Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and French President Emmanuel Macron have advocated greater independence from digital technology from China and the United States. Both warned at a digital summit in Berlin that Europe would become the two superpowers’ plaything.
Merz supports imposing EU regulations on large US cloud providers. He also announced joint Franco-German guidelines for digital orders from both governments.
He pointed to irregularities at US cloud providers and Chinese chip supply bottlenecks. “This disruption shows that we are dependent on digital technology, both from China and the United States.”
Merz and Macron emphasized that they need to pursue key technologies ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum technology and cloud computing to microelectronics. The Bundeswehr must also be able to defend itself from cyber attacks.
This article will continue to be updated.
