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Jun 2025
This article was originally published in Decoding, our monthly briefing on the latest trends in government technology. Sign up here to receive future editions directly in your inbox.
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As Denmark gets ready to take over the EU Council Presidency on 1 July, digital sovereignty is rising to the top of Europe’s priority list.
From keeping kids safe online to managing cyber risk and regulating critical infrastructure, Denmark is stepping into a key role, tying digital sovereignty to trust and competitiveness. The presidency programme covers algorithmic accountability, AI governance, and supply chain security, reflecting a broader shift in European thinking: one where digital infrastructure is not just a utility, but a strategic asset.
This edition of Decoding explores how Denmark’s approach fits into the bigger European picture and what the new national digitalisation strategy tells about the road ahead. We also speak with Denmark’s Minister for Digital Affairs, Caroline Stage, who offers insight into how open source can be a strategic tool for digital resilience and how European cooperation can strengthen the digital foundations of democracy in an age of geopolitical uncertainty.
We can’t talk about digital sovereignty without talking about digital resilience. If digital sovereignty is the goal, resilience is the force to achieve it, inspired by Swedish researcher and strategist Carl Heath’s framing as foundational for democratic digital control. Building on this, we explore how Europe can design robust infrastructure capable of enduring disruption and withstanding challenges.
A digitally sovereign Europe is one where no foreign power or private tech giant can flip a switch and bring down infrastructure or manipulate public discourse. Just as Europe once built public railways and energy grids to power the industrial age, it must now invest in its digital foundations: secure, open, and resilient systems capable of withstanding market failures and geopolitical pressure.
That means building credible, scalable alternatives and interoperability by design. Think EU-hosted cloud services for government, municipal broadband, publicly funded open-source software, or Europe-backed protocols for open social platforms. This is not to edge out private innovation, but to ensure it’s not the only game in town, and that proper standards are in place for innovation and digital transformation to bolster Europe without compromising citizens' data.
Some parts of digital infrastructure are simply too foundational to democracy to be left to the market alone. Communication networks, identity systems, and public information platforms must be resilient enough to stay online even if a vendor collapses, a contract is pulled, or a cable is cut.
Building resilience requires a full-spectrum approach: from securing energy and connectivity at the physical layer to ensuring trusted software and cloud tools at the user layer. It also means rethinking public procurement as a lever of industrial strategy, using state demand to support European alternatives and reduce lock-in. This isn’t protectionism. It’s the same logic that underpins US federal contracts, which have helped build Silicon Valley into a global superpower. Europe must now grow its open ecosystem, rooted in European infrastructure, but globally connected.
In a world of algorithmic propaganda and weaponised disinformation, resilience also means protecting the democratic process. A society that loses control over its public discourse cannot govern itself freely. This is where media policy, digital platform regulation, and cybersecurity intersect. Europe must ensure that its information ecosystem – news, social media, and public debate – remains resistant to manipulation. That’s not just a technical question; it’s a democratic one.
A stronger, more resilient digital Europe won’t be built overnight. But the foundation is clear. Sovereignty in the 21st century will be measured not just in borders or budgets, but in bandwidth, redundancy, and the ability to govern our digital future on our own terms.
Europe has begun to sketch that blueprint, in pursuit of its path for digital resilience. The question now is: What does a distinctively European approach look like? The answer begins with a Brussels-crafted manifesto dubbed “The European Way”.
With rhetorical flair that quotes Churchill's iconic “We shall fight on the beaches” speech on page two, the tone is clear: the stakes are high and Europe is gearing up for a serious fight.
Why the urgency? Because Europe’s digital trajectory has drifted toward dependency on foreign cloud providers, closed platforms, and imported technologies that shape everything from business workflows to public-sector infrastructure. This dependence now threatens not only economic security but also political stability and geopolitical leverage. Yet Europe is not without power. The EU holds strong cards: a vast internal market, a highly skilled workforce, world-class research institutions, and unmatched regulatory muscle. The missing piece, according to the authors, is coordination and political will – and cigars and sandbags of course.
The paper identifies six priority areas for coordinated reform:
Each pillar is underpinned by six shared values: strategic resilience, principled governance, interoperability, sustainability, decentralised innovation, and trust.
Together, these proposals add a clear message: Europe can’t regulate its way to digital sovereignty. It must build it. That means scaling its alternatives, shaping the rules of global tech governance, and ensuring that democratic values are embedded in the infrastructure of the future. Trusted, interoperable systems, rooted in European principles but globally connected, are the key to lasting influence in a contested digital world.
→ Read the full paper here.
🇪🇺 EU: Launch of international digital strategy
Brussels has launched a new international digital strategy to advance secure connectivity, trusted tech, and democratic digital norms worldwide, sharpening its geopolitical edge in the global tech race.
🇬🇧 UK: New cybersecurity bill sets stricter rules and faster reporting
The UK’s upcoming Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill expands oversight to more critical sectors, tightens reporting timelines, and strengthens enforcement, echoing elements from the EU’s NIS2 and DORA frameworks.
