Europe prepares for a nightmare scenario: The US blocking access to tech
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. DAVOS, Switzerland—Rising tensions with the U.S. are spurring new plans in Europe to do something that has long seemed impossible: break with American technology in favor of homegrown alternatives.
President Trump this week dropped his threat to take control of Greenland by force if necessary. But even the possibility of armed conflict with allies has injected new urgency into long-simmering debates in Europe about how to reduce its reliance on U.S. tech infrastructure and tools that support swaths of the economy.
The worst-case scenario for European officials? A White House executive order that cuts off the region’s access to data centers or email software that businesses and governments need to function. “When you start having these kinds of thoughts, even if they’re just thoughts, you have to start thinking: How would that work?" asked Bernard Liautaud, managing partner of Balderton Capital, a European venture-capital firm. “Can you imagine Europe functioning without American technology? It’s very hard to imagine." Trump’s approach to Greenland has pushed European officials and diplomats to toughen their views on the need for Europe to curb its dependence on the U.S., from tech to defense to trade.
The European Parliament on Thursday passed a “technological sovereignty" resolution that supports using public procurement criteria to favor European products where possible and proposes new legislation to promote European cloud providers. The European Union’s executive arm is currently working on new legislation aimed at promoting tech sovereignty, according to officials familiar with the matter. Security risks posed by American technology have been openly discussed as part of that work,
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