EU digital sovereignism: the risks of strategic autonomy
14 January 2025Joint session with the Law Department Seminar Series
In the digital sector, the EU is heavily dependent on third countries. Recent EU policy strategies no longer merely aim to boost digitalisation, but are guided by a new, at times vague, principle: digital sovereignty. The Union is seeking to achieve a status of strategic autonomy across a plurality of areas, including in the digital field, which is also considered to be key to fostering the green transition. This paper questions the alignment of the effects of EU digital sovereignty strategies with the Union’s constitutional aims and values. It categorises EU digital sovereignty regulatory approaches into ‘centripetal’ and ‘centrifugal’ strategies, and examines the risks of potential ‘sovereigntist’ trends at EU level.
