S2.6 A bold proposal to build the ‘EuroStack’ – because doing nothing isn’t an option anymore

A bold proposal to build the ‘EuroStack’ – because doing nothing isn’t an option anymoreBy Francesca Bria and Andrea RendaIn a time of increasingly pervasive digital technologies and the gradual disruption of the multilateral order, policymakers have at least one certainty – every single country needs a sovereign digital infrastructure encompassing compute resources, a resilient supply chain for semiconductors, secure digital identity and digital payment platforms, a well-functioning data layer for a variety of industrial and social uses, and abundant cloud and edge computing nodes. All of these will contribute to propelling the digital transformation forward, from government to large factories, all the way to connected objects.Such infrastructure is becoming the central nervous system of our economy, as crucial as electricity, transport or water networks. It’s also increasingly crucial to make democracy work. Not having a well-developed digital technology stack condemns a country to economic decline and technological dependency, and a future at the mercy of foreign governments and private actors.For Europe, this will be an uphill battle as we’ve accumulated many delays in key layers of the technology stack. We massively depend on less than a fistful of US cloud operators. Our supply of semiconductors craves rare earths that are quasi-monopolised by China. We are dwarfed by other global powers when it comes to AI, cyber-security solutions and overall Research and Innovation (R&I) spending in the complex new technologies that compose the stack.We train busloads of leading tech researchers and yet we see so many of them leaving to make their fortune on other shores. And even when we do act, fragmentation, ineffective regulation and fruitless competition further hamper our efforts, depriving our businesses of the scale and support they need to thrive. We have known this for a long time – and we’ve repeatedly called for bold action.The Draghi report was just the latest wake-up call. A call for urgent, bold measures. And there’s really no time to lose.Watch more here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.