CEPA fellow warns Europe's AI stack rests on revocable US access
CEPA fellow Marta Granados Hernandez argues a Commerce Department order forcing Anthropic to block foreign access to its newest models shows Europe cannot build its stack on access Washington can switch off, and says allied cooperation beats gatekeeping.
GENCI buys French cat-qubit quantum computer from Alice & Bob
France's GENCI signed an agreement at VivaTech to buy an 18-qubit cat-qubit quantum computer from Alice & Bob, funded through the France 2030 HQI programme and hosted at CEA's TGCC centre.
European Innovation Council opens EUR 100 million call to defence start-ups
The European Innovation Council opened its funding instruments to defence and dual-use technology for the first time, launching a EUR 100 million STEP Defence Scale Up call offering up to EUR 30 million in direct equity per project.
Germany agrees binding financing model for the Deutschland-Stack
Germany's federal and state IT-Planungsrat adopted a binding financing model for the Deutschland-Stack, under which the federal government funds core sovereign services and states commit to nationwide rollout.
Ariane 6 flies with new P160C boosters, lifts heaviest payload in its history
Arianespace flew Ariane 64 mission VA269 from Kourou on 17 June, the first flight with four upgraded P160C solid boosters carrying 14 tonnes more propellant each, lifting 36 Amazon Leo satellites in what it called the heaviest payload an Ariane rocket has flown.
Alibaba Cloud opens its first cloud region in France
Alibaba Cloud launched two availability zones in France, its third European hub after Germany and the UK, expanding its global footprint to 105 zones without disclosing investment or capacity figures.
Finland and Sweden sign pact to prepare EDF-based TRACKX vehicle buy
Finland and Sweden signed an Implementation Arrangement to prepare procurement of Patria's TRACKX armoured vehicle, developed under the FAMOUS European Defence Fund project that has drawn nearly EUR 100 million in EU funding.
EU's first EDIP call closes with 83 proposals for EUR 165 million in funding
The EU's first European Defence Industry Programme call closed on 16 June 2026 with 83 proposals from 23 member states and Norway, competing for over EUR 165 million to expand production of missile energetic components, up to EUR 470 million once co-financed.
ECIPE's Bauer says French digital tax mostly taxes France itself
ECIPE's Matthias Bauer argues in an insight that France's digital services tax, framed as taxing US platforms, is chiefly passed through to French advertisers, retailers and app developers, calling it a self-inflicted cost dressed as strategic autonomy.
DigitalEurope assessment welcomes but flags gaps in EU Competitiveness Fund
DigitalEurope welcomes Council changes to the proposed European Competitiveness Fund, saying Europe's problem is commercialisation not invention, and urges harmonised ECF and Horizon Europe rules without delay.
Spain approves EUR 719 million state stake in Telefónica-led AI gigafactory bid
Spain's Council of Ministers authorised SETT, the state tech investment vehicle, to take a EUR 719 million equity stake in a Móra la Nova, Tarragona consortium bidding to host an EU AI gigafactory, ahead of Brussels' site selection.
France adds EUR 655 million for AI sovereignty and a single public chatbot
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced EUR 655 million in extra France 2030 funding for AI infrastructure, compute, research and industry, plus L'Assistant, a single sovereign chatbot built on Mistral's models for around one million civil servants.
France's DGSI picks ChapsVision over Palantir for its data platform
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said DGSI had retained ChapsVision, whose ArgonOS won the second lot of its data tender, to replace Palantir's tools; Palantir says its contract renewed in late 2025 stays in force, and its tools remain until ArgonOS is integrated, over several years.
EU space operators complete joint space traffic management report
Twenty-one EU and Norwegian civilian operators and fourteen military operators, with EDA, DG DEFIS and the EEAS, completed a two-year process producing a joint requirements report for European space traffic management.
Czech government approves EUR 2.06 billion SAFE loan for tanks, roads
The Czech government approved use of a EUR 2.06 billion SAFE loan, splitting it between Leopard 2A8 tanks (EUR 802 million), Tatra T-815 vehicles (EUR 319 million) and military-grade upgrades to the D11 highway (EUR 939 million).
DIGITAL SME Alliance: US curbs on frontier AI access are Europe's wake-up call
Sebastiano Toffaletti of the European DIGITAL SME Alliance writes that US restrictions on frontier AI access are a wake up call, saying Europe stays excessively dependent on technologies it does not control and must build independent capability.
CEPA analysis warns Europe unprepared for AI-assisted drone warfare
CEPA writer David Axe argues European armies lack both offensive and defensive AI drone capability, pointing to Ukraine's spring 2026 campaign of over 300 daily truck strikes, and urges continuous procurement and testing of Ukrainian drone technology rather than waiting on domestic programmes.
Eutelsat signs CENTAURE satellite contract with France's DGA worth EUR 350 million
Eutelsat signed the CENTAURE contract with France's DGA on 15 June, the first call off under the EUR 1 billion NEXUS framework, worth up to EUR 350 million over eight years with an initial EUR 138 million firm commitment for LEO capacity.
EU concludes agreement letting Canada join SAFE-funded defence procurement
The Council of the EU concluded its SAFE agreement with Canada on 15 June, making Canada the first non-European participant in SAFE-funded joint defence procurement; Canadian components may make up to 80 percent of a product's component cost.
Dutch chipmaker XIVER raises EUR 25 million for European chip line
Eindhoven chip and photonics maker XIVER, carved out of Philips, raised EUR 25 million from Dutch investors led by Cees Meeuwis to build an 8 inch DUV production line, citing the need for European chip independence.
