A Third Way: EU Strategic Autonomy through Tech Sovereignty

This is a partnership with the prestigious publication Foreign Policy which discusses global issues technology’s impact on the world, its influence on society, geopolitics and global business, and the challenges and opportunities it brings about in international affairs.

The need for the EU’s ‘strategic autonomy’ – the Union’s ability to decide and act for itself in international affairs – became a major concern for Europe in 2016 after the Trump election.  Despite the transition to a new US administration, European concerns intensified after recent developments in Afghanistan and Southeast Asia (i.e., AUKUS). Brussels and many European capitals are realising, first, that they cannot always depend on US power, and second, that strategic autonomy is not an abstract concept, but needs proper institutional mechanisms to produce it, industrial policies to support it, and clear strategic objectives to guide it.  Therefore, the EU’s quest for strategic autonomy is linked to key industrial sectors that can boost Europe’s technological sovereignty. EU policies on 5G rollout and governance, rare minerals supply chain, and semiconductor manufacturing are debated as a way to reduce reliance both from China and the US. This panel will discuss recent developments and EU initiatives on these sectors, the dynamics between EU members states, and the objectives of a strategically autonomous EU in the context of an intensifying confrontation between the US and China. 

Therefore, the EU’s quest for strategic autonomy is linked to key industrial sectors that can boost Europe’s technological sovereignty. EU policies on 5G rollout and governance, rare minerals supply chain, and semiconductor manufacturing are debated as a way to reduce reliance both from China and the US. This panel will discuss recent developments and EU initiatives on these sectors, the dynamics between EU members states, and the objectives of a strategically autonomous EU in the context of an intensifying confrontation between the US and China. 

Speakers  

• Dragos Tudorache, MEP, Vice-Chair of Renew Europe Group, Chair of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age 
• John Neuffer, President and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association 
• Frances G Burwell, Senior Director, McLarty Associates & Distinguished Fellow, Atlantic Council 

 
Moderated by: Amy Mackinnon, National Security and Intelligence Reporter, Foreign Policy 

In partnership with Foreign Policy