European measures to reduce dependence on foreign technology are putting pressure on the international competitiveness of European companies. Artūrs Alksnis, VP of Public Policy at Proximus Global, warns of this. “Digital sovereignty imposes additional complexity and higher costs on companies operating internationally.”
During the Techritory conference in Riga, Alksnis was particularly critical of European countries’ pursuit of technological independence. The EU views reducing dependence on non-European technology companies as a strategic priority. “For companies that operate globally, such as Proximus, this creates challenges.” According to Alksnis, Europeans are mistaken if they view the continent as a single large market. “From a global perspective, it is just one of many markets.”
Proximus Global, part of the Belgian Proximus Group, operates internationally in the fields of roaming, communications, and digital identity. “Every day, we collaborate within an extensive network of partners and suppliers across a large number of countries.” According to the CEO, this international interconnectedness is not an undesirable dependency. “On the contrary: it is an essential part of our business model.”
Costs and complexity
Alksnis therefore sees relatively few new business opportunities in the European plans. “When we talk about independence internally or with partners, we mainly highlight the complexity that this goal entails.”
Companies operating internationally already have to comply with a wide range of national laws and regulations. Alksnis is convinced that additional European requirements will further complicate this situation. “So we’ll have to carefully weigh which investments are necessary to meet sovereignty requirements and whether those requirements are commercially feasible.” According to Alksnis, there is a risk that measures intended to strengthen European technology companies will, in practice, actually become an obstacle.
Global competitiveness
Alksnis also wonders whether the success of European digital sovereignty should be measured solely by the use of European technology within the EU. “In my view, it’s more important that European companies remain internationally competitive. And even if we want major European players to be competitive on a global scale, we won’t achieve that by focusing exclusively on Europe.”
He pointed to markets such as India and China, which are significantly larger than the European market in terms of connectivity. “Yes, European companies need a strong home market, but they must certainly also maintain access to international customers, technology, and partnerships.”
According to Alksnis, the practical implications of new European requirements are already factoring into strategic considerations. “We’re already spending a lot of time evaluating suppliers and the consequences of future sovereignty obligations.” This raises the question, he says, of whether it will always remain attractive for an international company to invest in specific European solutions, or whether it would be better to focus on other international markets.
His message is not, however, that Europe should abandon its ambitions regarding digital sovereignty. “I do want to point out that technological autonomy and international competitiveness do not always go hand in hand. When establishing new requirements, European policymakers must truly take into account companies that owe their position precisely to global cooperation.”
Proximus involved in technological sovereignty
Despite Alksnis’s criticism, Proximus itself is closely involved in European initiatives related to technological sovereignty, including the sovereign cloud. Techzine previously reported on this. In March of last year, the Proximus NXT division, in collaboration with Clarence, unveiled Europe’s first “disconnected cloud.” The cloud is entirely European and thus achieves the highest level of digital sovereignty.
In April of this year, Proximus, along with three other providers, was selected by the European Commission as a partner under a six-year framework agreement to provide sovereign cloud services to European institutions and agencies.
In a press release, Proximus called this “an important step toward European digital autonomy. It provides a secure, scalable, compatible, and resilient foundation tailored to Europe’s regulatory needs.”