Sweden's Varangians closes EUR 10 million first fund for Ukrainian defence tech
Stockholm's Varangians, founded by a Swedish family office with Par Lager, Andreas Flodstrom and Jonas Rydin, closed a EUR 10 million first fund on 12 June 2026 to back Ukrainian makers of drones, electronic warfare and secure communications.
US Commerce Department blocks EU access to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5
The US Commerce Department orders Anthropic to cut off Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all non-US customers, including European governments and firms, over a jailbreak security finding; Washington lifted the directive on 30 June.
EU and Brazil sign Digital Partnership on data, AI and infrastructure
Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Brazil's Alex Giacomelli da Silva sign a EU-Brazil Digital Partnership in Brasilia, covering data governance, AI, digital infrastructure and online platforms as Brazil becomes a fifth strategic digital partner.
CEPA op-ed says defence startups choose Europe over America
CEPA's Vitaliy Goncharuk argues European and Ukrainian defence startups increasingly stay in Europe, citing ITAR burdens and slow US procurement against funding from the NATO Innovation Fund and European Defence Fund.
Policloud signs EUR 580 million deal to deploy sovereign AI cloud units
French group Antimatter's Policloud signed a EUR 580 million framework deal with CloudGrid Energy to deploy 280 sovereign compute units, about 29,000 GPUs, across 16 renewable-powered sites in five countries by end 2027.
Spain's Openchip licenses US firm Baya Systems' RISC-V chip fabric
Spain's Openchip licensed US firm Baya Systems' WeaveIP network on chip fabric and FabricStudio design platform to build its RISC-V multi chiplet AI accelerators, as Baya expands into Europe from its Santa Clara base.
Mercedes-Benz and Tytan Technologies sign MoU for anti-drone defence vehicles
Mercedes-Benz and Munich's Tytan Technologies signed a memorandum of understanding at ILA 2026 on 11 June 2026 to jointly evaluate a counter-drone vehicle system built on the G-Class and Sprinter, witnessed by Germany's economy minister.
DigitalEurope and trade bodies urge EU not to rush weak Digital Omnibus deal
DigitalEurope and national trade associations wrote to the Council urging it not to rush a weak Digital Omnibus compromise, seeking clearer GDPR bases for AI research and fraud prevention and one single point for cybersecurity incident reporting.
OHB and Rheinmetall register joint venture for Bundeswehr secure satcom
OHB and Rheinmetall registered their joint venture OHB Rheinmetall Space Networks GmbH in Bremen on 11 June, tasked with building and operating the Bundeswehr's SATCOMBw Level 4 secure satellite communications architecture end to end.
Netherlands adds EUR 360 million to Deep Tech Fonds, raising it to EUR 610 million
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and Invest-NL added EUR 360 million to the national Deep Tech Fonds, raising its total to EUR 610 million, to back Dutch scale-ups in semiconductors, photonics, AI and quantum technology.
EuroHPC and Italy inaugurate SOL quantum computer and LISA AI upgrade
EuroHPC JU and Italy inaugurated SOL, a Pasqal-built neutral-atom quantum computer at CINECA costing EUR 13 million, alongside LISA, a EUR 50 million AI computing partition added to the Leonardo supercomputer.
UK publishes Year One update on Digital and Technologies Sector Plan
The UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published a Year One update to its Digital and Technologies Sector Plan on 10 June 2026, restating prior commitments including a GBP 500 million Sovereign AI fund and up to GBP 2 billion for quantum computing.
EU and South Korea sign Digital Trade Agreement barring forced source code transfer
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo signed a Digital Trade Agreement in Brussels, barring mandatory source code transfer, easing cross-border data flows and keeping each side's own data protection standards.
EU Council and Parliament strike provisional deal on defence procurement
Council and Parliament negotiators reach a provisional deal quadrupling defence procurement thresholds, adding two mandatory intra-EU transfer licences and raising the SME funding bonus, still needing formal endorsement by both institutions.
European Defence Agency delivers first EU-wide drone pilot training in Latvia
The European Defence Agency and Latvia's Armed Forces ran the EU's first joint FPV drone pilot course, training operators from 14 member states in strike and interception tactics at Selonia from 31 May to 5 June, a step toward a shared European training network.
SWP Berlin says cybersecurity needs secure software, urges EU liability law for vendors
SWP Berlin's Alexandra Paulus argued cybersecurity failures stem from insecure software, not users, citing over EUR 200 billion in 2025 German cyberattack costs, and urged the EU to enforce NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act and add an EU-wide software product liability law.
CCIA Europe says DMA is wrong tool to regulate cloud computing
CCIA Europe's Maria Teresa Stecher argues cloud computing is business to business infrastructure, not a consumer platform, so the DMA's ex ante gatekeeper regime is the wrong tool for cloud markets and existing competition law already suffices.
NEURA Robotics raises up to USD 1.4 billion Series C for physical AI robots
NEURA Robotics of Metzingen, Germany announced a Series C round of up to USD 1.4 billion, backed by Amazon, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Bosch, Schaeffler and the European Investment Bank, to scale its cognitive robots and Neuraverse platform.
European Commission selects Leonardo to build SCOPE in-orbit servicer for ISOS
The European Commission selected Leonardo on 10 June to build SCOPE, one of two servicer spacecraft for the Horizon Europe ISOS in-orbit servicing programme, which Leonardo says will strengthen European technological non-dependence in space.
