Based on insights from over 270 surveyed technology, policy, and security leaders across Europe, this report explores the challenges, blockers, and breakthroughs shaping the continent's path toward tech independence.
European digital sovereignty is at a crossroads. While regulation has laid the groundwork, the reality on the ground is defined by persistent dependencies on U.S.-based hyperscalers, complex integration landscapes, and a fragmented vendor ecosystem that hinders practical adoption of sovereign technologies.
According to Forrester’s global cloud survey, over 50% of public cloud decision-makers cite digital sovereignty regulatory constraints as a top obstacle to public cloud adoption. Despite NIS2, DORA, and GDPR, many organizations still struggle with executing on sovereignty due to jurisdictional ambiguity, legacy infrastructure, and a lack of alignment between policy and procurement.
Furthermore, Forrester reports that 84% of decision-makers consider digital sovereignty a critical factor in vendor selection, yet only a minority feel confident their current stack complies with regional mandates. The gap between strategic ambition and operational implementation remains wide, underscoring the need for EU-native, secure-by-design platforms that integrate seamlessly and respect European legal sovereignty by design, not exception.
In Wire’s 2025 European Sovereignty Survey, only 16% of respondents were optimistic that Europe would achieve digital sovereignty within the next five years. Yet urgency is growing. Leaders are aligning around strategic autonomy, driven by geopolitical risks, public trust concerns, and the legal ambiguity surrounding data jurisdiction.
This report combines first-party research, expert interviews, and external analysis from Forrester and others to offer a comprehensive view of where Europe stands, what’s blocking progress, and how a new generation of EU-native, open-source, and compliance-aligned platforms are closing the sovereignty gap.
Wire surveyed over 270 technology and policy leaders across public, private, and security sectors in Europe. The findings present a nuanced, often paradoxical view of the region's digital sovereignty efforts, where belief in its importance is strong, but execution remains elusive.
These preferences reflect a desire for architectural sovereignty: the ability to verify, control, and secure sensitive data using transparent and independent platforms.
This suggests a broad perception that regulation, while necessary, isn’t enough to guarantee independence. Sovereignty is seen as a systemic issue, requiring structural and behavioral shifts beyond compliance.
Despite clear intent, the survey revealed four consistent barriers to switching from U.S.-based platforms to European-built solutions:
When asked about open-source software specifically:
Open source was widely recognized as foundational to sovereignty due to its transparency, auditability, and community-based development. However, participants also noted that open-source credibility depends on continuous maintenance, usability, and regulatory alignment.
While only a small minority are confident in Europe’s sovereignty trajectory, a strong majority signaled alignment with its principles. The intent is there. The problem is in execution.
This chapter reflects a continent caught in a sovereignty paradox: clarity of vision, but fragmentation of action. Bridging this divide will require policy innovation, awareness campaigns, and sovereign platforms that can compete with U.S. incumbents on both trust and usability.
The results of Wire’s survey of over 270 technology, policy, and security leaders across public and private sectors reflect both ambition and hesitation:
Key blockers include:
This points to a stark sovereignty gap: most organizations say sovereignty matters but continue to rely on U.S.-based tools like Teams, Zoom, and Slack—despite known jurisdictional risks.
Regulatory frameworks such as NIS2, GDPR, and DORA have undoubtedly laid important foundations for digital sovereignty. YThey have elevated the standards for data protection, mandated more rigorous reporting, and forced organizations to reassess vendor risk. However, Wire’s survey and wider industry analysis reveal a consistent conclusion: regulation alone won’t deliver true sovereignty.
Many survey participants expressed that current regulatory pressure can feel like "compliance theatre", where organizations go through the motions of meeting legal requirements without making substantial changes to their underlying infrastructure. Compliance has become an exercise in box-ticking, with little impact on vendor independence, jurisdictional control, or systemic resilience.
