1. In an interview published July 25, 2025, Help Net Security features Wire CEO Benjamin Schilz discussing Europe’s digital sovereignty and framing it as a central strategic goal, shifting the discussion from mere regulation to building independently resilient, European-centered technology infrastructure.
2. Schilz notes that despite past regulatory efforts like GDPR and Schrems II, data still flows across the Atlantic via fragile legal frameworks such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. He highlights Gaia‑X as a milestone project intended to create a federated, transparent European cloud ecosystem, though he emphasizes it’s still in early implementation phases.
3. He emphasizes that the EU AI Act offers regulatory traction and confirms Europe can enforce tech rules—but what’s critical now is building independence so digital infrastructure isn’t shaped by foreign powers. In his view, digital sovereignty is now about European resilience, not just privacy.
4. Open-source and decentralized technologies are highlighted as foundational to Europe’s strategic autonomy. By treating digital infrastructure like energy or water, Schilz argues Europe must support public‑interest tech built with transparency and local control. More than funding, he says Europe needs a “risk-on” environment that rewards ambition and scale.
5. According to Schilz, simply labeling platforms as sovereign—without guaranteeing compliance with EU legal frameworks—is deceptive marketing. True sovereignty requires vendors to commit to EU law, end‑to‑end encryption, data residency, and open standards. If a provider can override those with U.S. obligations, their sovereignty claims fall flat.
6. As concrete proof of impact, Schilz cites deployments of Wire in several German ministries (Interior, Education & Research, Health), showing how secure, sovereign messaging platforms can improve public‑sector efficiency and transparency.
7. Finally, he outlines the necessary criteria for EU‑based AI deployments: they must be hosted within the EU, encrypted end‑to‑end, built with open‑source models, and eliminate reliance on non‑EU jurisdictions. These measures, he says, are essential for maintaining control, trust, and compliance in a complex threat environment.
Perspective
Overall, Schilz offers a compelling vision of digital sovereignty that moves beyond abstract principles toward tangible infrastructure and governance choices. I agree that sovereignty isn’t achieved through legislation alone—it demands architecting systems around open‑source, encryption, interoperability, and EU‑jurisdictional commitments. These design choices are critical for trust and autonomy in an increasingly geopolitically charged tech landscape.
That said, the challenge remains daunting. Projects like Gaia‑X still face hurdles of scale and coordination, and Europe’s fragmented regulatory and investment environment may slow progress. As reported by the Financial Times, Europe continues to lag in venture capital, unified strategy, and industrial scale compared to U.S. and Chinese tech powers. Without robust funding mechanisms and a political consensus, even the best‑designed systems may struggle to reach global competitiveness.
In conclusion, Schilz’s framing—seeing digital sovereignty as resilience, not rhetoric—is both timely and necessary. But turning this vision into reality will require deep systemic reforms in procurement, investment, and culture, as well as sustained public‑private alignment. Europe has the pieces, but assembling them into a coherent strategic stack (as advocates call the “EuroStack”) remains the critical mission for its digital future
Digital Sovereignty: Protecting Your Crypto Assets Against Common Threats
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