BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – International tech associations are calling for concrete steps for more competitiveness on the continent before the summit on European digital sovereignty in Berlin. One day before the summit with Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and French President Emmanuel Macron, the German startup association and partner organizations from France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania are pushing for uniform rules in the EU and better conditions for more growth.
“Europe must learn to leverage its best ideas together – across borders,” says Verena Pausder, CEO of the startup association. This means more investment in European technologies, fair competitive conditions for start-ups and a stronger European internal market that accelerates innovation.
At the digital summit on Tuesday, topics such as technological independence, Digitalization and Europe’s competitiveness are the focus – also in view of the competition from American tech companies that are investing huge sums in artificial intelligence (AI). The meeting is about how Europe can prevent sensitive company data from having to be stored in the clouds of non-European companies.
Industry is pushing for reforms
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) is pushing for political reforms so that European companies can catch up. Europe is technologically dependent on artificial intelligence (AI), microelectronics as well as solutions for cybersecurity and digital infrastructure, BDI President Peter Leibinger told the German Press Agency. The message that must come from the meeting is: “Europe recognizes its weaknesses and will address them strategically.”
At the same time, existing strengths must be expanded. Only then can Europe become technologically sovereign and competitive. It’s not about isolating yourself, emphasized Leibinger, but about acting independently and choosing the right partners.
Faster and bigger
In order to increase the speed of developing new technologies and keep promising start-ups in the growth phase in Europe, the BDI President demands, above all, faster approvals and a fundamental reduction in “over-regulation” around AI and data. The industry is ready to invest and develop innovative technologies – “now politicians have to remove the blockages.”
The central themes of the European Digital Sovereignty Summit are data sovereignty, cloud solutions, AI and innovation by European start-ups. In addition to politicians from numerous EU countries, the participants also include representatives from business and research.
“Europe can be the largest innovation engine in the world”
In order to produce global tech champions, Europe needs new rules that make cross-border mergers and investments easier, the tech associations write in a paper that is available to the dpa. A common European capital market is also central to mobilizing capital for growth. The prevailing fragmentation has led to “many promising but isolated start-ups coexisting.”
“Patchwork instead of internal market”
The EU’s digital autonomy also depends on a legal framework that promotes innovation. Currently, 27 different regulations create high barriers to entry, especially for small companies. Start-ups should be able to grow more easily in all EU countries through a uniform European legal form. At the same time, achievements such as the EU laws on digital services (DSA) and digital markets (DMA) should not be weakened.
“Europe has the potential to be the largest innovation machine in the world – but we are making life difficult for ourselves,” says Pausder. “27 corporate legal forms, 35 stock exchanges, 200 trading venues – that’s not an internal market, that’s a patchwork quilt.”
The associations are also demanding that public authorities be allowed to give preference to European digital solutions in future tenders – from hardware to applications./as/DP/zb