At the heart of the issue is the legal jurisdiction governing the technology stack. For instance, platforms marketed as "sovereign" may store data in the EU, but if the vendor is U.S.-based, they remain subject to laws like the CLOUD Act. This means U.S. authorities can compel access to that data, regardless of where it resides. The illusion of local hosting masks the continued vulnerability to foreign legal systems.
According to Forrester’s research, over half of public cloud decision-makers see digital sovereignty regulation as a barrier to cloud adoption, not a catalyst for secure transformation. Even among organizations prioritizing compliance, sovereignty often takes a back seat due to practical considerations such as vendor lock-in, usability concerns, and contract entrenchment.
True digital sovereignty requires a shift from policy enforcement to structural enablement. That means building platforms that are EU-owned, EU-hosted, and governed entirely under EU law. It means supporting open standards and verifiable codebases, so organizations can see and trust what’s happening beneath the surface.
Until regulation is paired with operational tools, procurement frameworks, and financial incentives that prioritize sovereignty, many organizations will remain trapped between intent and inertia. The next frontier for the EU isn’t more policy, it’s enabling execution through innovation, market visibility, and strategic investment in Europe’s digital future.
“Digital sovereignty, once framed as a stance on privacy, is now a matter of resilience.”
Wire CEO Benjamin Schilz sees digital sovereignty not as a lofty ideal but as a critical requirement for Europe's resilience in an increasingly complex geopolitical and technological landscape. In his view, the era of relying on foreign-dominated infrastructure is coming to an end, not because Europe wants isolation, but because it needs autonomy.
Schilz emphasizes that true sovereignty can only be achieved through open-source and decentralized technologies. These are not just technical features, they are foundational principles. Open-source platforms offer transparency, adaptability, and verifiability. They empower European developers and institutions to audit, improve, and trust the systems they rely on. Decentralization, particularly in data storage, meanwhile, enhances resilience. It ensures that control isn’t concentrated in the hands of a few global vendors subject to non-EU laws, but instead distributed across trusted and independent infrastructures as well as kept safely and privately under the control of end user organizations who own the data.
He also warns against the proliferation of so-called "sovereign" platforms that are little more than marketing slogans. According to Schilz, unless a platform can demonstrate full legal and operational independence from extraterritorial jurisdictions, particularly U.S. laws like the CLOUD Act, then its sovereignty claims are hollow.
This perspective isn’t theoretical. Ministries across Germany, including the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health, already use Wire for secure communications. These deployments highlight a tangible shift toward platforms that meet sovereignty requirements not just in theory, but in practice.
For Schilz, the path forward is clear: Europe must move from a regulatory mindset to one focused on execution and scale. Building sovereign infrastructure means fostering innovation, supporting EU-native platforms, and treating digital autonomy as a pillar of strategic resilience.
“The goal isn’t isolation. It’s credible independence.”
Tuta is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted email and calendar provider used by over 10 million people worldwide, including governments, schools, and legal institutions across Europe. The company was founded in Germany and is widely regarded as a leader in privacy-first communication infrastructure.
Q: Tuta has long been associated with privacy-first principles. How do you see its role in Europe’s digital sovereignty movement?
Bozakov: Tuta was born as a protest against the kind of surveillance and data exploitation that came to light during the Snowden revelations. Back then, we weren’t just launching a product, we were making a statement. Today, that statement has matured into a mission: to be a dependable, open, and legally secure alternative for European public institutions and businesses. We see ourselves not just as a tool provider, but as a pioneer in Europe’s sovereignty journey.
Q: What does digital sovereignty mean to you in practical terms?
Bozakov: For us, it starts with uncompromising end-to-end encryption, continues through transparent open-source code, and relies on infrastructure entirely based in Europe. But more than that, it means rejecting business models built on data monetization. True sovereignty isn’t just about where your data lives, it’s about who controls it, who can access it, and what incentives drive the companies you trust.
Q: What makes Tuta different in the sovereignty space?
Bozakov: Everything we do is designed to operate independently of non-European jurisdictions. Our entire stack - from code to servers- is developed and maintained in Europe. We’re used by legal firms, educational institutions, and public health bodies because we don’t just promise privacy; we build it into our architecture. Our approach is values-first, and that’s increasingly what organizations are looking for.
