Last week, Code from Finland brought together policymakers, researchers, industry experts and business leaders to discuss one of the most important questions facing Europe today: how can we strengthen European digital sovereignty and create sustainable alternatives in the digital economy?
The discussion highlighted a shared concern: Europe has become heavily dependent on non-European digital platforms, cloud infrastructure and software services. Hundreds of billions of euros flow from Europe to foreign digital service providers every year. At the same time, technological dependency increasingly translates into economic and geopolitical dependency.
Opening the event, Code from Finland Chair Janne Kalliola emphasized the need to move beyond discussion and towards practical action. The goal is not isolation or protectionism, but building competitive European alternatives that create value, jobs and tax revenue within Europe.
Digital sovereignty is about capability, not isolation
Member of Parliament Atte Harjanne stressed that digital sovereignty does not mean cutting ties with the rest of the world. Instead, Europe must reduce critical dependencies and build a more balanced position.
Today, many of the tools used daily by citizens, businesses and public organizations originate outside Europe. While these services provide significant value, overreliance creates risks related to resilience, security and strategic autonomy.
Harjanne argued that progress requires action across multiple domains:
- Public policies that support European competitiveness and security
- Stronger European capital markets and public procurement practices
- Investments in technological capabilities, from infrastructure to software
- Continuous development of talent and expertise
As he noted, change is not a function of time but of action.
Following the value creation
Otto Kässi (ETLA Economic Research) examined the issue from an economic perspective.
While Europe has a significant digital economy, the digital sector’s contribution to GDP remains substantially lower than in the United States. Beyond direct digital services, European organizations also spend significant amounts on software licenses, cloud services, advertising platforms and other digital infrastructure operated by foreign providers.
Kässi highlighted that organizations often face a choice between solutions that are cheaper in the short term and solutions that provide greater sovereignty and long-term strategic value. Traditional procurement decisions frequently overlook costs related to vendor lock-in, weakened bargaining power and the gradual loss of domestic capabilities.
At the same time, he noted that demand for sovereign digital solutions is clearly increasing across Europe. The challenge is building competitive alternatives capable of meeting that demand.
Kässi also emphasized the importance of reference customers in building a competitive European ecosystem. Large anchor customers and early contracts can provide emerging providers with the credibility, revenue and scale needed to develop their offerings and compete effectively. He noted that many of today’s hyperscalers benefited from major public-sector customers in their early stages, helping them build the capabilities and market position they enjoy today.
Rethinking data platforms in the AI era
David Hästbacka from Tampere University focused on the role of data platforms in AI-native software systems.
As AI becomes integrated into nearly every software product, data has become a strategic asset. However, most organizations continue to centralize growing amounts of data within large cloud platforms, creating challenges related to cost, portability and regulatory compliance.
Hästbacka argued for more flexible and composable architectures built on open standards and open-source technologies. Such approaches may increase technical complexity, but they also improve resilience, portability and organizational independence.
Key themes included:
- Avoiding unnecessary vendor lock-in
- Maintaining portability across cloud environments
- Combining cloud, edge and on-premises computing
- Supporting federated and decentralized data management
- Building on open-source technologies and open operational practices
His central message was clear: organizations should preserve optionality for as long as possible and make deliberate choices about where and how data is stored and processed.
Turning ambition into projects
Sami Heikkiniemi from Business Finland focused on how organizations can transform ideas into funded development initiatives.
Heikkiniemi emphasized that research, development and innovation funding now accounts for roughly 90–95% of Business Finland’s activities. He also highlighted that Finland’s public RDI funding is continuing to grow, reaching approximately €978 million next year. For companies, research organizations and ecosystems working on digital sovereignty, AI, cloud technologies and data, this creates significant opportunities to launch ambitious development and innovation projects. He encouraged organizations to take advantage of the available funding and develop initiatives that can strengthen Europe’s digital capabilities.
Particular attention was given to collaborative innovation projects involving multiple companies and research institutions. According to Heikkiniemi, successful initiatives will require strong cooperation, shared goals and active participation from industry.
Business Finland can support these efforts, but the ideas and projects must come from the ecosystem itself.
Building the next generation of European digital infrastructure
The event concluded with a call to action.
Rather than replicating existing hyperscaler models, Europe has an opportunity to create something different: an ecosystem built on open standards, interoperability and competition between many providers rather than dependence on a handful of dominant platforms.
The vision presented was a European digital ecosystem where:
- Multiple providers compete on equal terms
- Open standards reduce lock-in
- Innovation is accelerated through competition
- Developers gain convenience without sacrificing sovereignty
- More value creation remains within Europe
Many of the required technologies, capabilities and companies already exist. The next step is bringing them together into a shared effort.
The message from the day was consistent across speakers: the opportunity is real, the need is urgent, and progress depends on action. Europe’s digital future will not be secured through discussion alone. It will be built through collaboration, investment and execution.
The work has already begun.
The event recording and presentation slides are available to members of the coalition. If you would like to join the coalition or learn more, please fill out the contact form and we will be in touch.