Establishing robust certification frameworks to ensure that sensitive European data remains protected from extraterritorial access.
- Strategic Funding for Digital Infrastructure – Redirect existing EU funds toward market-relevant, result-oriented projects and launch a Sovereign Infrastructure Fund to invest in key areas such as quantum computing and semiconductor manufacturing.
The letter underscores that the European industry is ready to invest, provided that a clear strategy and conducive market conditions are established. It calls on the European Commission to urgently convene industry working groups to translate Europe’s digital sovereignty ambitions into concrete actions.
DIGITAL SME President Oliver Grün insisted that “It’s time for swift action. Europe must act decisively to reclaim control over its digital infrastructure. Thousands of digital SMEs stand ready to collaborate with policymakers to build a resilient, open, and competitive European digital ecosystem.”
More signatories are continuously joining the initiative, of which DIGITAL SME is a contributor. Additional information can be found on euro-stack.eu. As a follow-up to this letter, the next step of the initiative will include the establishment of an Industry Focus Group on Eurostack. Interested companies, associations, and other entities can contact a.grasso@digitalsme.eu or fill out this online form to flag their interest in signing the letter and/or joining the focus group.
