Europe Urgently needs a Digital Council

The attached article was published on February 28, 2025, in the magazine i-Bestuur as a so-called Podium article. https://ibestuur.nl/artikel/europa-heeft-dringend-een-digitale-raad-nodig/

Europe Urgently Needs a Digital Council

The intense debate surrounding the digital era reveals a paradigm shift of unprecedented proportions, in which Europe is not at the forefront. In the U.S., with the might of Big Tech onboard, a formidable alliance appears to be forming between the White House and major tech companies. Both parties have long resisted American democracy, regulation, ‘woke’ policies, and a bureaucratic government. Their goal is to dismantle “the elite in Washington” and set a new course. To achieve this, a newly proposed Department of Government Efficiency, led by Musk, aims to cut bureaucratic costs by approximately 30%. A massive digital transition is on the horizon, with Musk and his peers acting as change managers.

Impact on Europe

For Europe, these developments are concerning. Zuckerberg has already indicated that European regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) hinder Big Tech companies and should be relaxed. Vice President Vance has even threatened that strict European policies could lead the U.S. to withdraw from NATO.

How is Europe responding? European politicians remain focused on the DSA and DMA, defensive instruments designed to keep Big Tech in check. However, these laws do not contribute to a strong European IT position. There is still insufficient clarity on what is truly at stake for Europe: the future of society and the economy will be largely shaped by digital tools, and Europe must establish its own position in this realm. This applies to both economically driven and culturally significant sectors of society, such as education, media, healthcare, and European values, including the rule of law and democracy. It would help if political leaders better understood the immense impact of digitalization on all sectors of society.

Digital Independence

Digital sovereignty is crucial—comparable to an independent energy supply. Equally important is ensuring that Europe, for political, economic, and security reasons, becomes independent of non-European countries, uncontrollable commercial entities, or a combination of both in strategic IT areas. It is unacceptable for the digital future, which is now rapidly unfolding, to be dictated by a Chinese or American digital landscape with largely unchecked influence on our society and democracy.

A key aspect of a self-sufficient European response is the IT stack, as recently described in Marietje Schaake’s book The Tech Coup. The IT stack encompasses the layered structures of technology underpinning modern systems—from foundational hardware (including required raw materials) to operating systems, applications, data, and AI systems. Mastering these layers is essential to remaining competitive and digitally secure. The same applies to the use of cloud services and social media. Why do we predominantly use non-European services, which pose security risks and lead to missed revenue opportunities? On all these fronts, Europe is falling behind, partly due to the absence of major European tech companies to spearhead these efforts. Adopting a “Make Europe Great Again” mindset could help drive this forward.

Digital Governance and Industrial Policy

To address these challenges, Europe needs robust Digital Governance to establish strategies, policies, and resource allocation. A European Digital Council is essential. Such a council should tackle four urgent digital tasks. Firstly, defining Europe’s position within the IT stack and adjacent areas such as cloud services, social media, and AI. Secondly, accelerating national digital agendas that align with European policies to drive necessary digital transitions. Thirdly, establishing a framework for digital innovation and development in close collaboration with European IT companies. This should lead to the rapid emergence of powerful European Big Tech companies by removing fiscal and national barriers. Lastly, and just as importantly, creating a digital security structure.

Let’s act quickly—there is not much time left.