The Illusion of Sovereignty through Geography

The European Commission’s June 2026 "Strengthening Europe’s Tech Sovereignty" package, specifically the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), attempts to reconcile economic competitiveness with digital autonomy. However, the authors argue the policy is fundamentally flawed because it defines sovereignty through geographic location rather than corporate ownership or control.

Under CADA’s four-tier assurance framework, even the highest level of sovereignty allows US cloud giants (Microsoft, Amazon, Google) to qualify as providers for European public bodies. The regulation requires only that these companies maintain European-based subsidiaries with local boards and infrastructure. Because the policy fails to restrict foreign ownership, it permits Big Tech to maintain control over critical data and services while merely rebranding their operations as "European."

Alignment with Big Tech Interests

The policy's requirements appear to have been anticipated by, and perfectly aligned with, Microsoft’s own "European digital commitments" announced in April 2025. Microsoft’s strategy—which includes data localization, local oversight boards, and promises to contest foreign government data requests—mirrors the CADA’s compliance criteria. By adopting these standards, the EU has effectively institutionalized a path that favors the continued expansion of US cloud infrastructure. The authors note that the Commission’s audit criteria in Annex III do not prevent foreign government access to data; they merely require providers to keep a record of such requests, a standard that does little to protect European digital autonomy.

Institutionalized Dependence and Epistemic Capture

The authors argue that the EU is suffering from "epistemic capture," where the narrative of AI inevitability and the necessity of rapid adoption (the "AI first" principle) has blinded policymakers to the risks of structural dependence. Evidence of this dependence is stark: the authors identified 3,609 procurement contracts or MOUs between EU member states and US tech giants, totaling €10.8 billion, with Microsoft holding over two-thirds of this market.

Rather than decoupling from these predatory ecosystems, the CADA mandates the expansion of data center capacity and promotes AI adoption across defense and public services. By prioritizing growth and techno-solutionism over genuine independence, the EU is not only failing to achieve sovereignty but is also exacerbating its ecological footprint and deepening its reliance on American technology providers.