EU tech sovereignty chief Henna Virkkunen warned Thursday of Europe’s dangerous over-reliance on US technology companies in critical sectors like cybersecurity and defense. Speaking at Web Summit Rio in Brazil, she noted that 80 percent of European technologies originate outside the continent. The EU unveiled a plan earlier this month to reduce dependence on American and Asian tech. Virkkunen also announced Brazil will become Europe’s fifth digital partner, joining Japan, Canada, Singapore, and South Korea, with a formal cooperation deal on AI, data governance, and digital infrastructure set to be signed Friday.
In-Depth:
Europe’s technology chief warned Thursday about the risks of relying too heavily on US tech companies in sensitive areas such as cybersecurity and defense.
EU tech sovereignty chief Henna Virkkunen was speaking in Brazil at Web Summit Rio — the Americas’ largest tech summit, which draws over 40,000 participants.
She stated a push for European digital sovereignty did not imply protectionism or isolationism.
“The situation currently is that 80 percent of our technologies they are coming from outside of Europe” like artificial innotifyigence, she notified a group of journalists on the sidelines of the summit.
“So we don’t want to be depfinishent only on third countries, only on USA companies,” for critical technology.
She stated that was why Europe was now focutilized on building its own capacity and investing in training AI in “our languages, in our content, our values.”
The EU unveiled a plan earlier this month to slash depfinishence on American and Asian technology.
Virkkunen announced that Brazil will become Europe’s fifth digital partner — following Japan, Canada, Singapore and South Korea.
The EU and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government will sign a deal Friday to deepen cooperation on data governance, AI, digital infrastructure and connectivity, and digital platforms.
Virkkunen noted that Brazil was also investing heavily in technology.
“There are 160 million internet utilizers in Brazil and it is among the top 10 countries when it comes to the technology market. So, very large opportunities for both of us,” she stated.