ESA awards Thales Alenia Space EUR 700 million initial Sentinel-1 NG contract
Thales Alenia Space signed an initial EUR 700 million ESA contract on 10 June as prime contractor for two Copernicus Sentinel-1 NG radar satellites, with Airbus building the C-band SAR instruments under a separate EUR 345 million deal.
CEPA's Echikson says EU tech sovereignty package satisfies no one, costs trillions
CEPA's William Echikson writes that the EU's tech sovereignty package is a genuine response to security fears but faces an estimated EUR 3 to 5 trillion replacement bill and satisfies neither its critics nor its sovereigntist backers.
UK awards GBP 80 million to universities for defence skills pipeline
The UK government awarded GBP 80 million to 24 universities and colleges: GBP 50 million funding 2,500 new defence related student places in cyber, robotics and aerospace, GBP 30 million for teaching facilities, part of a wider GBP 182 million skills package.
SK Telecom wins Horizon Europe grant for quantum cryptography chip
SK Telecom announced on 9 June 2026 that it had become the first Asian company to win Horizon Europe research funding, joining Greek, Austrian and German partners to develop a chip based quantum key distribution system for post quantum secure communications.
ENISA finds Cyber Resilience Act accelerating SBOM adoption across EU industry
ENISA publishes its SBOM Adoption State of Play 2026 report, finding the Cyber Resilience Act is accelerating software bill of materials adoption across EU industry, with firms investing in automation and pulling forward compliance timelines.
CCIA and allies urge EU to fix discriminatory Cloud and AI Development Act
CCIA Europe joined industry associations from Australia, Canada and Japan in a letter to EU digital ministers ahead of the 9 June Telecom Council, urging revision of the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act on non-discrimination and openness grounds.
UK commits GBP 1.1 billion AI Hardware Plan for chips and sovereign compute
UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced a GBP 1.1 billion AI Hardware Plan: GBP 750 million for a national AI supercomputer including chip purchases, GBP 150 million for a British Business Bank hardware fund led by Playground Global, plus skills and innovation funding.
HaDEA signs EUR 25.4 million Digital Europe Programme skills-academy grants
HaDEA signed three Digital Europe Programme grant agreements worth EUR 25.4 million on 8 June 2026; EUR 9.9 million funds the European Quantum Academy, a pan-European quantum training network HaDEA says will strengthen Europe's technological sovereignty.
Germany's National Security Council resolves to found AI Safety Institute
Germany's National Security Council resolves to found a national AI Safety Institute to analyse frontier model capabilities and risks and deepen exchange with peer institutes abroad, with no budget disclosed.
UK banks and primes back Cosine's sovereign Lumen AI model
UK lab Cosine unveiled a coalition on 8 June 2026 to build Lumen Sovereign, a frontier AI model trained on the Isambard AI supercomputer, backed by the UK's GBP 500 million Sovereign AI programme, with BAE Systems, Babcock, BT, HSBC, Leonardo, Lloyds, NatWest and Thales UK as members.
Switzerland declines to fund EU Copernicus programme for 2028 to 2034
Switzerland's Federal Council confirms it will not fund participation in the EU's Copernicus Earth observation programme for 2028 to 2034, citing budget constraints, and says it may revisit the decision around 2032.
EU's first EDF cascade funding call draws 200 proposals from newcomers
The European Defence Fund's MAJoR project closed its first FSTP cascade funding sub-call: over 200 proposals, more than 70 percent from newcomer applicants, competing for up to 60 awards of up to EUR 60,000 each from a EUR 3.6 million pot.
Cyprus puts first supercomputer into pilot service with NVIDIA
Cyprus put its first supercomputer into pilot operation and joined the European AI Factories network as Pharos-CY, President Nikos Christodoulides said at the Presidential Palace, with NVIDIA providing technology transfer and training.
UK awards Palantir GBP 9 million contract for firearms licensing system
The Police Digital Service awards Palantir Technologies a GBP 9 million, up to ten year contract to rebuild the National Firearms Licensing Management System for 43 England and Wales forces, beating Accenture and NEC as MPs call the reliance on Palantir a weakness.
Romania's Constitutional Court upholds law implementing EU's SAFE programme
Romania's Constitutional Court unanimously ruled on 4 June 2026 that the law implementing the EU's SAFE programme is constitutional, rejecting a challenge from 53 opposition deputies and clearing Romania's access to its EUR 16.68 billion allocation.
European Parliament makes Qwant, not Google, its default search engine
The European Parliament makes Qwant, not Google, the default search engine on its Edge and Firefox browsers for its 720 MEPs and thousands of staff, citing digital sovereignty and reduced reliance on non-EU tools.
CISPE calls EU Cloud and AI Development Act a tentative step, flags loose sovereignty levels
CISPE called the EU's proposed Cloud and AI Development Act a tentative step towards strategic autonomy, but warned its four Assurance Levels are too loose, letting Levels 1 and 2 be branded sovereign and letting foreign-controlled subcontractors hide behind European aggregators.
ECB's Elderson says Europe remains overly dependent on foreign tech and energy
ECB Executive Board member Frank Elderson told the Goldman Sachs European Financials Conference in Zurich that AI is a structural shift in cyber threats and that Europe stays overly dependent on external providers for technology, energy and security, needing EUR 1.2 trillion a year to 2031.
France's Quobly raises EUR 115 million Series A for silicon quantum chips
Grenoble's Quobly, a CEA and CNRS spin-off, raised EUR 115 million in a Series A led by Bpifrance, SEALSQ and STMicroelectronics, with the European Innovation Council fund joining, to industrialise silicon spin qubit processors.
