EU digital sovereignty a myth, Belgian cybersecurity head says

European digital sovereignty is a failing concept, with the continent having "effectively lost the internet," according to a stark assessment from Miguel De Bruycker, Director of Belgium's Centre for Cybersecurity, Cybernews reports.

In comments to the Financial Times, De Bruycker argued that Europe's overwhelming reliance on American technology giants for cloud services and digital infrastructure has ceded control and exposed the bloc to geopolitical pressure. This dependency was highlighted by recent U.S. visa bans on EU officials, a move which Brussels lacked the leverage to effectively counter.

De Bruycker emphasized that U.S. laws like the CLOUD Act mean data stored in Europe remains subject to foreign jurisdiction, making true data sovereignty "currently impossible."

He criticized current regulatory efforts like the AI Act for stifling innovation and called for a coordinated, Airbus-like European initiative to build competitive, sovereign digital infrastructure instead of merely attempting to constrain American hyperscalers.