German Minister for Digital Affairs, Karsten Wildberger (CDU), advocates for increased digital sovereignty in Europe while simultaneously cautioning against becoming overly isolated from international partners. Speaking to the television stations RTL and ntv on the sidelines of a digital summit, Wildberger stated that “sovereignty cannot mean that we are opposed to the idea of doing everything ourselves.”
He emphasized that Europe will continue to need collaboration with US companies. However, he stressed that it must be ensured that “data remains secure and that we maintain control.”
At the same time, the federal government is intensifying efforts to develop indigenous European solutions. For him, sovereignty primarily means having “the freedom of choice and the ability to decide: Which solution will I adopt?” Wildberger noted that over the past 15 years, Europe has participated too little in the competition regarding issues such as cloud computing and chips. “We must not allow that to happen with AI,” the Digital Minister added.
