At the Berlin Digital Sovereignty Summit, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the need for Europe to assert its independence in the digital realm.
Chancellor Merz warned that systemic rivalry between the US and China, both digital superpowers, is shaping the future of technology and global power. He highlighted recent disruptions in cloud services and chip supply as evidence of Europe’s dependency on foreign technologies, calling for swift action to protect Europe’s digital sovereignty.
President Macron stressed that sovereignty doesn’t mean isolation, but rather bold investments and decisions to avoid new dependencies. He also criticized the lack of regulation for US tech giants and the risks it poses to democracy.
00:00The tectonic shifts that we are currently experiencing
00:29in the world's political and economic centers of power require rapid action in the digital
00:35space, because the questions of the future will largely be decided in the digital space.
00:44So once again, a very warm welcome, dear Emmanuel Maher.
00:48We are seeing the systemic rivalry between the USA and China.
00:52Two major powers, also two digital superpowers, vying for technological leadership.
01:03Europe must not leave this field to them.
01:07It must, in terms of digital sovereignty.
01:11We have seen the disruptions at two of the three major cloud providers and the supply
01:18bottlenecks for essential chips in recent weeks.
01:24And these disruptions show that we are dependent on digital technologies, both from China and
01:30the United States of America.
01:33And we experience very directly and immediately how these dependencies are used politically
01:38and for power politics.
02:10Down-stam, up-stam, being more sovereign and more independent doesn't mean you want to be.
02:19No, but it means on the key pile on the key building blocks you want to preserve your sovereignty, and this is just refusing to be a vessel, and indeed there is a short end cost.
02:30Not to be a vessel because you have to reinvest. You sometimes have to take very bold decisions, to be sure, you will not create new dependencies.
02:40In democracy, usable tech companies without regulation, impossible because you can dedicate strengths of your economy to the seven magnificence and more than that you can delegate the entire functioning.
03:06Welcome.
03:12Thanks to German Diplomacy and President Steiner for incredible help.
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