Malta's GO launches EU funded upgrade of GO-1 submarine cable to Sicily
Malta's GO plc launched the MOGOSC modernisation of its GO-1 cable to Sicily, replacing terminal equipment for at least 400 Gbps capacity, with the EU's Connecting Europe Facility Digital programme covering EUR 778,636.50 of the EUR 1.56 million cost.
EU Commission presents roadmap to digitalise Europe's energy grid
The Commission presented a roadmap to digitalise Europe's energy grid, launching a data centre grid integration declaration signed by 14 associations and six companies, and AI.grids, a 48 partner project to build EU AI models for grid management.
EU data centre sustainability label delayed after nuclear dispute
The European Commission postponed its EU data centre sustainability label, due 3 June under the tech sovereignty package, after ten states including France and Italy demanded nuclear count as low carbon.
European Commission proposes Chips Act 2.0 targeting EUR 120 billion
The European Commission adopted a Chips Act 2.0 proposal, part of its Technological Sovereignty Package, aiming to mobilise EUR 120 billion in public and private investment by 2035 and shift focus toward mass production and EU co-investment in strategic chip projects.
EU appoints Siemens chairman Snabe as industrial AI envoy amid conflict concerns
European Commission appointed Siemens chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe as Special Envoy for Industrial AI on 3 June 2026, advising von der Leyen and Virkkunen; 41 MEPs led by Brando Benifei questioned undue influence from his ongoing Siemens role.
EU Council agrees mandate for EUR 115 million AGILE defence innovation fund
Coreper approved the Council's mandate to negotiate with Parliament on AGILE, a EUR 115 million fund giving SMEs and start-ups fast grants to develop and test disruptive defence products and adapt civil technology for military use.
Bavaria halts EUR 1 billion Microsoft 365 talks, eyes sovereign software by 2027
Bavaria's finance minister Albert Füracker confirmed the state ended talks on a roughly EUR 1 billion, five year Microsoft 365 framework contract, after digital minister Fabian Mehring pushed for sovereign workplace software alternatives by 31 March 2027.
OpenForum Europe welcomes Commission's Tech Sovereignty Package and open source strategy
OpenForum Europe welcomed the Commission's Tech Sovereignty Package, including its first EU open source strategy, an EUR 2 billion seven year envelope and a proposed EUR 350 million Sovereign Tech Fund, calling it a defining moment after two decades of advocacy.
DIGITAL SME Alliance backs Tech Sovereignty Package, urges demand-side push
DIGITAL SME Alliance welcomes the EU Tech Sovereignty Package, citing over 80 percent EU dependency on non-EU providers, but says supply measures alone will not build sovereignty and calls for SME digitalisation vouchers and a stronger procurement preference.
ECIPE warns Digital Omnibus hands cookie consent to US platforms
ECIPE's Hosuk Lee-Makiyama argues in an insight that the Digital Omnibus's proposed Article 88b would hand US operating systems and browsers control of cookie consent, diverting advertising revenue from European publishers to those gatekeepers.
ECIPE says EU's CSA2 5G vendor rules cost delay, not affordability
ECIPE's Hosuk Lee-Makiyama argues in an insight that the EU's revised Cybersecurity Act (CSA2), which phases out high-risk 5G vendors, has negligible effect on consumer affordability, and that the real cost was years of delay in tabling it.
DigitalEurope says EU tech sovereignty package must also boost investment
DigitalEurope's Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl says the Commission's tech sovereignty package on cloud, AI and chips is welcome but must close an EUR 800 billion investment gap and Europe's semiconductor cost disadvantage.
CCIA Europe warns EU copyright reopening puts EUR 600 billion of AI value at risk
CCIA Europe said a new study found that reopening EU copyright rules alongside the AI Act could put over EUR 600 billion a year of generative AI value at risk if the text and data mining exception is replaced by rigid licensing or opt-outs.
CCIA Europe calls EU Cloud and AI Development Act discriminatory
CCIA Europe's Daniel Friedlaender calls the EU's proposed Cloud and AI Development Act "a direct recipe for fragmented discrimination across Europe in 27 different ways," warning sovereignty thresholds even the EU cannot meet would exclude non-EU cloud providers.
EU proposes Cloud and AI Development Act to triple data centre capacity
The European Commission proposed the Cloud and AI Development Act, aiming to triple EU data centre capacity within five to seven years and introducing a four-tier Union Assurance Level scheme for public-sector cloud and AI procurement.
Rheinmetall wins EUR 5.7 billion SAFE-funded Romanian defence contracts
Rheinmetall secured EUR 5.7 billion in SAFE-backed Romanian contracts for 298 Lynx vehicles, Skyranger air defence, ammunition and four naval vessels, with over half of production sited in Romania.
France's UGAP signs sovereignty focused 2026 to 2028 procurement contract
Minister David Amiel and UGAP chief executive Edward Jossa sign UGAP's 2026 to 2028 performance contract, tasking France's central public buyer with mapping critical dependencies and steering procurement toward French and European sovereign solutions.
EuroHPC JU opens EUR 19 million in quantum innovation and standards calls
EuroHPC JU opened four Horizon Europe calls worth EUR 19 million combined, covering quantum sensors for GNSS denied navigation, photonic quantum computing platforms, quantum standards and quantum machine learning.
