Sebastiano Toffaletti

Titel des Standpunkts von Sebastiano Toffaletti (European DIGITAL SME Alliance), Kai Zenner (Berater beim Europaabgeordneten Axel Voss) und Francesco Bonfiglio (Dynamo): "Warum die europäische Souveränität auch vom Ausbau eigener digitaler Kompetenzen abhängt." aus dem aktuellen Briefing Digitalisierung & KI.

Die Fähigkeit Europas, die Kontrolle der angebotenen & genutzten digitalen Produkte & Infrastrukturen wiederzuerlangen, setzt voraus, dass die massive #Abhängigkeit von ausländischen Anbietern beendet wird, so @sebastianobxl.bsky.social, @kzenner.bsky.social & Francesco Bonfiglio 👉 is.gd/ZWE2g5

Microsoft: ‘Geen diensten aan ICC-organisatie gestopt’ Het contact tussen Microsoft en het Internationaal Strafhof (ICC) sinds februari heeft geleid tot het loskoppelen van de Britse hoofdaanklager Karim Khan van Microsoft-diensten. Dat bevestigt een woor...

US tech companies ultimately act as agents of the US government. Tech dependency is no longer an acceptable risk for the EU. As in the #Eurostack strategy, Europe urgently needs an autonomous tech stack for its sovereignty, security, and strategic interests
www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/digitaal/mic...

Tech solutions made in Europe: Building a sovereign digital workplace

Are there EU solutions to replace foreign #digitaltools?

@digitalsme.eu kicks off first webinar of « Tech Solutions Made in Europe »
featuring @proton.me, @nextcloud.bsky.social & @whereby-api.bsky.social , moderated by #EuroStack initiator @robin.berjon.com

www.digitalsme.eu/events/tech-...

EU fines Apple €500M and Meta €200M for breaking Europe’s digital rules The highly anticipated penalties are the first to be issued under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act.

These fines signal the EC is willing to enforce EU laws despite US pressure. But are they enough? They fall far short of the 10% annual turnover mark & come over a year after the law took effect. For BigTech, this is just a small cost of doing highly profitable business in the EU
shorturl.at/mg58S

Unlocking EU tech sovereignty through SME power, EuroStack, and new finance - Euractiv Empowering Europe’s tech SMEs is essential for digital sovereignty. Nicole Verbeeck talks EuroStacks with Sebastiano Toffaletti, Secretary-General of the European DIGITAL SME Alliance.

My interview on #Euractiv. I talk about #techsovereignity, #SME power and #EuroStack

www.euractiv.com/section/tech...

The new German coalition's stance on #tech seems very much in line with the @ec.europa.eu s #AI Continent Action Plan presented yesterday. Plus #Eurostack!

h/t @guybanim.bsky.social @robin.berjon.com

Unlocking EU tech sovereignty through SME power, EuroStack, and new finance - Euractiv Empowering Europe’s tech SMEs is essential for digital sovereignty. Nicole Verbeeck talks EuroStacks with Sebastiano Toffaletti, Secretary-General of the European DIGITAL SME Alliance.

“Europe can gain control of the critical infrastructures that underpin digital ecosystems by creating market demand for EU sovereign services and by supporting the federation of our SMEs around open APIs and interoperability standards.” @sebastianobxl.bsky.social in www.euractiv.com/section/tech...

Buy European, Buy Democracy | American Phoenix In the wake of the realization that Europe must now provide its own security, the EU is launching a Buy European regime to support the effort. For those familiar with EU trade policy, the public discu...

I did a new blogpost about the growing Buy European movement. In response to questions from non-trade people interested in the issue, I’ve described how to think through litigation risk at the World Trade Organization. americanphoenixpllc.com/buy-european... A short thread:

#Eurostack

Excellent job by MEP @alexandrageese.bsky.social in the EU Parliament. She is an outstanding advocate of the #EuroStack movement.
Tech #sovereignty and #competitiveness are two sides of the same coin. One reinforces the other!

Read more www.linkedin.com/posts/alexan...

Do we want Meta and X to stop manipulating voters in Europe? Here is how they would take the DSA seriously. Let’s amend the law.

To address the imbalances and the dependency, European companies are asking for a bold industrial policy strategy. This does not mean that EU industry wants subsidies. On the contrary, our companies have the industrial capacity and they only ask the public sector to collaborate towards the same goal

Let’s not read in this letter things that do not exist. The DMA is a great thing and all European companies I know support it. What is wrong is just the narrative that the DMA alone can solve the imbalances from US companies that own the critical assets in the tech stack, both hardware and software

European industry demands Eurostack to power EU competitiveness

We gathered nearly 100 CEOs in a letter to the Commssion calling for bold action on the #EuroStack initiative

www.digitalsme.eu/european-ind...

Defense giants want von der Leyen to boost made-in-Europe tech European industrial and tech firms want the EU’s backing to reduce reliance on the U.S.

Up to 100 European companies and lobby groups including heavyweights Airbus and Dassault are pressing the European Commission to force more home-made technology into the bloc's digital infrastructure.

First in Morning Tech, now free to read:
www.politico.eu/article/airb...

Latest GPAI Code of Practice draft kicks off lobbying fight - Euractiv The Code can't be killed, but could reinforce AI Act obligations or offer a way around them.

Was quoted in an insightful article by #Euractiv on lobbying surrounding the implementation of #AIAct.
#BigTech are pushing to "transfer obligations down the supply chain" to #SMEs and #startups and "avoid passing on information about the AI model they design".

www.euractiv.com/section/tech...

