A new push to formalize transatlantic digital policy could reshape how Europe and the United States confront shared technological rivals. Industry leaders want a standing EU-US Digital Dialogue, not another symbolic summit.
Digital competition now drives economic power, military readiness, and geopolitical leverage. Yet recent years have produced friction alongside fitful cooperation. Both sides still share fundamental interests, particularly in areas where neither can dominate alone.
Europe brings regulatory heft and strength in critical technologies. The United States contributes an unmatched innovation ecosystem. Combined, these assets could make both partners more competitive globally. That logic underpins calls for a broad, forward-looking Digital Dialogue following high-level engagements between the European Commission and the US government in July 2026.
The proposed platform would tackle artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cybersecurity, secure connectivity, digital infrastructure, investment flows, and resilient supply chains. It would also serve as an outcome-focused venue for aligning positions on export controls, investment screening, online safety, and other emerging challenges. Coordinated transatlantic stances within the G7 would remain a parallel goal.
Industry involvement sits at the core of this vision. The transatlantic market represents the world’s largest bilateral trade and investment relationship, anchored by €4.9 trillion in mutual investment. That scale matters for companies scaling digital, critical, and dual-use technologies. Open access across the Atlantic remains essential.
European and American firms already develop, deploy, and invest in the technologies powering the digital economy. Their complementary expertise could keep the Dialogue practical, ambitious, and capable of producing concrete results.
DIGITALEUROPE has pushed this agenda through contributions to US consultations on advanced AI export controls and the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion. The organization has also advanced proposals for EU-US cybersecurity mutual recognition. Its Washington, D.C. presence and the Transatlantic Tech Reception, launched one year ago, have strengthened its convening power among senior policymakers and industry leaders.
With enough political will, the Digital Dialogue could become the next chapter of transatlantic partnership rather than another missed opportunity.