EU's EUR 20 billion AI gigafactory programme hit by delays and fewer bidders
Bloomberg reported the EU's EUR 20 billion AI gigafactory plan is faltering: the May bidding round was deferred to July, interested consortia fell from about 70 to about 10, and funding covers only two of the five planned sites before 2028.
Cyprus signs EUR 1.18 billion SAFE loan agreement with Commission
Cyprus signed its SAFE loan agreement with the European Commission, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos and Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius signing terms unlocking over EUR 1 billion for National Guard hardware procurement through 2030, the sixth member state to sign.
DIGITAL SME Alliance: Europe's tech sovereignty needs energy resilience
Lina Nardone of the European DIGITAL SME Alliance argues that Europe's ambition for tech sovereignty depends on affordable, resilient energy, warning that volatile fossil fuel costs threaten SME investment in AI, cloud and semiconductors.
CEPA analyst urges Europe to embrace fragmented, interoperable defence procurement
CEPA analyst Igor Harry Rusnak argues Europe should stop chasing single unified defence systems and instead accept fragmented national procurement bound by common interoperability standards, citing Ukraine's pragmatic integration of diverse drone platforms as the working model.
Germany, Poland and Czechia launch EUR 18 million quantum-secure network
Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic launched QUANT-GPICz, a EUR 18 million quantum-key-distribution backbone linking Frankfurt, Berlin, Warsaw and Prague, funded half by the EU and half by Germany's digital ministry.
France orders MBDA to develop ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missile for Rafale F5
France's DGA ordered MBDA on 2 June to develop the ASN4G hypersonic, nuclear capable missile for the Rafale F5, targeting Mach 8 speeds and a 2035 in-service date to replace the ASMPA on France's airborne nuclear deterrent.
Foxconn, Radiall and Thales launch EUR 250 million Tessalia packaging plant
Foxconn, Radiall and Thales laid the foundation stone for Tessalia, an advanced chip packaging plant at Le Barp, France, investing over EUR 250 million by 2033 to make "made in Europe" components at Choose France Summit.
Austria's Schiebel joins EU-funded SWORD anti-submarine drone project
Austria's Schiebel was selected to supply its CAMCOPTER S-300 drone to SWORD, a 36 month European Defence Fund project led by TKMS Atlas Elektronik to build a stand-off anti-submarine warfare system for European navies.
EIB lends Poland's Allegro PLN 1 billion for AI and e-commerce R&D
The European Investment Bank signed a PLN 1 billion (about EUR 235 million) loan with Poland's Allegro on 1 June 2026, its largest corporate R&D loan in the country, funding around 40 percent of the group's 2026 to 2030 AI, logistics and marketplace R&D plan.
Business Finland grants ICEYE EUR 28.3 million for satellite R&D
Business Finland approved a EUR 28.3 million continuation grant for ICEYE on 1 June 2026, the final tranche of a multi year R&D programme funding enhanced SAR satellite sensing, data fusion and AI analysis, including integration with European command and control systems.
Foxconn and Bull agree EUR 120 million AI server manufacturing deal
Foxconn and France's Bull signed a strategic partnership, backed by an initial investment above EUR 120 million, to build AI servers on Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform: modules made at Foxconn's Czech plant, final assembly at Bull's Angers site.
Bpifrance, Mistral, MGX and NVIDIA unveil EUR 7.5 billion second Campus AI site
Bpifrance, Mistral AI, MGX and NVIDIA announced a EUR 7.5 billion second Campus AI site in France, targeting up to 3 gigawatts of AI compute capacity nationwide; the new site's location was not yet disclosed.
Ardian and Verne plan EUR 5 billion, 500MW data centre campus in Ile-de-France
Private equity firm Ardian and its Nordic portfolio company Verne announced plans to invest up to EUR 5 billion in a 500MW data centre campus in Ile-de-France, with an initial phase above 200MW targeted for 2030.
UK sets out plan to toughen subsea cable protection law after Russian activity
Minister Liz Lloyd told RUSI the UK will consult on legislation to replace 140-year-old cable law, toughening penalties for sabotage and imposing new security duties on cable operators, after a Russian submarine was found surveying UK cable routes.
EU takes full ownership of Galileo antenna from ESA at Redu, Belgium
The European Commission said the EU took full ownership of the RED-1 telemetry, tracking and control antenna at ESEC Redu, Belgium, transferred from ESA under new bilateral and trilateral agreements with Belgium as host.
Poland receives first EUR 6.6 billion payment under the EU's SAFE defence loan
Poland received EUR 6.6 billion, 15% of its EUR 43.7 billion SAFE allocation, as the first pre-financing payment under the EU's defence loan instrument, which Commissioner Andrius Kubilius called a concrete step for common security.
Austria's STRABAG commits EUR 100 million to launch Loom Ventures infratech fund
Austrian construction group STRABAG commits EUR 100 million to launch Loom Ventures, a Vienna based corporate venture fund backing European seed and Series A infratech firms in secure compute, industrial AI, energy and data centre technology.
Zurich's Stellar Alpina raises CHF3.5 million for detonation rocket propulsion
Zurich's Stellar Alpina raised CHF3.5 million (about EUR3.8 million) pre-seed, led by Founderful, to build rotating detonation rocket engines for in-space mobility, after what it called Europe's first commercial hotfire campaign of the technology.
Mistral AI unveils EUR 4 billion compute build and industrial AI stack with Airbus, BMW
At its Paris AI Now Summit, Mistral AI unveiled a 10 megawatt Les Ulis inference data centre near Paris, due in the third quarter of 2026, and an industrial AI stack with Airbus, BMW Group and ASML.
