On the occasion of the European Summit on Digital Sovereignty in Berlin, eco – Association of the Internet Industry welcomes the new “Declaration for European Digital Sovereignty” by the EU Member States. The declaration sends a clear signal in favour of a capable, open and competitive digital future for Europe.
“The EU makes it clear: digital sovereignty means the ability to act, not isolation. Europe will only become sovereign if we enable innovation, strategically manage dependencies and massively strengthen our digital infrastructures,” says Oliver Süme, Chair of the Board of eco – Association of the Internet Industry.
eco welcomes clear stance against protectionism
The EU’s declaration explicitly states that digital sovereignty is not a protectionist concept, but rather aims to strengthen European autonomy in cooperation with global partners.
Oliver Süme: “We support the EU’s open approach. Sovereignty does not arise through building walls, but from strong, competitive offerings from Europe.”
Four operational dimensions for companies – eco calls for pragmatic implementation
eco has defined four key dimensions that, from the perspective of the Internet industry, are crucial for the assessment and implementation of digital sovereignty:
- Legal clarity: Companies need to know which jurisdictions apply, how stable legal frameworks are, and what interventions public authorities may make.
- Data sovereignty and data usage: The question of who can access which data – both personal data and non-personal – influences competitiveness, security and innovation.
- Technology design and expertise: Companies need the freedom to select, operate, maintain or further develop technologies. Open standards and interoperability are central to this.
- Transparent and resilient supply chains: The origin, availability and security of hardware and software components must be traceable in order to avoid dependencies and vulnerabilities.
This approach aligns with the EU declaration, which particularly emphasises the importance of interoperability, standardisation and technological freedom.
eco welcomes key new initiatives from the EU
The EU is committed to an open understanding of digital sovereignty and focuses on autonomy without isolation. The declaration calls for an innovation-friendly legal framework, strong protection of sensitive data and targeted investment in key technologies such as semiconductors, HPC, AI, cloud and cybersecurity. Open source is to intended to play a greater role – with high security standards. The EU is also focusing on common European assets, resilient supply chains, digital skills and an efficient governance model.
“Digital sovereignty is not a fixed state, but a space for decision-making,” Süme explains. “Depending on the industry, business model and use case, companies will arrive at different conclusions – and that’s precisely why we need political framework conditions that enable flexibility instead of imposing uniform requirements.”
In this context, eco expressly welcomes the planned amendment to Section 128 of the German Competition Act (GWB) to consider digital sovereignty as a criterion in public procurement on a case-by-case basis. This approach enables a pragmatic and differentiated handling of the complex subject area.
At the same time, the association calls for a critical review of existing regulation and for limiting possible spillover effects on the economy. What is crucial for Europe’s digital future is a harmonised digital single market that enables scaling and strengthens the competitiveness of European providers. This also includes stable investment conditions for digital infrastructures such as data centres.
