The European Union’s Digital Nine group, now the D9+, has set itself a mission of boosting European tech leadership. This push comes at a moment when the Commission is ramping up simplification, preparing to launch an effective 28th regime, and rolling out a tech sovereignty package. A CEPA roundtable convened government officials, policy experts, and private sector representatives to take stock of what the latest D9+ ministerial in Luxembourg revealed, and where the group of digital frontrunners will focus next. The conversation centered on European competitiveness, regulatory simplification, the tech sovereignty debate, and protecting minors online. The incoming Irish EU Presidency is expected to keep competitiveness at the top of the agenda.
Sovereignty Through Openness
Roundtable participants emphasized that European tech independence will be won through economic growth and the strategic use of AI chokepoints, rather than by closing European startups off from frontier technology in the name of sovereignty. Several in attendance warned that limiting European companies to second-rate tools would entrench, rather than close, the gap with the United States and China. The S9+ Luxembourg Declaration reflects that logic. It positioned the D9+ group and the S9+ Coalition decisively toward openness rather than protectionism.
EU Inc. and the Scale-Up Problem
EU Inc., the European Commission’s effort to establish a unified incorporation regime across the bloc, remains a top priority for the European startup community. Participants framed EU Inc. as a retention mechanism. The goal is to keep European companies in Europe through the scale-up stage, when capital needs and legal complexity typically push founders to relocate.
The political risk created by inconsistent regulation across member states surfaced repeatedly. Several attendees noted that fragmentation precludes the deployment of European capital at scale. However, the US is also not a monolith. Some participants cautioned that its tech regulation landscape is fractured across federal agencies and state lines, and the contrast with Europe may be less stark than it appears. Nevertheless, a less risk-averse financial system and a corporate-friendly incorporation regime in the state of Delaware make US capital markets more attractive, even for European scale-ups.
Protecting Minors and Building Trust
Broad consensus, with a few notable exceptions, has emerged around social media bans for children, a point of convergence across an otherwise contested digital policy agenda.
Takeaways
The throughline was the importance of trust, both across the Atlantic and between member states, alongside the international partnerships Europe will need to make its sovereignty agenda credible. Participants maintained that the most durable path to tech independence runs through a favorable environment for European startups to scale and thrive, rather than through protectionism that would leave them outmatched by global competitors. The Irish Presidency inherits a coalition that has real divisions over whether to build a full Euro-stack or prioritize leveraging strategic chokepoints in the AI supply chain. Forming a consensus will be difficult. Turning that consensus into a coherent regulatory environment that creates new European champions will be even harder. The future of the European tech agenda is a space policymakers must watch.
Jack Galloway is a Program Assistant with the Tech Policy Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
Alina Kreynovich is a Program Assistant for External Affairs at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
This event was held at the Center for European Policy Analysis under the Chatham House Rule.
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