Kongsberg signs contract to build satellite ground station for Poland's IMGW
Norway's Kongsberg signed a contract with Poland's IMGW weather institute to build a Kraków ground station processing Copernicus Sentinel and meteorological satellite data, installation planned for autumn 2026, value undisclosed.
Commission opens EUR20 million call to industrialise European IRIS2 user terminals
The European Commission opened a EUR20 million call to fund up to three projects industrialising Ka-band user terminals for IRIS2 and GOVSATCOM, covering manufacturing readiness and supply-chain resilience, deadline 26 August 2026.
EDRi says EU's digitalisation push normalises surveillance and exclusion
EDRi argues the EU's digitalisation of essential services, including digital identity wallets and health data sharing, is a political choice that centralises control and can restrict access to rights, and calls for a guaranteed "right to analog".
DigitalEurope backs Tech7 joint declaration on digital trust and resilience
DigitalEurope backed the Tech7 joint declaration, signed by G7 and EU technology industry associations, committing to secure and resilient digital ecosystems and coordinated action on cybersecurity risks, AI deployment barriers, data governance fragmentation and dual use quantum risks.
CEPA's Borsari: breaking Europe's dependence on Chinese drones will be hard
CEPA fellow Federico Borsari argues bans and subsidies alone cannot break China's 80 to 90 percent share of the global drone market, and that Europe's 2035 target of 60 percent domestic defence procurement needs long term planning and mandatory interoperable tenders.
Romania orders Quantum Systems Vector recon drones for EUR 30.7 million under SAFE
Romania's defence ministry signed a EUR 30.7 million SAFE funded contract with Germany's Quantum Systems for 34 Vector mini UAS reconnaissance drones and 15 Scorpion conversion kits, with deliveries due in 2027.
Poland signs first SAFE funded defence contracts worth about PLN 120 billion
Poland's Armaments Agency signed the first SAFE funded equipment contracts with domestic suppliers including WB Electronics, MASKPOL, GISS and AMZ Kutno; the ministry says 62 contracts worth about PLN 120 billion were concluded by 30 May.
Mistral AI picks US firm VAST Data to run storage for its AI factories
Mistral Compute put VAST Data's storage software into production as the data layer for its Nvidia GB300 AI factories in France and Sweden, deepening the French AI champion's reliance on US storage software and chips.
KPN and Schwarz Digits to launch Dutch sovereign cloud region by 2027
KPN and Germany's Schwarz Digits announced plans to extend the STACKIT sovereign cloud, already live in Germany and Austria, to the Netherlands, targeting government, finance, energy and healthcare customers from mid-2027.
EuroHPC inaugurates EuroQCS-Spain quantum computer in Barcelona
EuroHPC JU and Spain inaugurated EuroQCS-Spain, a 10 qubit analogue quantum computer built by Qilimanjaro at Barcelona Supercomputing Center, funded EUR 8.5 million by EuroHPC JU and Spain's digital ministry.
Von der Leyen pledges EUR 12 billion SAFE boost, EUR 1.5 billion for Baltic defence
Von der Leyen said the Baltic states would get EUR 12 billion in additional SAFE loans and EUR 1.5 billion redirected from Cohesion funds for defence preparedness, border surveillance and economic security, after drone incursions prompted Vilnius talks.
UK and Poland sign defence treaty covering joint missile and ammunition output
Starmer and Tusk signed the UK-Poland Security and Defence Partnership Treaty, committing to joint development and manufacture of next-generation missiles, expanded large-calibre ammunition production with technology transfer, and joint quantum research funding.
Santander joins Telefónica and ACS to lead Spain's AI gigafactory bid
Banco Santander joined Telefónica and ACS to lead the private consortium behind Spain's bid for a European AI gigafactory; the government pledged EUR 250 million as the plan aims to mobilise close to EUR 4,000 million in Móra la Nova and San Fernando de Henares.
EU proposes reserving two thirds of satellite spectrum for European operators
European Commission proposed EU level authorisation for 2 GHz mobile satellite spectrum: two thirds reserved for EU operators, one third for governmental use tied to IRIS2, the rest open to bids from Starlink and Amazon Kuiper from 2027.
Cegeka and Keyes launch Belgian Critical Cloud, a sovereign cloud partnership
Belgian IT firms Cegeka and Keyes formed "Belgian Critical Cloud", a sovereign cloud partnership for government, defence and critical infrastructure, guaranteeing full Belgian data residency, EU law and independence from the US CLOUD Act.
DigitalEurope paper assesses EU scale sought under Digital Networks Act
DigitalEurope's assessment of the Digital Networks Act backed EU-level connectivity measures such as a single service passport and Union-wide satellite authorisation, but set eight conditions including no parallel national notification rules and no duplication with NIS2.
Poland and Canada sign letter of intent on drones and defence ties via SAFE
Poland's Kosiniak-Kamysz and Canada's McGuinty signed a letter of intent in Ottawa under which Canada plans to buy Polish WB Group drones and pursue joint projects using the EU's SAFE financing initiative.
EUISS brief finds EU candidates dependent on US and Chinese cloud giants
EUISS researchers Bomont and Zoric find EU candidate countries lean on non-European cloud providers, noting Amazon, Google and Microsoft hold 63% of the region's cloud market, and urge Brussels to diversify enlargement partners' ICT supply chains.
SiPearl announces its Rhea1 Euro-CPU has powered on for the first time
SiPearl announced its Rhea1 high performance computing chip, developed under the EU backed European Processor Initiative, powered on 13 May 2026 and entered lab validation; market availability is still targeted for late 2026.
