The EuroStack Initiative Publishes its Action Plan – And We Were Part of It!

The team here at the EuroStack Directory Project is incredibly excited to share a significant development in the movement for European digital sovereignty! The EuroStack Initiative, a broad coalition of which we are proud supporters, has released this week its much-anticipated white paper: "Deploying the EuroStack: What Needs to Happen Now."

This isn't just another report; it's a concrete, action-oriented roadmap developed by a dedicated subgroup of the 200+ European tech and digital business leaders who signed the initial open letter to the European Commission in March. And we're honoured to say that we were deeply involved in the drafting and crafting of this pivotal white paper, bringing our perspective and expertise on the importance of identifying and promoting genuine European digital solutions.

Why This Matters (and What's Inside)

For too long, Europe has faced a growing dependency on non-European technology providers. The CIGREF/Asterès study recently quantified this, showing an estimated €264 billion annual flow to the US for cloud and software services alone. The white paper directly addresses this challenge, moving beyond diagnosis to propose a pragmatic, industry-focused strategy for Europe to reclaim its digital autonomy and foster a thriving, competitive ecosystem.

The white paper centers around three key "Asks":

"BUY EUROPEAN": This is the cornerstone. The paper advocates for robust public procurement reforms that strategically favor genuinely European suppliers. This includes clear definitions of what constitutes a "European" provider (considering control, R&D, and value retention), setting ambitious targets for public spend, and exploring mechanisms like multi-sourcing. It also stresses the importance of Open Source solutions within this framework.
"SELL EUROPEAN": To complement demand, we need to enhance the visibility, cohesion, and interoperability of European digital solutions. The paper proposes a European Digital Market Intelligence Hub, a strong emphasis on Open Standards, and fostering greater collaboration within our diverse European tech ecosystem. This directly aligns with our mission at the EuroStack Directory Project to map and showcase these very capabilities!
"FUND EUROPEAN": This isn't about top-down subsidy schemes. The focus is on mobilizing existing private and institutional capital (like pension funds) and using targeted public funds (potentially from reallocations or DMA/DSA fines via a "EuroStack Fund") only where necessary to plug strategic gaps, support scale-ups, and fund migration to European solutions.

Our Contribution and What's Next

Being part of the working group that developed this white paper has been a privilege. We brought our insights from building the EuroStack Directory – our understanding of the existing landscape of European providers, the need for clear categorization, and the importance of making these solutions discoverable.

We also believe this white paper provides a powerful and actionable framework. The call to "Buy European" is particularly critical, as it will create the market conditions necessary for the fantastic European companies we feature in our Directory to grow and thrive. The emphasis on Open Source and Open Standards further strengthens the path towards a truly interoperable and sovereign European digital space.

We encourage everyone in our community – developers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and users – to read the white paper:
Read "Deploying the EuroStack: What Needs to Happen Now." here: https://euro-stack.eu/the-white-paper/

The EuroStack Directory Project will continue its work to support this initiative by:

Further developing and promoting the Directory as a key resource for identifying European digital solutions.
Advocating for the white paper's recommendations.
Facilitating connections within the European tech ecosystem.

The time for Europe to take decisive action on its digital future is now. This white paper provides a clear direction, and we're proud to be playing our part in making it a reality. Let's build a sovereign, resilient, and innovative digital Europe, together!

The Conversation Has Begun: Early Media Reactions (7-10 May 2024)