🇸🇪 Sweden: New national centre for security and resilience
The Stockholm School of Economics has launched the Centre for Security and Resilience to strengthen preparedness across cybersecurity, supply chains, disinformation, and innovation. Backed by government, industry, and defence actors, the initiative reflects a whole-of-society response to growing geopolitical and systemic risks.
🇩🇪 Germany: OpenDesk replaces Microsoft in Bundeswehr systems
Germany’s Bundeswehr is replacing Microsoft in favour of OpenDesk, a secure open-source office suite designed to enhance digital sovereignty and reduce reliance on foreign tech vendors.
🇨🇦 Canada: G7 leaders position quantum as strategic infrastructure
At the 2025 G7 Summit in Canada, leaders pledged joint action on quantum technologies, framing them as critical to security, economic growth, and innovation. A new Joint Working Group will steer cooperation on standards, risk, and defence-related applications.
🇩🇰 Denmark: EU presidency programme prioritises resilience
Last week, Denmark unveiled its EU Council presidency programme under the slogan “A strong Europe in a changing world”, prioritising security and competitiveness while doubling down on the green transition. The agenda commits to practical goals, from regulatory simplification and Ukraine support to bolstering digital resilience.
On 11 June, Denmark released its 2026–2029 national digitalisation strategy – a roadmap to build a more resilient and sovereign digital future. The strategy focuses on four core areas:
The strategy reinforces the idea that digital resilience is not a technical add-on, but a core part of national policy, shaping how systems are built, how technologies are adopted, and how services are delivered.
→ Read more here (in Danish).
Denmark’s shift from foreign tech providers is already visible locally. Copenhagen and Aarhus – the country’s two largest cities – are leading efforts to reduce reliance on Microsoft products and cloud services.
In Copenhagen, officials cited high licensing costs and a growing need for diversified infrastructure. Aarhus has already transitioned to a German cloud provider and reports significant savings in public IT budgets.
Both cities are now actively exploring alternatives within the European digital ecosystem. These efforts reflect broader EU priorities: increasing autonomy in public-sector IT and ensuring that foundational services are built on infrastructure that is secure, resilient, and regionally aligned.
Denmark’s direction is clear – nationally and locally. Sovereignty and resilience are being built into digital infrastructure at every level.
We asked the Minister for Digital Affairs, Caroline Stage, to share her perspective on digital sovereignty and the role of open-source solutions in Europe’s digital future.
What motivated the Ministry of Digital Affairs to test open source system, and how does this decision reflect Denmark’s broader vision for European digital sovereignty and strategic resilience?
Digital sovereignty has only become more important during my time as minister. In a world of trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty, and rising license costs, it’s clear that we can’t just talk about digital independence – we have to start acting on it. Therefore, we chose to test open-source solutions because we believe it's time to walk the talk. If we want more openness, flexibility and control in our digital infrastructure, we need to take the first steps ourselves – and learn from them. It’s a long-term journey, but we need to start now: test what works and what doesn’t. And yes, it takes courage to change habits that have shaped our systems for decades. But this is a strategic priority. We need to reduce our dependency on a few global providers and ensure that Europe can shape its own digital future.
How do you see the role of open-source software in strengthening transparency, data control, and long-term resilience in public institutions?
Open-source solutions are one of several important approaches when we talk about digital sovereignty. It’s not realistic – or even desirable – to cut ourselves off completely. But it is both necessary and realistic to reduce our dependence on a handful of tech giants. This isn’t about isolation – it’s about creating more alternatives and better competition.
And we need to explore how open-source systems can enhance transparency, control and resilience in the public sector. Last year, all political parties in Denmark agreed to launch a review of how open source is used in the public sector, and what it takes to promote its use more broadly. Once that work is completed later this year, I look forward to discussing the results with the Danish Parliament. We need to ensure that public authorities have real choices – and are not locked into a single vendor’s ecosystem.
How could stronger EU legislation on interoperability support competition and innovation, especially in challenging the dominance of major tech platforms?
When we push for stronger interoperability rules in the EU, it’s really about making sure that digital systems can work together, regardless of who built them. That gives both public authorities and businesses the freedom to choose the solutions that suit them best. It also supports fairer competition and helps reduce Europe’s dependency on just a few dominant platforms. That is also why we explore the opportunities in open source.
As Denmark prepares for its upcoming EU Council Presidency, how do you hope to influence the European agenda on digital sovereignty?
Our goal is to set a clear, shared direction for Europe: to stand stronger on our own, become more competitive, and reduce our dependency on a few dominant tech providers.
That means creating clear and fair rules across the EU – not rules that put European innovators at a disadvantage, but ones that reflect our values and demand openness, transparency and trust. This is a long-term effort, and Denmark can’t do it alone. That’s why we need Europe to move together toward a more sovereign and resilient digital future.
If Europe wants to set the standards for others, we can’t just write the rules – we have to build the game too.
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