Netherlands blocks Kyndryl's takeover of DigiD operator Solvinity
Dutch State Secretary Willemijn Aerdts prohibited Kyndryl's planned takeover of Solvinity, which runs the DigiD identity system, under the WOZT telecom investment screening law, citing US CLOUD Act exposure risk to citizens' data that could not be eliminated.
France commits EUR550 million to IPCEI advanced semiconductor plan
President Macron pledged a EUR550 million France 2030 call for projects under the IPCEI on Advanced Semiconductor Technologies, coordinated with Germany and the Netherlands, targeting strategic chip technologies to 2035.
Digital SME Alliance sets out vision for sovereign cloud under EU Cloud Act
DIGITAL SME Alliance's Benedetta Beltrame urged the EU's Cloud and AI Development Act to define sovereign cloud, mandate procurement preference and drive federation, citing EUR 260 billion in annual cloud outflows and under 13% EU market share.
CEPA's Hoffmann surveys Europe's push to build cruise missiles free of US parts
CEPA fellow Fabian Hoffmann surveys Europe's cruise missile push: Destinus's Ruta Block 2 for Ukraine, MBDA's Land Cruise Missile due for order in 2029 and Germany's Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile buys, arguing these programmes cut reliance on US systems.
Macron adds EUR1 billion to France's national quantum strategy via France 2030
President Macron announced an immediate EUR1 billion top-up to France's national quantum strategy through the France 2030 programme, alongside a EUR550 million pledge toward a future EU semiconductor IPCEI not yet approved by Brussels.
Virkkunen says tech sovereignty is about capacity, not isolation
EU tech sovereignty chief Henna Virkkunen told Euronews that sovereignty "doesn't mean... work somehow in isolation," but means holding critical capacity, cutting risky dependencies, and using public procurement to boost homegrown European technologies.
ECIPE paper says EU copyright rules constrain AI training data access
ECIPE's Oscar Guinea, Dyuti Pandya and Vanika Sharma argue the EU's restrictive copyright framework for AI training data undercuts competitiveness across automotive, pharma and finance, and hits startups harder than large incumbents.
CEPA fellow presses for transatlantic action on chips reaching Russia
CEPA's Christopher Cytera argues Western semiconductors keep reaching Russian weapons via diversion through Turkey, the UAE and Central Asia, and calls for a shared high risk component database and a joint sanctions evasion task force targeting transit hubs.
European Commission signs EUR 16.68 billion SAFE loan agreement with Romania
Romania and the European Commission concluded a SAFE loan agreement worth EUR 16.68 billion, the second largest under the instrument after Poland, financing defence procurement, security infrastructure and strategic road links to Moldova.
Infineon launches EUR91 million EU project Moore4Power for power chiplets
Infineon led the launch of Moore4Power, a EUR91 million, three-year Chips Joint Undertaking project with 62 partners across 15 European countries, developing silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride power chiplets for wind, e-mobility and rail.
Germany awards sovereign AI cloud contract worth nearly EUR 250 million to T-Systems and SVA consortia
Germany’s digital ministry BMDS awarded its sovereign AI cloud platform, with a total volume of just under EUR 250 million, to a consortium around T-Systems as first-placed bidder and a consortium around SVA as second-placed bidder.
Sánchez: dependence on Starlink is 'servitude', pledges Spain's Iris2 funding programme
At Madrid's Space Congress, Spain's PM Pedro Sánchez said dependence on one satellite provider, as with Ukraine, is not dependence but 'servitude, or even worse, slavery', and pledged a programme this year to help fund Iris2.
EuroHPC funds EuroTPC project giving Europe a seat in global AI consortium
EuroHPC Joint Undertaking committed EUR 1.5 million in Horizon Europe funding to EuroTPC, a three year project led by Barcelona Supercomputing Center giving Europe formal representation in the international Trillion Parameter Consortium for open AI models in science.
ESA and Spain sign pact making Madrid lead nation for IRIS2's Low-LEO layer
ESA's Josef Aschbacher and Spain's minister Diana Morant signed a Memorandum of Intent making Spain the main contributor to IRIS2's Low-LEO layer, with a dedicated project team hosted in Spain to lead that element of the EU's secure connectivity constellation.
Ardian, Bull, EDF, Orange and Scaleway form AION bid for AI gigafactory
Ardian, Artefact, Bull, Capgemini, EDF, the iliad Group, Orange and Scaleway formed the AION consortium, bidding for a French site in the EU's AI Gigafactory programme so European firms can train and run AI models under sovereign conditions.
EDRi study finds EU Law Enforcement Directive implementation still patchy
An EDRi commissioned study of Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece and Slovenia finds that eight years on, transposition and practice under the EU's Law Enforcement Directive remain fragmented, with gaps in data subject rights and oversight of new technologies.
Thales to launch Thales-owned sovereign cloud entity in Germany
Thales announced a new German sovereign cloud entity, wholly owned and controlled by Thales under German law with Google Cloud as technology licensor only, mirroring its French S3NS model; general availability is targeted for end of 2026.
EU clears EUR288 million German state aid for Zeiss and Zadient chip plants
The European Commission approved EUR288 million in German state aid under the Chips Act: EUR222 million for Carl Zeiss to build EUV optics in Oberkochen and EUR66 million for Zadient Materials to make silicon carbide source material in Bitterfeld.
Germany tells Bundestag its P20 police data programme favours sovereign EU tools
Germany's government told the Bundestag its joint P20 police data house prioritises open source and sovereign European tools over foreign vendors; Rheinland-Pfalz already feeds in data, BKA migrates from late 2026, full rollout due 2030, easing reliance on Palantir's Gotham.
European Parliament approves mandatory FDI screening for defence, AI and chips
MEPs voted 508 to 64, with 90 abstentions, to make screening of foreign investment in defence, semiconductors, AI and critical raw materials mandatory EU-wide, closing gaps in the 2019 regime. Council approval and an 18-month delay before entry into force still follow.
Parliament and Council agree 60-day fast-track permits for EU defence projects
Parliament's SEDE committee and the Cypriot Council presidency provisionally agreed on two of the Defence Omnibus's three pillars, setting a fast-track authorisation regime that cuts defence project permitting to sixty days EU-wide, plus eased EDF and cross-border transfer rules.
DigitalEurope urges fast EU-US trade deal adoption, wider Digital Dialogue
DigitalEurope called on the EU to adopt the Turnberry EU-US trade agreement without delay and to widen the planned EU-US Digital Dialogue 2 beyond narrow issues to cover critical and dual use technologies, connectivity, energy tech, cybersecurity and supply chain resilience.
UK awards GBP 4 million in fast track contracts to 13 domestic defence tech firms
The UK Ministry of Defence awarded contracts worth up to GBP 4 million combined to 13 British firms under its Commercial X fast track route, covering quantum sensing, autonomous systems, secure communications and space manufacturing.
France launches national survey of companies' dependence on foreign tech
Ministers Anne Le Henanff and Clement Beaune launched a national diagnostic survey of French companies' dependence on non-European cloud, data, AI and cybersecurity tools, open until 12 June, with results due after summer to guide public buying policy.
ICEYE hands over Poland's POLSARIS radar satellite system, run by new agency ARGUS
ICEYE handed the Polish Armed Forces its MikroSAR radar satellite system, four satellites under a EUR200 million 2025 contract, forming the POLSARIS constellation operated by Poland's new ARGUS reconnaissance agency, ground segment built by Polish firm WZŁ.
Sweden takes ownership of its first satellite, built and launched by Planet Labs
Planet Labs said the Swedish Armed Forces took ownership of its first satellite, a Pelican spacecraft built and launched by the US firm under a January 2026 deal, with first light imagery received days after its 3 May launch.
Dublin's Lios renews ESA contract to scale European rocket fairing acoustic panels
Dublin acoustic-materials firm Lios renewed its ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme contract for nearly EUR 2 million, funding a two-year push to scale manufacture of its SoundBounce fairing acoustic-protection panels and run flight qualification testing.
CISPE accuses Broadcom of double standards and delay in EU antitrust case
CISPE accused Broadcom of seeking US privilege protection for its own correspondence while demanding disclosure of CISPE members' confidential filings in the EU probe of its VMware acquisition, calling it a calculated delaying tactic.
HMRC awards UK firm Quantexa a GBP175 million, ten-year sovereign AI contract
Britain's tax authority HMRC signed a ten-year, GBP175 million deal with London based Quantexa to build a sovereign, governed AI and data platform for fraud detection and the tax gap, keeping data and processing inside HMRC's own environment.
Croatia signs EUR 1.7 billion SAFE loan agreement with the EU for defence
Croatia's deputy prime ministers Ivan Anusic and Tomislav Coric signed a SAFE loan agreement worth up to EUR 1.7 billion with EU Commissioner Andrius Kubilius at Banski Dvori, financing future defence procurement under the EU instrument.
Romanian Senate panel rushes approval of SAFE deal with German supplier
Romania's Senate defence committee, chaired by Nicoleta Pauliuc, approved a SAFE funded deal with a German supplier on 13 May 2026 with under 24 hours' notice, as the PSD alleged influence peddling and an undisclosed conflict of interest.
European Defence Fund awards Navantia-led consortium EUR146 million for four naval projects
Navantia said the European Defence Fund awarded EUR146 million combined across four naval projects it takes part in, including its own E-DOMINION programme to build a reference architecture and Naval Combat Cloud for European naval sovereignty.
MEPs and Digital SME Alliance launch Democratic Tech Alliance for sovereign tech
On 13 May 2026, MEPs from Renew, EPP, S&D and the Greens/EFA joined European DIGITAL SME Alliance and civil society groups to launch the Democratic Tech Alliance in Brussels, pledging to steer EU procurement toward sovereign, democratic technology.
ECIPE paper puts economic cost of revised Product Liability Directive
ECIPE's Fredrik Erixon, Oscar Guinea and Philipp Lamprecht estimate the revised Product Liability Directive, which extends liability to software and AI, cuts EU GDP by 0.17 to 0.24 percent and imports by up to EUR 36.5 million a year through a reversed burden of proof and higher insurance costs.
DigitalEurope paper proposes fixes to EU cybersecurity certification rules
DigitalEurope's position paper on the revised Cybersecurity Act called for certification schemes to stay voluntary, for ENISA to act as a coordinating hub for impact assessments, for supply chain checks only where risks cannot be mitigated by existing rules, and for stricter NIS2 harmonisation.
Germany's BfV picks French ChapsVision platform over US Palantir
Investigative reporting found Germany's domestic intelligence agency BfV selected ChapsVision's ArgonOS data fusion platform over Palantir, citing US Cloud Act exposure; contract value is undisclosed and full deployment awaits a legal powers reform.