Le Monde: Presents the EuroStack Initiative and its white paper as a significant and urgent call to action from a broad coalition of European tech businesses (from SMEs to large groups like Airbus) urging the EU to counter its status as a "digital colony" by actively fostering European digital solutions. It highlights EuroStack's core demand for "Buy European" rules in public procurement, including specific quantified targets and a preference for Open Source solutions, as a key mechanism to shift the 80% of European cloud and software spending currently going to US companies. The article notes the initiative's skepticism towards US tech giants' promises and its push for stricter interoperability and dedicated "EuroStack" funding, framing these proposals as largely aligned with existing French and emerging EU Commission sentiments on strategic autonomy and reducing "vassalage," while also acknowledging the potential for conflict with the US administration over such measures.
Politico: The POLITICO article portrays the EuroStack Initiative and its white paper as a bold, ambitious, and increasingly influential European response to growing geopolitical tensions and a desire to reduce the EU's heavy reliance on American technology. The article acknowledges the initiative's momentum, evidenced by its backing from 200 businesses, its mention in Germany's coalition agreement, and its alignment with broader EU discussions on "technology sovereignty" (even as it notes skepticism from US industry groups and some within the EU about its ultimate feasibility and cost). The paper is seen as a clear articulation of Europe's desire to move from being a "digital colony" to a more independent digital power, fueled further by the confrontational stance of the Trump administration.
Shifter: The Norwegian article, citing POLITICO, presents the EuroStack Initiative as a significant and ambitious European effort to achieve digital independence, driven by rising tech tensions with the US, particularly under a renewed Trump administration. It highlights EuroStack's core proposal to build a complete European "tech stack" supported by "Buy European" public procurement rules, framing it as a choice between "Go European" or remaining a "digital colony," and notes its inclusion in Germany's coalition agreement. However, the article strongly emphasizes the significant skepticism and substantial challenges surrounding the initiative, quoting US industry groups (Chamber of Progress, CCIA, ITIF) who raise concerns about exorbitant costs, potential inefficiency from protectionist rules, and Europe's underlying structural and regulatory hurdles, even as some critics acknowledge the understandable motivation behind the push for greater autonomy.
Rethink Research: While acknowledging EuroStack’s mission for digital sovereignty and independence from US tech, this article initially frames the initiative with some confusion about its relevance beyond an “AI arms race” and as a “political counterweight,” suggesting a less comprehensive understanding or a narrower initial perception of its broad “tech stack” proposals.
Domani Editoriale: highlights EuroStack, led by economist Cristina Caffarra, as an urgent and concrete response to Europe's "alarming" dependency on US Big Tech, particularly in public procurement. The article details the initiative's growing support (now 200 signatories, with significant Italian involvement and backing from French and German governments), its critique of past approaches like Gaia-X for being too open to US influence, and its core "Buy European" demand. It underscores the stark dependency figures (80% EU average for cloud, potentially "almost total in less than three years") and aligns EuroStack's call for public procurement reform and strategic funding with findings from Mario Draghi's report on EU competitiveness, emphasizing the need to create a space where European providers can legitimately compete and secure investment.

Appendix: a List of Concrete Proposals from the White Paper

Under 3.1 "Buy European": Driving Demand by Transforming Strategic Procurement

Mandate "Buy European" rules by appropriately amending the EU Procurement Directive (or through the Cloud and AI Development Act) to require that procurement of digital technology, infrastructure and services is based on objective and verifiable "Buy European" criteria.
- Define "Europe" for procurement purposes (EU Member States, EU candidate states, EFTA, UK with reciprocal agreement).
- Define "European" supplier criteria (e.g., legal HQ in Europe; majority of R&D in Europe; majority of ultimate voting control by European entities/individuals or absence of non-EU control; no extra-EU restrictions over the technology solution; subject to European law; primary tax domicile in Europe).
- Implement deterrence for non-compliance with "Buy European" targets (e.g., public exposure, lowered performance score, corrective action plan).
- Develop clear criteria for qualification as “EuroStack Provider” (allowing self-declaration or recognized certification).
Strategically prioritize Openness as a guiding principle (from Open Source Software to enforceable interoperability and genuinely open standards).
- Additionally, mandate interoperability / “no lock-in” in all public sector contracts.
Establish a measurable target of European purchases by 2030 (expressed as target share of total spend over a period, or share of value of new contracts assigned over a period, with a time profile, for particular levels of the stack) for European and Open Source.
- Start with the purchase of digital solutions that can be used immediately (prioritize existing European SaaS solutions).
Introduce a multisourcing obligation (at least one European supplier in the choice set, potentially with a minimum share for the European supplier).
Invest in pre-commercial procurement to create new capabilities.
Complement existing multiyear contracts (mandate additional tender to introduce a second "European" supplier, potentially with subsidy/compensation).
Consider sensitivity of the data in all procurement decisions.
Prevent circumvention and facilitate access to public procurement for SMEs (de facto deregulate market access for SMEs).