EU-US rift triggers call for made-in-Europe tech Transatlantic tensions are fueling calls for the EU to wean itself off its U.S. tech addiction. It won’t be cheap.

The European Union is under pressure to step up its tech game and wean itself off a heavy reliance on United States digital infrastructure and services as transatlantic ties hit a new low.

My latest for POLITICO:

www.politico.eu/article/push...

Thank you, Pieter. As many other EU tech companies, I am convinced that #EuroStack does not require the €trillion public investment that #BigTech and their proxies are claiming. The EU just needs to set the right priorities and use the existing money accordingly.

Great exchange on #EuroStack at the #MWC in Barcelona with
#DimitrisPapastergiou, the Greek minister of digital transformation

Good question! I agree that the basic DPI frameworks in the EU and India are quite comparable, but India Stack enables a series of applications and protocols that go much beyond, like #beckn. These include e-commerce, energy, mobility and more. becknprotocol.io/all-projects/

EU-India Trade and Technology Council: A chance to join forces for a “Euro-India Stack”

My opinion proposing convergence in tech policies between the #EU and #India. Both are pursuing their own #techsovereignty. #IndiaStack is a successful initiative with adoption among 1,2 billion people. Europe should learn from it and have our own #eurostack!

www.digitalsme.eu/eu-india-tra...

See euro-stack.eu/a-pitch-paper/ for an overall strategy.

It's a lot to cover, but we can break it down into manageable chunks and prioritise. Every step away from the tech broligarchy is a step towards freedom.

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE FROM SOVEREIGN TALK TO SOVEREIGN TECH: “Infrastructure is power,” Robin Berjon, one of the people behind the Eurostack initiative, told the Brux Conference — aka antitrust economist Cristina Caffarra’s conference — on Thursday, lamenting over the fact that “sovereign talk” has long been overshadowing “sovereign tech.” “When you control the infrastructure, you control the future,” which is not a matter that regulation can solve, Berjon said. He lashed out at a recent study by the Chamber of Progress (a group with U.S. Big T ech members such as Meta, Google and Apple) which put a €5 trillion price tag on a potential Eurostack. “It’s nonsense,” he argued, stressing that Europe has many “pieces of the puzzle” already and this is just about bringing them together. Europe’s poor decision-making: For the founder of German AI lab Aleph Alpha, Jonas Andrulis, Europe has been making bad choices. “We make decisions while ignoring strategic externalities,” he said, meaning “we are choosing the short-term cheapest options” which allows tech giants to have a foot in the door, own the data, and drive innovation until they can leverage their monopoly to sideline promising rivals. “The only path towards sovereignty is value creation, ” Andrulis claimed.

Good times were had at the Brux Conference yesterday 🤭

Indeed, I've been hearing talk of tech sovereignty for years but with very little in terms of concrete actions to match.

Captured infrastructure is as incompatible with democracy as it is with an open market — it's high time for change.

How can Europe regain its #sovereignty and #competitiveness?
Here is a pitch on #eurostack: Europe’s best chance to build its own technology.
I contributed to this paper with @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social @robin.berjon.com, V. Bertola, F. Bonfiglio and K. Zenner.

euro-stack.eu/a-pitch-paper/

What to expect from the year 2025? Early signs are alarming.
⛔️#ElonMusk mingling with elections in UK & Germany.
⛔️#Zuckerberg cancelling content moderation opening up all sorts of misuse of social media.
#Techbillionaires are the new world overlords.
Where is Europe’s political leadership?

Are you looking for a #job with a #purpose in 2025?
✅ The European DIGITAL SME Alliance stands for a different technology ecosystem, where companies win not because they are dominant, but because their technologies suit the #people and the #planet.
Check out www.digitalsme.eu/about/vacanc...

Europe can have its own Silicon Valley, with digital SMEs at its heart Henna Virkkunen, EU Commission Executive Vice-President, has announced the investment of €750 million in seven supercomputers to propel the AI capacity of European industry.

Great coverage by @euractiv.com of the 2024 #DSMEsummit. The digital SMEs community at the centre of EU #techsovereignity. Europe needs to reclaim its #eurostack!

www.euractiv.com/section/digi...

DIGITAL SME summit Brussels biggest event for ICT SMEs. The time for a fairer, more open and inclusive digital society has finally come. Break the digital with us!

My op-ed on Euractiv: It is time for Europe to be serious about #techsovereignty. At stake: Our freedom, democracy & competitiveness. The EU does not need more regulation, but an ambitious industrial strategy. Gov & industry must work together to deliver
#Eurostack
www.euractiv.com/section/tech...

The “Sovereign Democratic Infrastructure”-Hyperscalers Trick. Why We Shouldn’t Fall for It, and What We Should Do Instead Now that the election of President Trump in the US is perceived to have lowered “danger levels” to Usual Suspects digital platforms, at least at home (whether this will be really true is another ma…

The “sovereign digital infrastructure” narrative is being appropriated by hyperscalers building giant datacentres all over, which they hilariously then call “sovereign” because they’re “here”. Governments kiss the ring because of AI FOMO. Some thoughts here

cristinacaffarra.blog/2024/12/01/t...

DIGITAL SME summit Brussels biggest event for ICT SMEs. The time for a fairer, more open and inclusive digital society has finally come. Break the digital with us!

The annual DIGITAL SME Summit is coming up. Discover the power of indipendent tech #SMEs and #startups to deliver a different technology: #open, #humancentric, #sustainable and #sovereign.
Join us on 10 December in Brussels! 🇪🇺
#DSMEsummit

summit.digitalsme.eu