European Technological Sovereignty: An Emerging Framework for Policy Strategy.

Area of Science:

• Economics
• Political Science
• Technology Policy

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant technological and production vulnerabilities within the European Union (EU).
• These vulnerabilities are concentrated in strategically critical sectors, leading to increased discussion about European technological sovereignty.
• Existing industrial policies have not adequately addressed these dependencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the implications of the COVID-19 crisis on European technological sovereignty.
• To advocate for the integration of technological sovereignty into the objectives and instruments of European industrial policy.
• To inform the debate on relaunching a robust European industrial strategy.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on strategic sectors.
• Review of current European industrial policy frameworks.
• Policy analysis focusing on the concept of technological sovereignty.

Main Results:

• The crisis underscored the EU's overreliance on third countries for critical technologies and production.
• A significant gap exists in achieving genuine European technological sovereignty.
• Current policy instruments are insufficient to address these strategic dependencies.

Conclusions:

• Technological sovereignty must become a central tenet of any renewed European industrial policy.
• Policy objectives and instruments need to be redesigned to foster domestic capabilities and reduce external dependencies.
• Proactive integration of sovereignty considerations is essential for the EU's future economic and strategic security.