Under 3.2. “Buy European”: Steering Private Sector Demand

Deploying targeted financial incentives (e.g., tax credits, contribution to costs for migrating to European providers or adopting strategic European technologies, compensation of egress fees).
Incentivizing European advisory services leading European customers to European solutions (support visibility/credibility of independent European advisory services).
Leveraging "ESG" alignment & recognition (frame use of trusted European digital providers as a positive contribution to corporate ESG goals, where "S" can stand for "Sovereign").
- Work systematically with auditors, insurers, and ESG rating agencies to factor digital supply chain risk into assessments.
Implementing public funding conditionality (preference points in grant applications for commitment to European digital suppliers, potentially mandating minimum percentage of European digital spend for publicly funded projects).
Leveraging regulatory frameworks for resilience guidance (direct regulators under DORA, NIS2/CER to issue guidance for regulated entities addressing ICT supplier concentration risk and recommending supplier diversification).

Under 3.3 "Sell European": Visibility, Cohesion, Enforceable Openness

Establishing a European Digital Market Intelligence Hub and mandate its consultation to public buyers (with ongoing strategic gap analysis).
Championing Open Source as a strategic asset (prioritizing OSS in public procurement, supporting security auditing/maintenance of critical OSS, encouraging public sector contributions back to OSS communities).
Mandating enforceable Openness & Interoperability (embed strict requirements based on recognized open standards like EIF 1.0, and demonstrable data portability in reformed "Buy European" public procurement rules).
Financing and stimulating adoption of digital commons (open science, open models or weights, especially in AI).
Fostering ecosystem collaboration for integrated solutions (encourage/incentivize partnerships between European digital stakeholders).
Addressing the skills gap to enable adoption (support targeted training programs on vendor-neutral technologies, promote EU-wide certifications, align educational curricula with ecosystem needs).
Facilitating industry-led definition and adoption of key APIs/standards (Commission to facilitate/accelerate industry-led initiatives for open APIs and standards).
Expediting the adoption of uniform cloud security standards (rather than 27 different certifications, possibly reconsidering EUCS High+ criteria).

Under 3.4 "Fund European" (including proposals from 3.4.2, 3.4.3, 3.4.4)

3.4.2 Encouraging private sector investments

Encourage private investment by supporting Europe's digital players federating their services and making them more interoperable (e.g., support for initiatives like SECA).
Reduce capital gains taxation on returns generated from investments in EuroStack certified companies (Member State level, encouraged by EU).
Encourage EU-based champions (not US tech giants) to invest – via trade sales – in European tech startups.
Consider funding for the connectivity sector (e.g., European edge cloud, open RAN ecosystems, LLMs for telecoms, R&I for 6G, quantum communications).
Use non-dilutive grants, financial guarantees, and other investment incentives for private capital.

3.4.3 Mobilising European capital & savings towards private equity and venture capital

Enable institutional investors to access guarantee mechanisms (via national state investment banks or EIF/EIB) for VC investments.
Creation of a European VC Initiative (EVCI) (to foster exchanges, create a label and a fund-of-fund structure at European level).
Development of new types of assets, such as EU Long-Term Saving Products.
An update of Capital requirements for institutional investors (to ease their involvement in VC funds).

3.4.4 A "EuroStack Fund" (potential projects/areas for this fund)

Create a "EuroStack" funding vehicle (potentially by re-assigning funds e.g. from Digital Europe Programme or DMA/DSA fines).
Structure the fund potentially as a Sovereign Fund-of-Funds (SWF) administered/managed by EIB/EIF, integrating a "sovereignty dividend."
Consider an operational agency (like Germany's Sovereign Tech Fund model, perhaps part of EIC) for rolling, non-bureaucratic funding.
Fund to plug "gaps” in the EuroStack offering:
- Investments in SaaS (e.g., office and collaboration suite).
- Investment in cloud and middleware (IaaS, PaaS) to accelerate catch-up.
Fund to support the transition of European Cloud Providers to European-based chips (e.g. DPUs).
Fund for pre-commercial procurement investments in specific circumstances (where public body cannot pre-fund).
Fund for EuroStack-dependent innovation, including AI (leveraging EuroStack infrastructure).
Fund for scale-up (e.g., public funding to provide a 1 or 1.5 to 1 match for private European funds for tech scaleups).
Fund for migration costs to European suppliers (public assistance or tax credits for switching costs).
Fund for early-stage firms and SMEs (where private financing is initially insufficient).