As Europe pushes for tech sovereignty, one open-source advocate has a warning: don’t forget global cooperation.
Amanda Brock, CEO of industry group OpenUK, told TNW that the EU must “get real” about the trade-offs of going it alone.
Brock said tech policymakers must move beyond “tit-for-tat schoolyard politics” and instead “protect global collaboration whilst ensuring the needs of their citizens are met.”
Her comments follow a speech by Eva Maydell in Brussels yesterday, where the Bulgarian lawmaker urged Europe to “sober up” in its quest for tech independence.
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“We need to have a very clear outline plan which, first and foremost, assesses where our strengths are, where we have certain dependencies, and where we need to cooperate,” said Maydell.
In a bid to reduce reliance on global tech giants, European institutions have been ramping up efforts to grow homegrown capabilities in areas such as AI, cloud computing, and semiconductors. These efforts have gained urgency amid rising tensions with the US and China.
However, Brock believes Europe must beware of the trade-offs of tech sovereignty. She points to open-source software, which is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and share — and inherently requires cross-border cooperation.
“Every time we hear talk of ‘sovereignty’ from the EU, in the next breath we hear ‘open-source’,” she said. “Yet these two concepts sit in direct conflict, as open-source has global collaboration at its heart.”
Brock urged Europe to invest in tech infrastructure and talent to support the growth of technologies such as AI, while remaining open to the rest of the world. “No one said it would be easy,” she added.
Andreas Riegler, general partner at APEX Ventures, agrees that Europe must continue to embrace global collaboration.
He warned against competing head-on with the US and China in technologies like cloud infrastructure or foundational AI models.
“Europe must resist isolationist instincts and instead integrate into global tech ecosystems where appropriate,” he said. “Not doing so risks duplication of effort, talent drain, and diminished geopolitical influence in setting global standards.”
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