Airbus, Dassault Systemes, and over 90 smaller European technology companies and lobby groups have called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to establish a sovereign infrastructure fund to increase public investments in cutting-edge technologies.
In an open letter dated March 14, seen by Reuters, the companies and groups emphasized the need for Europe to enhance its technological independence across all aspects of its critical digital infrastructure. They highlighted that current dependencies pose security and sovereignty risks while inhibiting growth.
The letter underscored the importance of a sovereign infrastructure fund to finance this ambitious objective, especially in areas requiring significant capital investment like quantum technologies and chips. Additionally, it suggested that governments implement a "buy European" policy in procurement tenders to stimulate demand and support domestic investment.
The signatories of the letter include French cloud services provider OVH Cloud, various counterparts in EU countries, the European Software Institute, European Startup Network, German AI Association, the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), and French public investment bank BPI France.
The letter was also directed to EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen.