THE HAGUE--The Netherlands and France are calling for a stronger European technology industry built around homegrown artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cloud infrastructure and other critical technologies, arguing that Europe must reduce its dependence on American and Chinese suppliers and develop the capacity to compete on its own terms.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten and French President Emmanuel Macron outlined the joint ambition during Macron’s visit to Eindhoven on Wednesday, where the two leaders met technology companies and discussed how Europe can strengthen its position in sectors increasingly viewed as essential to economic power, security and strategic independence.
Jetten said Europe is already home to considerable talent, research and entrepreneurship and should stop assuming that the technologies shaping the future must come from elsewhere.
“Europe is bursting with talent, ideas, and entrepreneurs who can change the world,” Jetten said. “So let's stop thinking that tomorrow's technology always has to come from somewhere else.”
He said the Netherlands and France want Europe to lead in areas such as AI, technology companies and digital infrastructure, arguing that stronger European capabilities would reduce dependence on foreign providers while generating new businesses, employment and economic growth.
“Europe doesn't have to choose between American or Chinese technology. We can build, invest, and lead ourselves,” Jetten said.
That message was reflected in a joint Franco-Dutch technology statement issued following the talks, in which the two governments said technological leadership now translates directly into economic power, political influence and military capability.
The statement said Europe already possesses many of the ingredients required to compete globally, including leading companies, research institutions, talent and industrial expertise. The challenge, according to the Netherlands and France, is to better connect those strengths and turn European innovation into industrial-scale companies and products.
Artificial intelligence and computing power were identified as particularly important. The two governments said Europe must remain competitive across the entire technology chain, linking AI development with computing infrastructure, advanced semiconductors, critical materials, photonics and quantum technologies.
France and the Netherlands also called for stronger European support for the development of advanced AI models and improved access to computing capacity. They said those issues should feature prominently in upcoming European discussions on AI and industrial policy.
The joint position also backs targeted European-content requirements in public procurement and government support for digital infrastructure. Such measures could give greater preference to European technologies in publicly funded projects where strategic dependence is considered a concern.
Cloud sovereignty was another major issue. France and the Netherlands called for stronger protection of sensitive European data, particularly from risks created by laws outside the European Union that could apply to foreign technology companies providing cloud services in Europe.
Financing European technology companies was also highlighted as a weakness that needs to be addressed.
The two governments said promising European companies should have access to larger pools of capital that allow them to grow from research and development into major industrial players without being forced to relocate or become dependent on foreign investment.
They pointed to initiatives including the European Competitiveness Fund, the Scaleup Europe Fund and a possible future European Strategic Technology Equity Fund as mechanisms that could provide larger investments to European companies and help keep strategically important businesses anchored in Europe.
The discussion in Eindhoven also focused on semiconductors, where Europe already holds an important position through Dutch company ASML, one of the world's leading suppliers of advanced chipmaking equipment.
Macron travelled with a French business delegation that included AI company Mistral AI and joined Jetten at ASML. The leaders also met executives from European technology companies to discuss strategic investments, European industrial capacity and ways of reducing dependence on non-European technology.
The two governments said technological sovereignty should not remain limited to government declarations and called for closer cooperation between industry and the public sector.
Their stated objective is to identify projects capable of attracting real investment, remove obstacles that prevent European companies from scaling up and create stronger links between European demand and European suppliers.
The Netherlands and France said the initiative builds on their existing Franco-Dutch innovation partnership but should ultimately extend beyond the two countries. They want the European Commission, other EU member states and European technology companies to participate in a broader effort to strengthen Europe across critical technology supply chains.
The message from Eindhoven was that Europe should not accept technological dependence as inevitable.
For Jetten and Macron, the goal is a Europe capable of developing its own AI systems, protecting its digital infrastructure, financing its own technology companies and maintaining strategic control over technologies that will increasingly determine economic competitiveness and security.
