RESOLUTION | European Digital Sovereignty Now

The Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists, convening in Athens, Greece, on 22-23 November 2025 has approved the following resolution:

Having regard to

• the Treaty on European Union and the European Parliament’s resolutions, underlining the role of the EU to uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens in all areas, including the digital sector,
• the territorial application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to the European Free Trade Agreement Area, 
• the territorial application of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) to the EU,
• the 2025 State of the Digital Decade report, which highlights the persistent dependence of European digital infrastructures on non-European providers and calls for strengthened action,
• the creation of the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium for digital commons, aimed at strengthening European autonomy in digital infrastructures and services,
• the US administration sanctions targeting UN officials, including measures taken against the International Criminal Court (ICC), illustrating the concrete risks of dependence on digital infrastructures controlled by non-European actors, particularly for communication, data storage, and collaborative tools,

Concerned by the fact that

• most European companies’ data is still hosted on non-European infrastructures, exposing the Union to major risks in terms of security, data protection, and strategic dependence,
• non-European control of digital infrastructures demonstrates that dependence on GAFAM tools is not limited to economic or technical issues, but constitutes a direct threat to the rule of law, judicial independence, and European sovereignty,
• the DMA and DSA, although in force, struggle to reverse the dominance of  extra-territorial digital actors in Europe,
• digital sovereignty is a strategic issue, and that digital sovereignty should be considered a priority for the Union’s autonomy, particularly in the face of risks of interference and extraterritorial sanctions,

Considering that

• bolstering The European digital economic sector needs exemplarity from European and national institutions, activism from pro-European actors as Europe-based digital alternatives already exist, are sufficient for most user cases but need help to reach the critical mass to make them affordable and attractive,

Calls on the European Commission and the Council of the European Union to:

• accelerate the migration of the European institutions’ internal digital tools to European, sovereign, open-source, and GDPR-compliant solutions, setting a binding timeline and providing targeted support and a permanent coordination framework to Member States, local authorities and public institutions with lower digital capacities, to ensure a cohesive and secure Union-wide transition and to avoid as soon as possible any vulnerability linked to foreign interference,
• strengthen the criteria for awarding public digital contracts in favor of European-based actors complying with European standards, while ensuring fair and equal access for innovators, startups, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from all Member States, taking into account the need to support those operating in regions with lower digital capacity to achieve balanced participation across the Union,
• require European digital service providers (ISPs, transport operators, etc.) to systematically offer alternatives to extraterritorial non-compliant entities when partnering with third-party platforms (e.g., marketplaces, ride-hailing services, etc.), to guarantee user freedom of choice, boost the European digital sector and reduce dependence on non-compliant actors,

Calls on the European Parliament to:

• strengthen parliamentary oversight of the implementation of the DMA and DSA, and publish an annual report on progress in digital sovereignty,

Invites the Member States to:

• generalize the use of Europe-based alternatives in their public administrations as soon as possible, prioritizing communication and sensitive data storage tools, and harmonize their public procurement policies to foster the emergence of an integrated European digital ecosystem,

Mandates the UEF Executive Bureau and propose to national sections to: show example, and migrate, as soon as possible, to compliant Europe-based digital tools for their internal and external activities.