Q: What’s needed for more widespread adoption of sovereign tools?
Bozakov: Technology is only part of the equation. There has to be political will and regulatory enforcement. As long as Big Tech’s non-compliance is tolerated, meaningful change will be slow. Governments need to actively support alternatives, through procurement, public endorsement, and legislation that protects user data not just in theory, but in practice.
Pydio is an open-source, self-hosted file sharing and collaboration platform designed for regulated industries and data-sensitive organizations. Headquartered in France and used by government agencies, hospitals, and financial institutions across Europe, Pydio provides IT teams with full control over their data architecture while meeting strict compliance standards.
Céline Oz Egriboz of Pydio offers a perspective grounded in infrastructure pragmatism. For her, digital sovereignty is not just about avoiding U.S. cloud providers, it’s about designing systems that give organizations full control over their collaboration environments without sacrificing user experience or compliance.
Pydio’s approach centers on self-hosted, open-source file sharing tailored for regulated industries. Hospitals, financial institutions, and government agencies use Pydio to ensure sensitive data remains within defined legal and geographic boundaries. What differentiates Pydio, according to Egriboz, is its ability to integrate into existing IT ecosystems, including identity management tools, Active Directory, and on-premises infrastructure.
She emphasizes that sovereignty must be operationally feasible to be adopted at scale. That means platforms must not only meet compliance criteria but also support smooth deployment, intuitive interfaces, and responsive customer support.
Pydio’s commitment to sovereignty extends beyond software. The company actively collaborates with other EU-based tech providers to create an interoperable ecosystem of trustworthy digital tools, a model that stands in contrast to the proprietary silos of Big Tech.
Egriboz sees this ecosystem-building effort as essential to Europe’s long-term digital autonomy:
“Sovereignty doesn’t come from one platform. It comes from collaboration, transparency, and shared trust.”
While political frameworks continue to evolve, organizations don’t need to wait for regulatory perfection to begin making progress toward digital sovereignty. Sovereignty is not an all-or-nothing proposition, it can be built incrementally, starting today, with thoughtful decisions about infrastructure and communication tools.
Organizations can begin by identifying the most sensitive areas of their digital workflows, such as executive communications, legal exchanges, or inter-agency collaborations, and transitioning those segments to sovereign alternatives. For instance, platforms like Wire, Tuta, and Pydio can be adopted specifically for use cases that demand end-to-end encryption, legal compliance, and jurisdictional integrity. Some government agencies are already doing this by assigning such tools to C-level executives or critical crisis-response teams.
These are not theoretical exercises. Wire is already in use by several German ministries. Schwarz Digits is pioneering a fully European technology stack with partners like Aleph Alpha, StackIT, and Wire, demonstrating that homegrown infrastructure at scale is not only possible but underway.
In our recent conversation with Mastodon's Andy Piper, he shared how the biggest blocker to European sovereignty isn’t always technical, it’s psychological.
"People are comfortable with stagnation," he said. "Even when they understand the risks of foreign dependency, the effort to change feels too high."
The interview touches on how decentralization is reshaping the social web and why sovereignty must start with the courage to try something different.
At an organizational level, here’s what can be done today:
Sovereignty doesn’t have to mean replacing everything overnight. But it does require intentional action. Through smarter procurement, incremental implementation, and greater visibility of European platforms, organizations can actively contribute to a more autonomous digital future for Europe.
Sovereignty can’t be bought off-the-shelf. It must be designed, built, and sustained from the ground up, in Europe, by Europe.
Wire was founded in Europe, built on open standards, and developed with the principle of secure collaboration as a fundamental right. With end-to-end MLS encryption, jurisdictional integrity, and open-source transparency, Wire supports the mission-critical needs of governments, critical infrastructure, and privacy-conscious enterprises across the EU.
Our belief is simple: sovereignty isn't a slogan. It's a system design choice.
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